giving thanks....

we had a wonderful day with family... it was very peaceful, beautiful, simple and thankful....
Kevin made his real Chocolate Creme Pie (no Dream Whip here!) the night before...

I set the table for our first formal meal in this house (something I am very thankful for) complete with real silverware (thanks Aunt Barb), china, vintage table cloth, last minute purchased Thanksgiving napkins, paper leaves

and a cornucopia of thanksgivings (this was the MOPs craft I came up with for our November meeting... a paper cornucopia decorated for the season with tongue depressors for everyone to write what they are thankful for...

here my parents are working on carving the turkey...

I am trying to stay out of the way and even though I am starving I am try not to eat anything till I sit down knowing I'll be stuffed in an hour...

Daisy and my parents waiting to dish up food...

the feast begins...

Carter's new best friend... Bobby my sister, Christina's, boyfriend...

I try in a last stitch effort to get a picture of the kids dressed up before I have to leave for work.... fat chance!

I would like to share the experience we had over dinner writing our that we are thankful for and sharing those with everyone... it was nice to physically write everything down... however I could never fit it all on a tongue depressor! so here is a quick list: my family, wonderful supportive parents and in-laws, siblings that we really enjoy spending time with even though we are growing older and have different lives, my wonderful husband (he is such a gift... I could never repay him for all that he does for me), my Savior and loving Father, my children that have been a constant joy even when they are mischevious (it is hard not to laugh sometimes) and the experience they have given me to love, teach, train and keep me humble, our home that is becoming a fulfillment of a big dream and a wonderful place to share God's love with... I am thankful for my job that it is flexible enough for me to work and support my family while still spending most of my time at home, my friend who always put a smile on my face and the ability to create and learn more about myself and my Creator everyday...

wow that was a serious list!... now I need to go to bed!

a treasure to be thankful for...

this afternoon while making dinner I found the box in the living room with Daisy in it and Carter's feet in it... they were apparently reenacting a familiar scene that takes place at Mimi and Papa's all summer long... Daisy was swimming while Carter was siting in the rocker soaking his feet...
not sure where the xylophone fits in!

his "e-mail"

as Daisy sleeps in her crib upstairs I settle into check e-mail... Carter finds the crayons and a coloring sheet and states "Mama, look at my e-mail! I am all done"... I peer around the wall to see this "eager to watch a movie with me" boy show off something truly productive... my e-mail?.... well.. for that I can't say is very productive... my inbox is severely backed up... I am working on it!

little surfer boy...

here is the much awaited debut of Carter's "surf shack"...

the inspiration (everything I create has some) was the surfer swim suit hanging over his window and the poster over his bed that i found on ebay months ago....


the boogie board is one of Kevin's and mines and I love the picture on it and the glow of the night light behind it is really cool...

the vintage light in the corner is well, a find in a relatives house and has been repaired twice now, we'll see how it holds up...

I still can't part with Carter's baby signs so until he yells at me for still having them up they will be...

the dresser is a hand-me down from Aunt Em and Uncle Sean... with a little paint, walnut stain and polyurethane it looks perfect for a surf shack!...

still have some organizing and sign hanging and one more addition that is a Christmas present... that has to wait...
my hope was that this room will grow with him and he could be there forever... well maybe not with all his lovies on the bed!....

sorry for the hiatus....

over the next couple days I will fill you in about all that has been happening around here...

yesterday was spent putting this collection of fabric together and a vintage chenille bed spread...


since I woke up at 6am with no ability to sleep any longer (the pregnancy induced insomnia is kicking in)... I crept downstairs to cut out squares of fabric and watch the sun rise... I usually never see that...

this fabric will eventually be two (not just one) crib quilts for my little girls... not matching but very similar...
with the addition of a my parents beach blanket (a pink chenille bed spread) as the back of the blankets I have everything I need... they are a bit crazier than I intended but every time I create something I believe it reflects my life in some way.... this time colors crashing together in a beautiful arrangement not necessarily planned to be that way is a great metaphor for my life right now.... not a crazy quilt (those take effort to make them so crazy looking) but a simple quilt gone a little crazy...

and the "girlie-ness" factor? wow I am shocked by how girlie this is and how much I love it...

so today I have to sew together the second front with my "no-napping" helper at hand... and then it is off to the store for batting and yarn to tie it... I am addicted to creating many things at once so tomorrow you will see the much awaited finished creation of Carter's "surf shack" room...

still treasured...

while checking e-mail this morning I overheard....

"Get in the car, we have to go to the hospital!"- as Carter jumps in the car and Daisy piles in too

As I hear this I think maybe he is talking about me going to work or having the babyso I ask- "The hospital? What's going on Carter?"

he replies- "The bug is not working and needs to be fixed at the hospital."

After a complete conversation describing the situation over the "cell phone" they are off to fix the bug....

the box is still a big hit but every time I nearly trip over it I want to rip it a part and then I am reminded that this "toy" has brought so much joy to their lives.... Carter's imagination has grown so much since we invited this box into our home and it still has many miles to go!

Trick or Treat!

we had lovely weather and lots of fun dressing up and showing off our little cow and farmer....

~our front porch decor~

~hill-billy teeth~

~Daisy says "Moooooo!" and "Boooooo!"- they sound the same~

~Daisy doesn't like to be pulled by a rope-no surprise here"~

~a visit to Nanny and Grandpa "B"~
~the porch at night~
~Daisy pulling her own rope to ring her cow bell~
~knocking on Mimi and Papa's door~

~Daisy stole the farmer's rotten teeth.... yuck!~~Papa's pumpkins (well every one's really)~