Katelyn's 1st Year Scrapbook (WIP)

I started this project a few months back (aka, Christmas) and finished one page and part of another.  I had a little time to kill today so I worked on a few more.  It is my goal to have a book of her entire first year!

WHAT EVENTS/MILESTONES/MOMENTS DO YOU THINK I SHOULD SCRAPBOOK?

Click "Read More" for more pictures and a list of the pages still to come!

Pot O' Pretty Flowers - Quiet Book

I have been looking at other bloggers' posts about making Quiet Books for their children and have been really inspired to work on one for Katelyn.  She is so loud in church now!  I started the first page about 2 weeks ago and have worked on it a little here and there.  I finally got it finished this week!  Check out all the pics under "Read More."

#1 Dad!

Happy FIRST Father's Day, Daddy!
Father's Day was lots of fun last year when I was pregnant - even better now that she's finally here!  Check out the card Katelyn and I made for Derrick.  She really did help - picked out the paper and "signed" her name!  More pictures under "Read More." 

Yes, Please - I'll Take Two!

Saw these today and they provided some much-needed inspiration for organization!  Thought I'd pass it along to everyone! Click an image to see the original post!

FOR SALE - Soft Straps!

Soft Straps

Car Seat Strap

Cover & Toy Keeper

Handmade by yours truly!

On Sale Now:  $10 / set 

Email me if you'd like to order!

Custom Product Labels Tutorial

I am officially in the "make it to sell it" business and I found myself in need of some custom product labels.  My degree is in Graphic Design so I decided to make some on my own rather than purchase them.  Got something I liked on my second try!  Pretty simple method, but in case you would like to know:

Old Notes from My Phone

The best wine comes from grapes that have to fight to grow - Biodome experiment: the trees would shatter because there was no wind, no resistance

Books recommended by Anita Koeshall: 

Car Seat Toy Keeper

Since Katelyn moved up in the world to the "big girl" car seat, I have been trying to come up with a way to keep a couple of her toys connected to her.  That was a major convenience of the carrier seat handle and I had gotten used to not having to give her toys constantly during our many road trips.  I need a solution quick!

Crawl Buddy

When Katelyn started crawling yesterday I immediately started thinking of toys that would help her develop her new-found skill.  So I started sewing...

"The Call" by Os Guinness

In the opening chapter (all I've read thus far) of The Call, Os Guinness says, "...transition challenges our sense of personal meaning."  I understand this statement full well at this time of my life.  Following closely on the heels of a major life shift, I had a major health crisis and ended up in surgery and an 8 week recovery process... followed immediately by a 3-month treatment for said health issues... followed immediately by 9 months of trying to conceive... followed (seriously, thank God) by 9 months of pregnancy.  Well, really only about 8 months because the baby was 3 weeks early.  Not exactly what we planned for, but luckily she was perfectly healthy... for the next 8 weeks at least.  That's when she got RSV, a long and drawn out 4 week battle that included 5 trips to the ER and a 3-night stay in the Pediatric Wing of the hospital.  My life has been one giant transition the last 3 years or so, and now that my beautiful daughter is here with us, growing and (finally) healthy (again, thank God)... I feel like the transition has just begun.

For Kristen & Nathan

We were recently asked, separately by two different friends for good books to read.  So, just for Kristen and Nathan, here is our list of "must-read" Christian books:

Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton
Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence
The Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster
Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Can Man Live Without God?, Ravi Zacharias
The Unshakable Kingdom & The
Unchanging Person, E. Stanley Jones
Humility, Andrew Murray
True Spirituality, Francis Schaeffer

I Can Make This

Saw this really cute pull-toy at WalMart today with Mimi and Poppy... and I thought, "I could definitely make that!"  Checked at Hobby Lobby and they totally have the wheels for like $3.  As long as I can find a pattern for an animal head... it's on!  Thank you, Garanimals, for a bit of inspiration!

Soothie Paci Clips/Keepers

My sis-in-law has a little boy 4 months younger than Katelyn and he uses Soothie paci's.  If you've ever used them, you know there are no paci clips/keepers sold in the stores, unless you really want your child's face to look like a giant sunflower!  So I decided to make her a couple as a surprise.  :)  Hope they work for her!

Ivy Shoes

Katelyn's in an in-between size of shoes and, since new shoes are so expensive, I decided to make her another pair of shoes. I went with white so they will match everything but then they looked too plain. So I decided to try my hand at some embroidery. Hopefully they will stay clean enough to last her a while!

My Child Will Have This!

I get several emails about crafting/sewing/etc each week, and this was featured in one... Katelyn has to have this when she gets a little older!  Can't you just see it???