Ta Da!

Frugal Fabulous

I just wanted to say thanks to Jen over at Frugal Fabulous for the inspiration for the dress I made for Gabby last night (see previous post). Also a big thank you for featuring me in her "Freebie Friday" post today! What an honor :)

Feeling Crafty... again

Every once in a while, I start feeling a little crafty (see past posts). The last week or so, I've been feeling crafty again. I have been making "It's a Boy" signs and "It's a Girl" signs for friend's babies for a month or so. So I decided to see what putting the pictures up on Craigslist would do... to maybe earn a few extra bucks. And in two days, I've already sold 4 signs - woo hoo! Here are the pictures of my signs:



Another project: A few days ago, I saw an idea for a darling girls dress on a blog I read. All I needed was a $5 dress from Walmart and a little ribbon to spruce it up... along with my sewing machine which I really have a hate, hate relationship with. But I decided to break it out and give this project a try and am SO SUPER HAPPY with the results! Check out Gabby's new dress! She will be wearing it tomorrow, and any other day that it is clean from the wash. I am so proud that it actually turned out without too much trouble from my mean sewing machine. And in less than an hour too - yay. I am super excited for Gabriella to wear it tomorrow to our big outing... the pediatrician! :) Since it wasn't THAT bad making it, I may make her another!


Until my next crafty time...

Bluebonnets!!

As you can probably see from my new header picture, last night we went to a field of bluebonnets with our friends Steve and Ann Marie to do a photo shoot! We took a picnic dinner and enjoyed talking, playing, and the beautiful flowers. In case you're not a Texan, the Bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas and they come out in the spring. I've been DYING to get our pictures taken in the Bluebonnets ever since we've moved back and I'm so happy to say that with the help of our friends, we finally got some great ones! It was a bit of a drive out there, but after seeing the finished product, I am very happy we went! Here are some of the highlights. You can see more of them by clicking here.

Daniel and Stephanie's Wedding

Finally... a post about the second half of our trip to North Carolina in late March.

The main reason we headed to the East coast was for Matt's brother Daniel's marriage to his sweet fiancee Stephanie. We were so thrilled about their match and couldn't wait for them to finally be husband and wife! Stephanie grew up in Asheville, North Carolina where her Dad works at the Biltmore Estate. So naturally, that's where she wanted to get married. It was, as expected, an absolutely GORGEOUS destination and the bride and groom couldn't have been happier.





We had a great time at the rehearsal dinner in the Estate's barn which has been converted into a great party/dinner hall. They had a hay ride and a bonfire as well as lots of yummy BBQ!! The weekend was full of special and touching toasts both to the bride and groom and from them. There was so much love there that weekend. It was truly amazing!

The day of the wedding was kind of rainy, but worked out perfectly in the location they had chosen. Before the festivities started, we were able to tour the Biltmore house which was a highlight of the trip. Truly a beautiful home! The largest private residence in America - over 200 rooms. It was spectacular!! Then that afternoon after getting all dressed up, we headed back to the Biltmore house to take family pictures on the South Terrace.







After that, it was time for the big event. Our sweet Oliver was one of the "flower dudes" and gave everyone some laughs as he missed the center aisle and went up the side! Happy tears were shed and a great celebration ensued late into the night. What a blessed event it was - we are so happy for you guys!

We love you Dan and Stephanie!

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! We had a powerful morning at church followed by a relaxing day at our house with Matt's parents joining us. This is the first Easter we have spent at home in MANY, many years... and definitely the first one we've had at home with our kids. So it was a very special day! Here are some fun photos from this weekend:

Silly Babies

Coloring eggs

The Easter Lunch spread (plus rolls and dessert)

Oliver was VERY excited for the Easter Egg hunt to begin! He was bouncing around like crazy and ran around the yard in heaven as he found egg after egg (Gabby was exhausted and napping - so he got to hunt all by himself!)

Happy Easter everyone!

My treasure

I am a lucky girl.

I feel so blessed to be surrounded every day by people that I love so much! Love is such an amazing feeling. And while love does take the good with the bad, I am so blessed that in our house, the good love WAY outweighs the bad! Just look at these treasures I have to hold on to every day. Life is good.

My husband and best friend Matt. He's a caring, helpful, loving, and fun husband to me. He's also a fun-filled, sweet, attentive, and lovable Dad to our children. What a treasure!

My happy baby/big boy Oliver. He's a 3 year-old potty training, book loving, full of energy, and loving boy. What a treasure!

My sweet baby girl Gabriella. She's a smiley, giggly, talkative, snack loving, kiss giving darling girl. What a treasure!

Ring around the Rosie at Storytime

Look at that beautiful smile. Click on the picture for a closer look at those dimples!

My model...

I love watching my kids interact with each other, which is happening more and more these days. It just makes a smile come to my face no matter what the circumstance whenever I see the kids playing with each other, helping each other, or talking or singing with each other. Love it!! What a treasure!