Ayden's Baptism

Ayden was baptized this morning.  It was just our nuclear family, but the church made it extra special (probably because it was so unexpected).  Ayden wore my brother's baptism outfit and the same little hankie hat that Jack and Audrey wore.  The candle that we used was Bryan's candle.  We also used the candle for Audrey.  The bib that he has on in this picture was a gift from one of the ladies in church.  It it embroidered with the fleur de lis and his name.

 My lovely posture in this picture does nothing with this gorgeous dress that my sister gave me.  Audrey is getting heavy!

 Pastor just loves the kids, he is amazing with them.  He has three little ones of his own.  His blessings during communion are so much fun to watch because they are completely personalized and from the heart.

So many generous people brought refreshments for after the service, including this beautiful and delicious cake.  The woman that made this cake has 4 children of her own and she works a crazy schedule as a nurse!

Let me finish this post with a picture of my shoes.  These shoes are sooo my sister, so they went perfectly with the dress.  They are black patent leather peep toe, platform heels.  They are the tallest shoes I have ever worn, at 4 inches.  Oh, and I didn't kill myself today.  For killer shoes, they aren't too painful, but I did take them off after church!  It's weird to look my husband in the eye. . .

Another Older Find

Sometime in late December, the kids and I went orange picking with Spencer and his parents, Cristi and Freddi.  Freddi's sister has a large grove of citrus, just below the base. We had a lot of fun and picked enough oranges and grapefruit to literally fill my trunk!  And my oh my, the grapefruit were the best I've EVER had!!!  I have been dreaming of those grapefruit ever since.  They also have a pecan tree, and I got a large grocery bag full of pecans!  I thought I had developed an allergy to pecans (I am allergic to walnuts), but I can eat these without any problems.  Evidently, my walnut allergy has worsened and I can't eat nuts that have been processed on equipment where walnuts have been processed.  Sorry, you probably are here to hear about the kids, not my weird ailments.

Audrey and Cristi

Crafting Once Again!

Yay!!! I've been able to use my sewing machine again!  I made this cute dress for Audrey Wednesday morning from a white tee shirt and some fabric left over from an apron that I made.  It's a little loose on her waist, so I need to figure out a way to add some elastic to the waist.  I free handed the lady bug applique for the shirt!

Next, I made this awesome "quilt." It took much longer than I expected, but it was definitely worth the time.  I found the tutorial on the site "Made."  She has such neat stuff!  The only problem with this quilt, is my satin blanket binding.  I highly respect those of you who have mastered this art!  It probably didn't help that I rounded the corners.  I am pretty good at making square corners, but this "easing" around the edges was definitely a challenge.  Hmmm, now which one of you will receive this quilt.  (The ruffly side will look neater over time.  Each time it is washed and dried, it will fray more.)

How We Roll

Living in Louisiana, you really don't want to send the kids out to play bare footed.  We have friends that live on the bayou, so the kids needed boots to be really protected.  Trouble is, it is pretty much impossible to find boots for toddlers in stores.  I found these boots on amazon, and they are sooo cute!  Sorry the picture is kind of far away, Bryan was wielding the camera.

This week was "Living Literature" again with the homeschool group.  The kids pick a book to read, and then prepare a 2 minute speech about a character or scene from that book.  They are also encouraged to dress up and bring a snack that fits the theme of their book.  Jack read The Magic Tree House, Day of the Dragon King.  It is about the first emperor of China.  His hat is supposed to be a straw hat.  Our snack was birds nest cookies made with chinese noodles.

And to end this rolling post, here is a picture of our gorgeous little lady.  We had chili for dinner tonight, and goodness did she love it!!!!  The only thing she loved better than the chili was the toppings.  When she finished her chili, she was eating just heaps of cheese and sour cream.  Ohhh, pictures to save to show her boyfriends!

1 Month Old!

I month ago, I had just had this little guy!  What a day.  As you can tell, he has already grown quite a bit.  How much, I am not sure.  But he is starting to fill out.  You can't tell from this picture, but he has the smallest bit of pudge on his upper arm and wrist.  

Overall, he is a good baby.  He has his moments of crankiness, like now, which is why the picture of him is on my lap.  I wanted to take his picture on this quilt that I am working on, but he would have been screaming.  It is true that God only gives you what you can handle.  Jack was my easiest baby, but I was alone.  Now that I have this wonderful husband, God gives me children to test our nerves.  

Audrey is now sleeping in her big girl bed.  We let her choose where to sleep and she chooses the big girl bed at night and her crib for naps.  It's funny to see her get up by herself.  This morning I heard her door open and there was her cute little face peeking out with that adorable smile.  Yesterday, I heard a child reading books on the couch while I was still in bed.  I assumed it was Jack.  But no, it was Audrey.   It is these moments that keep her alive because goodness, she sure is good at pushing my buttons. She isn't even 2 and she already gets in trouble!  Jack didn't pull these tricks until he was 3.

Favors for Friends

My girlfriend texted me Sunday night "where can I get a dress, apron, and bonnet for the Boston Tea Party."  Nornally, you could find plenty of costumes online, but the kicker was that she needed it by Monday night.  So I told her the easiest thing would be for me to make something for her.  Here is what I came up with. . .

The long skirt is just part of a sheet.  I cut a VERY rough rectangle of fabric from the sheet and put elastic in the waist.  I think it took me about 5-10 minutes to make!  The apron was the easiest part.  I just cut a pillowcase and hemmed the cut edge.  I used ribbon to make the ties.  That took maybe 5 minutes!  The hardest part was the bonnet.  The main cap part is a rectangle with elastic at the nape of the neck and the remaining 3 sides gathered and sewed to the brim.  I used the remaining part of the pillow case to make the cap and ties.  For the brim, I found a coordinating fabric in my stash of scraps. 

By the way, this is Jordyn.  Jack professes his love to her daily and will unashamedly to anyone that she is his girlfriend.  I think I am in for a lifetime of trouble with this boy.  She is 11!  She has a younger sister, Carissa, who is 7.  She is the cutest little thing.  Of course, Jack has little more than a friendship with her. . . she must be too young :o)

Baby Love

sooo proud

Jack is pretending to sleep, like Poppy does

Can you tell that he loves his little brother? He is constantly asking to hold him.  He sat on the couch for close to an hour, holding his sleeping brother.  As you can see, Jack even managed to hold a sleeping baby and read a book.