Superbowl Sunday

GO COLTS!

Our little "Peyton Manning"

Halloween 2009

My Love...

Not too much to report this week, I have been a single Mom whil my love travelled...it is always a long week and I love when I am back to sharing my parent responsibilities.  In other news, my sweet Bryan is in surgery as I type (from his hospital room)...he is having outpatient sinus surgery - not pleasant but soooo needed, I swear he ill feel like a new man.  Poor guy has had one looonnnngggg sinus infection for the last 9 or so months!  My parents are here helping with the kids today...thanks Mom and Dad!  I have lots of "projects" in the hopper and hope to get some things accomplished soon.  Just heard the new baby "chime" here at the hospital...the hospital where I had 2/3 babies - I rang that same chime!  It is a tradition here and I love to hear it!  Speaking of babies...my friend Jessica gave birth 6 weeks early yesterday to a precious baby girl she named "Gwyneth"....after a very long journey following numerous miscarriages, they adopted a little boy who will turn 1 in April and shortly thereafter got pregnant and carried this baby up until yesterday when she could not wait any longer to meet her new family!  Is God not great or what?!

PS - Someone PLEASE tell me where to find the spell check on this new Blogger screen - ugh!!!!  I am sure I have plenty of type-os!

Rudy...

This is "Rudy"...our soon-to-be adopted doggy!

We loved our playdate with you today and can't wait until you are here to stay!

xoxoxo

Your new family...

Pantry Update

Loving my newly cleaned and re-organized pantry!

Thanks to my new shelves that Bryan installed in our basement I was able to move alot of my non-essential entertaining things as well as small appliances, extra trays, etc...OUT!

I grouped like items together in baskets such as oils, baking supplies, kids breakfast and school lunch/snack.

I also enjoy some of my grandmother's china patterns as well and my collection of white ironstone, milk glass and my cake plates.  They are easy to access and so pretty to see - they make me happy!  So, I am contiuning to move through my l house list (major!) of cleaning, organizing, re-purposing, some re-decorating and updating too...it will take most of the year to accomplish what I want but thats OK...I am trying to just enjoy the journey! 

Birthday Bowling...

Campbell's Birthday is December 22...poor guy, hard to have a birthday so close to Christmas but actually he makes out pretty good because we probably do more just to over compinsate!  We always celebrate his actual birthday with just family and he gets to pick where...usually it is Chuck E Cheese but this year we went downtown St.joe to the Curious Kids Museum and than sat fireside for lunch at Schu's on the Lake...we watched it snow and ate some yummy food!  then it was back home for cake and presents.  So, we  then celebrate with friends in January.  This year we left the house and Campbell hosted his party for 11 boys (wild!) at the bowling alley...where we also played mini golf and had pizza and cake.  It was a really fun night, I LOVE birthdays...I love the planning and celebrating and the colors and "themes" and the cake and just all of it...how special to celebrate the day you brought your child(ren) into the world...truly Gifts from God!  Here are some highlights from the night...

11 boys, 1 sister, 1 baby brother, 1 helper, 2 parents, 4 pizzas, 3 pitchers of Sprite, 10,000 "boys, don't jump on that...boys, get off that", 3 sets of bowling, 1 round of mini golf, 830 gumballs given as favors in 12 mason jars...(well, 830 bought with plenty to spare!) - tags that said "We had a "ball" bowling! Thanks for coming to my party..."...4 cake mixes used to make bowling ball/pin cake), 160 pictures taken, 1 set of very tired parents...1 very happy Birthday Boy!  We love you Cam!...

Christian's Cut...

Christian's FIRST haircut...January 20, 2010

It always kills me to do it but it was time!

As I'd hoped, it is beginning to curl back up and is so blond, which is strange because Bryan and I are both dark haired.

Miranda cuts our whole family's hair and she does a great job - no "Hair Cuttery" for us -I am soo picky about my kid's hair - hair and pictures, I swear nothing stresses me out more...I should be tons of fun at Charlotte's wedding, ha! ha!

Anyway, Charlotte and Campbell had their do's done too and were a great help with their baby brother...the sucker was a huge help too!

After the round of haircuts it was off to the bowling alley to celebrate Campbell's 8th birthday!...more on that later!

So, Christain did great and it was bittersweet for me...all of his "firsts" are now my "lasts" and sometimes that is a hard pill for me to swallow!

I love you Christian!

and for you BLOGGER users...where did the spellcheck go?!

I "heart" this...

I am in LOVE with this wreath!  It is made from cupcake liners...darling!  Head on over to

www.tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com to see the tutorial and lots

of

other cute projects! 

These liners would also make cute Valentine's in the shape of a heart...you could cut out a big piece of cardboard

into a heart shape

and

 then apply the liners...so cute!

Do you have a fun and favorite Valentine craft to share?!