Review of 2013

This is a few weeks late but I kinda needed some time to think over the past year and truly see how our lives have changed.

My sister told me about how she and her husband wrote down stuff that happened over the year and put it in a jar, and then opened it and read everything on New Years Day. To remember all the little miracles, funny sayings, and big decisions. I think we are going to do that this year.

The biggest change was adding a 4th to our little family. She was a surprise, but we worked through the few weeks of doubt (of being ready for a 2nd child) and then were excited, especially once we found out it was a girl! 

The second big change was buying a house (see this post). We're now settled and starting to make a list of things we want to add/remodel. Inside and outside! I'm excited to see how things will look in a year or two. 

Now on to our personal updates…

Baby L

She started out a pretty fussy baby, which was really difficult for us cause Easy A had been so smiley and well, easy (get it?). We went through a phase of not sleeping unless she was being held/in bed with me. We also think she might have a dairy sensitivity, which would account for some of her fussiness. Fast forward a few months and she is a much happier baby! Smiles, cooing, blowing bubbles. She learned how to roll over at 3 months and now is unstoppable! Scoots her way around and recently has started trying to get on her hands and knees at the same time (she is now 5 months old). Oh dear… 

We started giving her some rice cereal, which she loves but is not so good at actually eating. She is getting the hang of it though. 

Easy A

Turned 2 in September. Where did the time go? A year ago he was barely talking (mostly said mom, dad, monkey and more) but then his vocabulary exploded over the summer and now he's talking full sentences. Every once and a while I have to guess at what he's talking about, but we usually understand him. He LOVES lego mini figures, Bob The Builder, Ninja Turtles and cars. And watching movies, although most of the times he gets distracted halfway through. He's starting to get into the "Terrible 2s" but overall he is a good kid. My main issue with him is getting him to eat. I swear, if he could live off of milk and juice, he would! He's actually gotten a little bit better over the past few weeks but we still have to bargain with him sometimes. 

Eli

He is still working with Xerox as a contractor (that's a whole other story) but is hopefully getting a job as an apprentice electrician with a friend who just started his own company this past fall! He is still doing ebay, but has switched to selling mainly electronics (games, gaming systems, controllers, etc). They are a lot easier to test, clean and sell. At least compared to legos. That keeps him pretty busy, but he enjoys it! He really loves owning our own place and having a yard (me too). He has all kinds of plans and stuff he wants to buy now for the house. :) 

Me

I had a baby. That's probably the most significant thing that happened to me last year. :) I also quit working so now I am able to be a stay at home mom. It was a hard decision at first cause I really enjoy my job and co-workers, but I know it was the right one for our family. And I still go and help out over the holidays, so I'm not completely gone! The biggest change for me past year was struggling through Postpartum Depression (ppd). It didn't help having a fussy baby too. I have been doing better now that I am taking vitamins to help control the hormones and after talking to some close friends and family about it. 

Now I know there was more that happened last year but, well, that would be a very long post. These are just some highlights that I wanted to share. Hopefully next year I will have a whole jar full of memories to share with you!

Ornament

You might remember me posting about making Easy A (my friend came up with that nickname:) his First Christmas Ornament. 

I had bought a 6 pack of the clear ornaments with the intention of having enough ornaments for all our children.

I wanted Baby L's to be girly. When I found glass beads in soft pinks, pearls, golds, blues and greens, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look. All I needed was some gold Puffy Paint and we were set!

(Sorry if the picture quality isn't the greatest, Eli bought me a new lens for Christmas and I'm still figuring it out.)

I love how classy and feminine it turned out! Since I used glass beads I only filled it up halfway because I didn't want it to be too heavy. But it still turned out cute!

I also realized my writing skills with Puffy Paint need some help...

Homeowners!

Yes, I know we have been homeowners for about 6 months now but I still have not written about how that blessing came to be. Here is our story....

Almost exactly 1 year ago we found out we were pregnant with #2. We were a bit surprised. :) At the time we were living in a 2 bedroom apartment (roughly 900 sq.ft.) and decided that we needed more space once baby #2 arrived. So the hunt began. We fell absolutely in love with the first house we looked at! It was everything we had wanted and more. You can imagine how sad we were when the very next day our real estate agent told us the bank had accepted an offer (it was a foreclosure). I cried, that's how disappointed I was. Looking back now, it would of been a lot of work and money 'cause it needed LOTS of work done to be livable. 

About 2 months go by and we hadn't found anything even worth looking at. At this point I was starting to get discouraged, because everything we had seen for sell was either too small or at the high end of our budget. I was also about halfway through my pregnancy and was starting to get worried that we wouldn't find a place before baby arrived. Then one day our agent calls and says she found a house that she thinks we'd be interested in. We met up with her and the owner's of the house that next weekend. When I first heard it was a duplex, I was kinda nervous. I had never imagined owning a rental property. But boy, am I glad our agent didn't let that stop her from showing us this house! We were very happy with what we saw but weren't ready to make an offer cause we needed to make sure the bank would give us a loan for that high. We had been pre-approved up to $250,000 and they were asking $279,00 for this duplex. While we were still working on getting the approval, the sellers received 3 offers. We didn't feel ready to put an offer in so we told our agent we would have to pass. The seller's for some unknown reason really liked us and told our agent that if the deal fell through they would let us know before they put it back on the market. Once again, we were disappointed but knew that God had a plan and was in control. 

Another month goes by. We had heard the duplex had sold so we kept looking around. Once again, didn't see much on the market that we could afford and was the right size for us. Then, one day Eli gets a phone call. Our agent tells him the original sell of the duplex fell through due to financing problems! So he and my dad went to take a second look (Eli wanted my dad's opinion) and did the math to see what our monthly payments would be and to make sure we could actually afford it. The numbers added up perfectly for us and we decided to go for it! 

We went to put in our offer the next day and found out that someone else had put in an offer about an hour or two before us (they listed the house on craigslist but not on MLS). Then came the hard part.... guessing how much the offer was and trying to outdo them with going over our budget. That was fun. We finally made our decision and put in the offer. The next day the seller's came back to us and asked us to put in our highest offer and they would let us know the next day. Eli and I talked it over and decided that we couldn't go any higher. We trusted that God was in control and would work through out the whole situation. We told them our decision and then went home to wait. Ugh! It seriously is so hard to be patient in a situation like this. 

The next day rolls around and I'm working, waiting to here from Eli. He finally calls (I think it was around 11-12 o'clock) and tells me that they accepted the other offer only to have that one fall through due to financing problems! And we were the only other offer so they accepted it!

The situation was just crazy! God certainly works in mysterious ways... we got the house because 2 offers fell through due to financing problems. 

Another cool thing that worked in our favor was the house inspection. The first "buyer" of the house got the inspection done before their financing fell through. It turns out that the guy who did the inspection was a friend of my parent's (they had recommended him to us) and so my mom called him and asked him his opinion of the house. And the sellers gave us a copy of his report. So we didn't have to pay for the inspection and wait for it to get done. It made the process speed up and allowed us to move into our house a month after putting in our offer! 

We are incredibly blessed to own this house!

In case you haven't heard/didn't realize, this house is a duplex. We live upstairs and rent out the bottom.  Once again, we are very blessed and have a great renter! 

Below are some pictures of the house right after we moved in. 

We love our yard! We own about 1/2 acre.

And we have a barn! 

DIY Thanksgiving Bow

Baby L needed a bow to match her thanksgiving outfit so I decided to make her one. Couldn't be that hard, right? I took my natural creative talents and skills and tips I learned from being a florist and went to work! 

Now I know you are all wondering what skills a florist could use to make a hair bow, well, surprisingly a lot! I basically took my boss's way of making bows for corsages and went from there. Take a look below to see what I mean!

First off, the supplies:

Ribbon (I got a variety from Jo-Ann's)

Alligator clips (also Jo-Ann's)

Tulle

Thread

Needle

Scissors

Hot glue gun

I love ribbon! Seriously, I could hoard it. Decided that I wanted to have a lot of different textures in this bow so I made sure each ribbon was different. Ric-Rac, polka dot, satin, and burlap.

Started by taking my widest ribbon (the burlap) and making a base for the bow. I kinda eye balled how big I wanted it to be. But I put it next to Baby L's head to make sure it was ridiculously huge!

Now I used thread and needle at first to attach the ribbons and tack them down, but hot glue works too. Once you use hot glue though it is tough to get a needle through it, as I soon discovered today. 

Then I started layering the ribbons on, sewing (or gluing) them down as I went.

I love the tulle! It gives the bow some poof and softens it up a bit.

I also discovered that hot glue is the best way to attach the tulle.

Nice thing about the ribbon is that you can trim it up if you decided later that it's too long. :)

The curly ribbon was another nice way to add some different texture. They are really easy to make. Wrap some ribbon around a bamboo skewer, soak it in water for a few minutes then stick in the oven at 250 degrees until dry, about 30-45 minutes. 

To fill in the middle of the bow I took a little piece of tulle, tied some thread in the middle of it to kinda make a poof (should of taken a picture of it, oh well, hope you get the gist of my instructions) and then hot glued down. You could also use a silk flower or button. I originally wanted to use a turkey button in the middle but couldn't find one. :(

And now you're finished! 

Oops! I forgot to take a picture of how I attached it. I cut a little piece of burlap to cover the top of the alligator clip, hot glued it on and then hot glued that to the bow. So now you can attach the bow to whatever band you want. I happen to have a yellow one that matches perfectly. 

Isn't she just the cutest model?!?!

I just love how fun and whimsical it turned out!

Ah, yes, these flowers. Surely you noticed them in the first picture. I originally was going to incorporate them into the bow, but then decided that they didn't quite go with my ribbons.

They are super cute so I think I am going to use them as they are as bows!

I hope you enjoyed seeing and reading about my first ever attempt at making bows. Let me know what you think!

If I Don't Have Love - 1st Corinthians 13

I have been reading through a book my mom gave me called "A Mother's Heart" by Jean Fleming. It has really been hitting close to home as I have been struggling lately with being a mom and how that works out with still being a wife, a friend, myself, etc. 

The chapter I read yesterday was about love and how we show that to our children, and the world. She paraphrased 1st Corinthians 13 and it really made me think about how I am showing my kids (and husband) that I do love them. The things I think are important to get done in a day (like cleaning the house!) really don't matter if I'm not showing love to my family. 

1st Corinthians 13 (Paraphrased by Jean Fleming)

"If I keep my house immaculately clean, and am envied by all for my interior decorating, but do not show love in my family - I'm just another housewife.

If I'm always producing lovely things - sewing, art; if I always look attractive, and speak intelligently, but am not loving to my family - I am nothing.

If I am busy in community affairs, teach sunday school, and drive in the carpool, but fail to give adequate love to my family - I gain nothing.

Love changes diapers, cleans up messes, and ties shoes - over and over again.

Love is kind, though tired and frazzled.

Love doesn't envy another wife - one whose children are "spaced"better, or in school so she has time to pursue her own interests.

Love doesn't try to impress others with my abilities or knowledge as a mother.

Love doesn't scream at the kids.

Love doesn't feel cheated because I didn't get to do what I wanted to do today - sew, read, soak in a hot tub.

Love doesn't lose my temper easily.

Love doesn't assume that my children are being naughty just because their noise level is irritating. 

Love doesn't rejoice when other people's children misbehave and make mine look good. Love is genuinely happy when others are honored by their children. "

Now I'm not saying we shouldn't try to keep our houses clean, produce lovely things or be active in your community, but if I am putting my own interests in front of my family, where is the love? When my children grow up will they remember how much I love them or will they remember that mom was always busy and couldn't take the time to snuggle with them? 

I want the former. 

Lydia Mae's Birth Story

Lydia Mae

6lbs 13oz and 20in

Born August 9th, 2013

Uncle Seth is the baby hog!

Sitting here, holding Lydia and it's crazy to think that today is my due date and she is already a week and 1 day old. I am glad she decided to come early, my body was very tired of being pregnant! So, on to the birth story...

Weirdly enough, this story is very similar to Aiden's birth story, at least the beginning. 

I once again used the bathroom when I got up that morning (around 8:30am) and had some slightly pink discharge. Remembering how it all went down with Aiden I started to get excited but then told myself to calm down because it could still be some time before she came. But I went ahead and told Eli, my midwives, the doula and my boss, just to give everyone a head's up. 

Nothing was happening, so around 9:30 I went ahead and got ready for work. Funny enough, it was my last day. :) Got there and my boss and coworkers were all concerned. I think they were afraid I would go into labor right then and there! After I assured them that everything was fine, got started on some wedding bouquets. 

This day turned out to be rather eventful. We had 2 weddings, I was possibly in labor and then our delivery driver was rear ended. My poor boss! Around 1pm I started having some contractions but they weren't very painful and far apart so I kept on working but finally, at about 2:30, they were getting closer and painful. My doula told me to head home, but I was trying to finish up a wedding bouquet and my boss was still trying to figure out what to do about our delivery vehicle so I was planning on staying for about another hour. But when I told her I was having contractions she (and everyone else) made me go home. Literally, they voted on it and had my sister-in-law drive me home right then and there, even though I was feeling perfectly fine! 

Eli came home about an hour later. I was still having contractions but was able to sit down, eat some food and relax for a little bit. Around 6:30 I realized my contractions were about 4 minutes apart and they were super painful. My mom was here with Aiden at that point, he had spent the afternoon with her and was going to spend the night but I had wanted to see him before the baby came. 

I didn't realize how emotional I would be about saying goodbye to Aiden and the fact that his life was changing dramatically. Thankfully he handled the whole situation really well. 

We got to the birthing center at about 8pm and I was 5-6 cm dilated. I had really bad back pain again. I think it was almost worse than the contractions! Thankfully they have a shower with 2 shower heads so I was able to get some relief by letting the hot water run over my back and stomach. A little before 10pm I felt like I needed to push so the midwife checked me and I was at 8-9cm. At that point we decided to go ahead and break my water. After that time just flew by! Maybe 10 minutes later I really felt like pushing and at 10:25 Lydia was born! 

She is just absolutely perfect and we're so glad she's in our life! Aiden loves her, although he's still learning how to be gentle. :)

Wedding Bouquets

I have had the great opportunity lately to be doing more weddings (which I always enjoy) and thought I would share them with you all. 

Please excuse the quality of the photos, they were taken on my iPhone. :)

This was a wedding from a couple of months ago and while it looks neon in the picture, it is actually just purple hydrangea. :) But I love the wrapping on the stems!

June 7th Wedding

Flowers:

Lavender Roses, Purple Irises, White Daisies, Lavender Stock, Lavender Mini Carns, Limonium, Oregonia & Plumosa. 

June 14th Wedding

Flowers:

Sunflowers, Green Buttons, Yellow Buttons, Green Amaranthus, Yellow Mini Carns, Oregonia, Bear Grass & Plumosa.

June 21st Wedding

Flowers:

Yellow Spider Mums, Purple Veronica, Creamy Eden Spray Roses, Bear Grass, Pittosporum, Dusty Miller & Plumosa.

July 5th Wedding

Flowers:

Black Magic Roses, Milva Roses, White Waxflower, Oregonia & Plumosa.

July 6th Wedding

 (in case you can't tell, this is a one-sided bouquet, Miss America Pageant style)

Flowers:

Pink Stock, White Stock, Purple Freesia, White Veronica, White Spray Roses, Purple Waxflower, Blue Hydrangea & Plumosa. 

Bridesmaid's Bouquet for above wedding.

Flowers:

Pink Stock

(easy enough!)