Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

1. Finally a good night's sleep.

2. Living near Lake Michigan and all it has to offer.

3. Summer food.

4. An upcoming long weekend.

5. Living in a free country.

6. A reprieve from the hot hot hot weather.

7. The good ole hymns we sing in church.

8. Sharing the same faith as my husband and working to pass it on to our daughter.
9. A new little vacation spot we found.

10. Family that enjoys hanging out together.

~

What are you most thankful for today?

Fresh Start Sunday

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:9-13

Picture of the Week

These cousins spent a lot of time playing together at our family cottage this week.

~

My absolute favorite part is that they do all the same activities that my sister and I did at the cottage when we were kids. They make pretend food with sand and water and they catch minnows in jars. It's so much fun to watch, and definitely brings back some great cottage memories!

Funniest Blog Post EVER!

Okay, so if you don't already read the blog Joy's Hope, you should. It's great.

~

A post on the Joy's Hope blog this week about mini-vans is probably one of the funniest things I've ever read. You have to read it, and then read all the comments on it too. I was crying from laughing so hard...I tried to read it out loud to my husband and couldn't because I just kept cracking up.

~

I had no idea mini-vans were so difficult to drive. Apparently mini-van drivers are hitting garages, curbs and fences all over the place!

(Amy: you especially should read this before continuing your mini-van search! Time to consider an SUV!)

~

So go on now, read the post...and watch out for those mini-vans!

Babies Babies

A good friend of mine knows a whole ton of families about to welcome new additions, so she asked me to make her some gender-neutral baby cards to have on hand for when the little bundles arrive.

~

I had so much fun with this project! All of my Cora Anne cards up to this point have been "anytime cards", so it was so much fun to make cards for a specific purpose! The aqua-blue throughout is my favorite of the colors!

Pretty stinkin' cute if I must say so myself!
~
Wow, all of this making baby cards has got me thinking about making more babies...I mean making more baby cards! Heeheehee! No announcements here, don't get too excited!

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

1. A wonderful husband who takes great care of me and our little girl.
2. A father who is one of the most giving people I know.
3. Two papa's who are very involved in Claire's life.
4. An anniversary - 6 years of marriage!
5. Picnik - my new addiction.
6. Starting the week with a clean house
(it sure seems like this is on my list every week!)
7. Staying home with Claire.
8. Play dates with family and friends.
9. We all seem to be getting over our colds.
10. A forecast for the week of fantastic weather!

~

What are you most thankful for today?

Father's Day

Fresh Start Sunday

Praise the LORD.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,

praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

Psalm 150:1-6

Picture of the Week

Yes, that's my snotty-nosed, messy-haired little girl playing

with her bathing suit on over her pajamas.

Why not, right?!?

Too Perfect

Onesie from Love, September

Eye Candy

Here are some flowers in full bloom at Meijer Gardens, our local gardens and sculpture park. This place amazes me every season of the year.

Artist's Market

This weekend kicked off the first Sunday for the Artist's Market in my town. During the week and on Saturdays, the local farmers run the place, but on Sundays, the artists take over. Etsy West Michigan was a part of the market today and helped get the summer off to a great start!

(Me and my Little Audrey)

~

One of my favorite booths belonged to Delainie, she makes all sorts of great products including fun wallets like this one!

And the sock monkeys from The Monkey Shop are just adorable.

I plan on many more trips to the Artist's Market this summer, and who knows, it looks like so much fun, I might just try out a booth of my own!

Cards, Cards, Cards

About a million new cards, give or take a few,

heading to the shop!

Perfect for weddings...

Perfect for birthdays...

Or perfect for anytime at all!

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

1. Summer finally seems to be officially here.

2. A husband who takes over cooking for us on the weekends.

3. Our attempt to spruce up our patio actually worked!

4. Claire singing "twinkle twinkle" along with me in the car.

5. My parents who took Claire overnight on Friday so we could have a night off.

6. A great time out with friends.

7. Eric joining me at not one, but two art fairs this weekend.

8. Claire's little hand raising up during the singing at church.

9. Dreaming of fun possibilities.

10. Support from loved ones.

~

What are you most thankful for today?

Fresh Start Sunday

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)

Picture of the Week

She's always mumma's helper.

Quotes to Remember

A few of the ladies in my MOPS group keep quote books where they record any of the sweet, quirky or cute things their kids say. I really hope that once Claire is saying full sentences I remember to do this. In the meantime though, it seems I should be writing some of the random things I find myself saying to Claire.

~

Here are a few of the recent ones:

"No thank you Claire, mumma does not want that down her shirt."

(I believe I was referring to a crayon that time, but lately she's trying to put lots of things down my shirt, strange.)

~

"Ok Claire, that's enough bars of soap in the toilet."

(I couldn't get mad at her, she didn't know she was doing wrong.)

~

"Claire, please don't bite your sweater."
(Claire then proceeded to stick her tongue out and smear it across her sweater)
"No Claire, please don't lick it either."
~

Okay, so I get it, all of my funny quotes involve telling Claire "no" but I guess that's just the breaks with a one year old. But don't worry, I do say "yes" lots too, just look at her afterall, how could I resist?!?

Zinnia Pillow Cover

I'm loving this zinnia pillow cover from

Cluck Cluck Sew on Etsy.

This one happens to be sold, but I might just have to ask Allison (the shop owner) if she'll make another!

~

Allison has a great website full of pictures of her amazing quilts, as well as some free tutorials, check it out!

Love Is In The Air

Another treasury, hurray! This one courtesy of Wise Impressions.

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for right now!

~

1. A lazy Sunday afternoon that even included a nap.

2. Sudafed. Apparently allergy season really isn't over as I previously thought.

3. Being caught up on cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping.

4. A woman named Gina who has great insight.

5. Date night this weekend, arranged by my husband.

6. Claire's Elmo video.

7. The May Night Salvia flowers in my backyard that are blooming like crazy.

8. My college roommate and good friend Abi, who celebrated a birthday and an anniversary this weekend.

9. The Kahlua Mudslide bottles that Eric picked up for me. They're dangerous, but oh so good!

10. A little girl who suddenly likes to cuddle...not too much, but just a little. She's never been into cuddling, so I'll take whatever I can get!

~

What are you most thankful for today?

Fresh Start Sunday

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
~

Matthew 5:14 (NIV)

Picture of the Week

Water flowers, then water yourself.

Pink Poppies Pillow

Not that I'm overly excited about my little girl growing up too fast, but projects like this pillow do get me very excited about someday decorating a big girl bedroom for her. We didn't find out what we were having while I was pregnant with her, so the result was a pretty gender-neutral nursery. I've warned my husband that I plan to make up for that in a severe sort of way in her next bedroom. Can you say pink, on top of pink, layered with pink, and finished off with a little....pink!

~

I'm still trying to decide what exactly to call this pillow. Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow just seems like a lot. Say that ten times fast, I dare you!

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Pink Poppies Patchwork Pillow

Whew!

~

Anyway, it's in the shop now!

Love This Guy

We recently picked up an Elmo video for Claire and little did we know what powers this video would hold over our daughter.

~

She loves it.

She's mesmerized by it.

She acts along as though she's in it.

She's addicted.

~

God bless the people at Sesame Street. They must have done some serious research to develop a character that one could truly consider crack cocaine for a baby.

~

But the best part of all....

it's the only thing that holds her attention long enough that I can take a shower in the morning without worrying about what she's getting into! I am eternally (or at least daily) grateful.

~

But don't even get me started on Mr Noodles, the guy has got to go.

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

~

1. Sunshine (almost) all weekend.

2. A week with no major plans which means filling my days with fun outings with my girl.

3. A fresh haircut and highlights, helping me feel a little more put together.

4. The blogging community and all the amazing women I'm "meeting".

5. Hanging out with great neighbors over the weekend.

6. Having neighbors who look out for each other.

7. Claire singing along to the radio from the back seat of my car.

8. Grilling out every night = hardly any dinner prep required on my part.

9. Weeding in the yard is done.

10. My husband who supports me in everything I do/think/dream/say, (even if he secretly might think I'm crazy!)

~

What are you most thankful for today?