Baby Belly

 This is me on Mother's Day looking super plump....however, I've only gained 10 pounds so far and I'm 24 weeks along. Not too shabby seeing I gained 40 pounds each with the other 4! I gotta say, 

I'm a bit proud of myself!

This isn't your typical baby belly picture, but I wanted to capture the perspective I get to see everyday. It makes me smile and thank God this is happening to me.....again.

not your average dandelion

Ezra discovered these amazing flowers were blooming in the yard.....far cry from the dandelions he normally brings me with a smile. So happy to have some fresh homegrown flowers to brighten up my day.

 

Freedom Fighters!!!

 

My dear friend Nicki is part of an amazing opportunity, Freedom Fighters, that helps free women from the sex trade industry....please check out her facebook page and do what you can to support her in this endeavor.

Ellie's 10th - Our 1st

Well, it finally happened...we threw a 'real' birthday party for Ellie's 10th. Like, with invites, food, games, prizes and all. I can't believe it myself, actually, that we pulled it off. 15 kids total, including ours. Ellie had decided to have a dance party and her Dad would DJ. All but 1 friend from school were able to come, which I was excited about for Ellie. So I cleaned and baked, and we arranged the house to accommodate all the kids and everything came together perfectly! Ellie had decided on a menu of pizza rolls and fruit salad and I added lots more treats and goodies. I made punch in an amazing Goodwill find, (see pics below) and even made my first ice cream cake, at Ellie's request (which was waaaay easier than a normal cake).

Here's a breakdown of the night:

~ guests arrive at 6

~ intros and b-ball

 

~ in for dancing and food

~ game: guess that song

~ dancing and food

~ game: balloon stomp

~ dancing and food

~ outside for freeze tag and b-ball

~ back in for dancing 

 ~ game: singing contest

~ game: bubble gum blowing contest

~ more dancing

~ Ellie's cake and presents (wow, kids and their parents are generous!)

~ more dancing!

~ dancing

and

~ dancing

~ then collapsing!

I was proud of us, and the kids- everyone got along so great and they all danced and sang. If I heard "this is the BEST birthday party I've ever been to!!!" once, I heard it 50 times. We even had one girl call and asked if she could come back and spend the night- when she got there she told us she had never been able to stay away from home but that she felt comfortable with our family....needless to say, she woke up with no issues, and even had a 'good dream' as she put it. I was so proud of her!

We really do have amazing children, who show kindness and love and respect to others and I can't begin to explain how proud of them we are.....I think we are doing something right. I think this will be a place their friends will always feel good about coming to...and we've always wanted that.

WHAT A NIGHT!!!

 

 

dipped doughnut holes, my amazing enamelware Goodwill find ($6.99) and my first ever ice cream cake-YUM!

cotton candy sticks- how FUN!

I can't WAIT to do this again when Kole turns 10- next year!

We're goin' PINK!

I can't begin to tell you the rush of emotions I felt as Joel came to me several months ago, and told me that he had been thinking that all of the reasons he didn't want another baby all these years, were selfish ones. He told me he didn't want to be the one to stop God from allowing another child into our already big family. He already had his 'surgery' consultation scheduled, but we gave it a shot for one month just to see if God had other plans for us. Of course He did! We found out we were expecting the morning of that consultation! God's timing still makes me laugh! I knew when I gave birth to Ezra, our 4th child, I just didn't feel done...and I was right. With all that Joel and I have endured in the last year and a half, it was a complete miracle that we were about to embark on a new journey of a fifth child. It took Joel buying me 6 pregnancy tests to convince him that it really did say 'positive'! He just couldn't believe it! He was actually excited!

I grew up with a sister, just one sibling, and always wanted Ellie, our oldest, to experience the joys of having a sister....and today, we had our ultrasound and we found out that dream is going to come true! Although I was prepared either way, I just flipped when the tech told us that she was 100% sure it was a girl.....could it really be, that God would answer our prayers? Of course...because that's the kind of God we serve, one who is in love with the details of our lives, and knew exactly the joy having another girl would bring us.

She should be born around the beginning of September, so I'll get to be big and hot all summer, and sportin' some cute summer preggo wear, which I'm excited about! It's been almost 5 years since I've been pregnant, and it feels so good! I just knew our family wasn't complete! Tonight I am thanking the God who put that conviction in Joel's heart, and for letting me hang on to the dream of having another little girl....

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
      you formed me in my mother's womb.
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
      I worship in adoration—what a creation!
   You know me inside and out,
      you know every bone in my body;
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
   The days of my life all prepared
      before I'd even lived one day."

Psalm 139: 13-16

Trash to Treasure

One of my all time favorite places to shop is Goodwill. I always hunt for stuff I can re-purpose and I never come home empty handed. Whether it's a pile of khaki pants for the kids' school uniforms, or a dress I love and may never wear, it's the best place to find amazing deals. I found this small cork-board the other day for $1.99 and new I could dress it up to use near my computer. I brought it home and found the perfect scrap of fabric and matching craft paint and I LOVE how it turned out! It was super easy to make cute...I will definitely be buying up all the cork-boards I come across from now on. You should too!

Birthday Bag

So, Heather, my sweet sweet friend who I owe many bags, and some hemmed jeans to, had a birthday last week. I wanted to make something for her that would reflect her style....this is what I came up with.

  

I really liked how it turned out, especially the ruffled handles. I think I fell in love with ruffles with this project. You'll be seeing a lot more ruffles in the future! Stay tuned.

For an Amazing Cause

Last month I had the wonderful honor of creating a Wonky Star quilt block for a quilt that was to be given to Quilts of Valor. Crazy Mom Quilts asked several people to donate a block so she could piece them together and present them to QOV. (If you click on Crazy Mom Quilts, you can see my block in the center of the top row of the middle quilt.) This great cause sends handmade quilts to military men and women who have been wounded in battle. This organization pulls on my heart strings since my sister and her husband are both in the USAF. It was an honor to play a very small but significant role in such a worthy cause.

Vintage Snacktime!

Look at this beautiful vintage glass tea cup and saucer set! I have acquired 12 sets from my sweet friend across the street, Eileen. She has such a giving heart and I love that woman. We are going later today to sign her lease at the apartment which means she'll be gone soon, and I'll cry. Then we'll visit her sweet husband in the nursing home and I'll joke with him and he'll stun me with his elderly wit.

I made Warm Maple Nut Blondies (like Applebees) with yummy sauce to plate up on these cute dishes...and now my mouth is watering once again.

Are you kidding me?

Ok...so the other day, Miss Eileen called me over to her garage
to ask me if I wanted ''these ol' chairs''....
"Are you KIDDING me?" was my response. Of course I jumped at the
chance to own these very vintage pieces of lawn-sweetness! In fact, my newest favorite blog just discussed these chairs! Our front yard
may now just be in competition with our back yard.
MY FAVORITE COLOR TOO!!
WHOOOOPPPEEEE!!!