Has it really been this long??

I don't have time right now to write a post about all that has been going on here - however, I do have a few seconds to give you a couple of point form notes about it! :)

- Well, we are expecting baby #4 in February! I am 18wks and just crawling out of nasty/exhausted stage. More accurately, Nasty is basically gone - exhausted is here to stay!

- Jackson received Christ this summer!!

- Olivia got her thumbnail smashed in Owen's school desk and will be losing it soon i assume. poor girl!

- Owen is 3 lbs and 1" bigger than Jxn....Jxn is catching on to this. :(

- Nathan has been traveling a lot but we got to go to greenville with him for a week!

- OH! Owen turned 3!! Pics to come!

- The kitchen is nearing the end...plate wall is almost finished, curtains have been made since march - just waiting for a break in the travel schedule to get them put on boards and hung. Still need to save for counter tops - although I think I may have enough for the floors soon!! i *heart* brown eyed girlies!!

- Be careful what you wish for on FB! When we left for G-Vegas last week i knew my house wouldn't be tip top shape by the time we left and sarcastically put as my status if anyone wanted to come and clean my house while I was gone, they were more than welcomed to it! well, some wonderful friend knew where my house key was, came into my house while we were gone and cleaned for me. True Story! BLESSED!! I actually walked around in a state of panic for a few minutes as I saw things in places that i didn't put them and things cleaned out that i hadn't touched for months and then Nate said "babe, i am sure whoever was in here was a friend not a foe if they left it in better shape than we did!" LOL Good point!

Happy First Day of Fall Everyone! I love love love this time of year! it's when i met Nate after all :)

HOOPITY DOO! THE WINNER IS....

YOU!!! Congratulations Beth! Here's what she plans to do with her prize...

Busch family said...

Hi Shyla!
Love your blog! :) I need to thank you for sharing your knowledge of the makeitandloveit blog as well! Wow, you girls are CREATIVE!! :)
Anyway, I'm not much of a scrapper either, but my mom has a 50th birthday coming up and we are making a scrapbook for her. This one would be perfect!
Thank you!! :)
Beth

Thanks so much to all who entered! Stay tuned - this giveaway stuff was fun! I'm itching to do another! Have a wonderful day!

A little glimpse of the kitchen....

So, I stole this image (is it really stealing when I am the one who took the pic?) from Nate's FB page so you could see a little glimpse of the kitchen!
- New Table and chairs from craigslist that I redid from this post.
- Here's what this little part of the kitchen looked like before.
- There is a little glimpse of the vintage plate wall and bead board along with the color.

This pic was intended to show our very first watermelon from our garden! The kids were so excited to eat it!

That beautiful hydrangea bloom is the only bloom we've had on our bush in 2 yrs! LOL I don't et it, but it makes me so happy when he shows up!

Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY for FREE Scrap booking stuff worth $60!! We'll be drawing the lucky winner's name on Wednesday!!

Kitchen Transformation Day 147

For real. That's how many days our kitchen has been in limbo. It's been in working order for most of that time - but we have been taking our sweet time getting it done. In our defense - painting with oil based paint in 100% humidity is less than ideal and attributes to most of our summer this year.

While I was in Canada, Nathan put up the bead board. While he was in Honduras, I painted the bead board and the top half of the wall a light green color.

I have since thrifted to find all of the plates for my vintage plate wall (that replaces the beloved "r" monogram) I have most of the plates hung but 4 of them are too small and I need to find the right hangers to put them up - alas - another roadblock. I found a great wrought iron piece for the wall at Hobby Lobby (I *HEART* Hobby lobby!!) it was $60 marked down to $10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I scooped her up, brought her home, spray painted her white and she's just as pretty as I imagined she would be!

I was hoping that the curtain I made out of scrap fabric would have been enough to cover under my sink, but it's just not full enough, so I will be making a proper curtain soon to fit there.

I added some wooden decal to one of my drawers and painted it to pretty up the cabinet.

What's left?
- butcher block counter tops
- wood floors (both need to save for...so don't hold your breath perhaps next year!) Just imagine it with me :)
- Painting a clock on the hood of my stove to replace the retro one that was there
- sewing a new curtain for my cabinet
- hanging the kitchen curtains i made in MARCH!
- accessorizing
- getting it clean enough to take pics of it! :)

My First Giveaway!

I have been mulling over in my mind about having a giveaway on my blog for a while - and frankly - it hasn't happened b/c I am too busy to do a post about it or I miss the date I was planning on doing it (an anniversary, making it 12 months without being pregnant - you know! :). Lame, but true! :)

So, here it is - all of you scrap booking ladies out there! A little giveaway just for you! Not a scrapper - enter so you can give it away for a present!

Up for grabs to one lucky scrapper are:
- Brand New Black Natural Bonded Leather Scrapbook with White Stitching
- valued at $32.00
- 30 page 12x12
- expandable spine included

- Creative Memories Power Sort Box: - 1 Power sort Box (Cute Green and Light Blue)
- 12 compartment Boxes
- 12 Power Sort Dividers
- valued at $28.50

That's $60 worth of stuff I am giving away to a lucky reader!

So, What do you need to do to win it?

One entry - Just become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment about what you'll do with the giveaway!
Two entries - Put a link to this giveaway on your own blog or FB page and then let me know you did.

On Wednesday the 4th I will have one of my kiddos pick your name from a jar (technical, I know!) and then announce the lucky winner!

Thanks for stopping by and may the best scrapper win! :)

Fun in the Sun

Please go ahead and laugh and laugh at this picture! Fro-woman and N-Ro went tubing this passed weekend and it was really fun! I am pretty sure that my fingers are the only part of my upper body that is not sore - yes, nathan has informed me that it's time to kick into high gear start some real muscle building...i fear he may be right! LOL

DO IT!!!

I am always looking for ways to use up the zucchini in our garden in different ways. My MIL made this for us and it was so good!

If you know someone who says that they hate Zucchini, invite them over for this yummy dessert! We LOVE it and you will NEVER know that it's not apple cobbler!!

Zucchini Cobbler

Ingredients

• 8 cups chopped seeded peeled zucchini (about 3 pounds)
• 2/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 
  

Crust:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

• In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice for 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Add the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; simmer 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; set aside.
• For crust, combine the flour and sugar in a bowl; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir 1/2 cup into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining crust mixture into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Spread zucchini over top; crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Yield: 16-20 servings.

If I hadn't been too busy eating ours, I would have taken a pic of the one I made last night! :)

Link love - to the 7th power.

So, I was reading this post the other day and thought that this would make for an interesting post (humor me :). The idea was to link within your own blog to the post that applies best in these categories:

• Your first post
• A post you enjoyed writing the most
• A post which had a great discussion
• A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written
• Your most helpful post
• A post with a title that you are proud of
• A post that you wish more people had read

Then, you can either tell about why you chose the post you did or else just link to it.

So, we will see how much commenting my little brood allows, but I will do my best! :)

My First Post - I am cracking up b/c it's nothing but pics of our new house! LOL. In my defense, I did post a little bit more about myself the same day in another post. I have been blogging since September 2005! Wow! Time flies when you're having fun!

A post you enjoyed writing the most - I don't really know if this is THE one - but I read it, remembered the experience and laughed! Here's another.

A post which had a great discussion - this really is second only to the announcements of pregnancies and births :)

A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written - Emily is so very talented and I have enjoyed reading her blog.

Your most helpful post - well, I don't really know, but several people emailed me after this one.

A post with a title that you are proud of - Laundry Room - drop your pants here. Genuis - i know.

A post that you wish more people had read - I don't have a link for this one. I guess I feel like any time there are no comments I have either failed my audience :) or no one has read it. And since I don't really think that either are true - a post that shows lots of traffic with no comments says, lots of people stopped by - but no one wanted to say hi! :)

So, that was fun. I actually took time reading through my blog from the beginning to the end. A real chronicling of our lives thus far.

I can't leave you without a shameless link for Brown Eyed Girlies! :)

Great Expectations?

I am learning (sloooowly) that what I expect from my kids and what they think they ought to deliver are not often on the same page.

Now, before I have tons of comments (a girl can dream can't she?) about how they are only 4, 3 and 15 months old - please know that I realize this and I am not asking them to roof our home.

Back to the title: Great Expectations...We have been training our kids to be responsible adults, who Lord willing, will one day Love and serve Him, be hard workers, loyal and respectful. We tend not to baby them, or let excessive nonsense flow from their mouths throughout the day.

They have had little chores or jobs that they do throughout the day to help keep our busy home in order. They are fully capable of doing the jobs - and frankly, I can't do it all by myself.

So, they make their beds (to the best of their little abilities), they put away their laundry, wipe up their own messes on the bathroom floor - even Liv at 15months knows how to walk her diaper to the trash and throw it away when I am done changing her. I am reasonable with them.

What I am STRUGGLING with, is giving them a job (IE; today it was picking up their junk on the floor in the kitchen) and expecting that they will go upstairs, unsupervised and get it done. I mean, it's only picking up their t-shirts and torn up pieces of paper off of the floor. Not hard. But, I expect that if i tell them to do it ,they will obey and get the job done right away.

i think i am crazy.

And then i get frustrated when they are upstairs comparing the size of boogers that they can pick out of their noses, or who can step in the sticky spots on the floor - instead of just picking their junk up so that I CAN clean the floor.

Is it too much to expect that when I tell them to pick up their cars, that they would actually do it? Right away, without me hounding them and pointing to every car on the floor that they are supposed to be picking up? I am trying to train them to be hard working adults - of which do NOT have their employers pointing out every task that needs to be completed.

i know they are little. i know that maybe i am asking more out of them then most parents with kids this age. But I respect them and know that they are capable and that's why I think it's not too much to ask for them to pick up their toys without asking over and over and that the job would be completed as best as they can.

because our kids are so close in age, perhaps i do ask more out of them since there is more going on here on a daily basis. *sigh*

so, let the litany of comments come. go ahead. tell me i am crazy. tell me that i have "great expectations" but they're not realistic. I may or may not agree with you - but I am willing to be talked off the ledge today.they sure are sweet, though!

Family VBS

When I was little, VBS was in someone's backyard and you'd listen to bible stories, play a game, have a snack and go home. For us, it was always at someone's house that we knew from church - since we were church kids - but for most of the neighborhood kids that came, their parents just sent them down the street on their own to participate.

Fast forward 20 yrs. I am a mother of 3 living in this world and would be hard pressed to send my little one to a stranger's house for them to hear bible stories. It's sad, but I just don't feel like I have the luxury that parents before me had to trust people I don't know with my kids.

All of that being said, this year our church did a FAMILY VBS. You heard me! Family! Mom, dad, kids, grandparents - everyone! It was a great switch from the usual b/c we got to be involved in walking through "Egypt" with our kids and watching them learn about Joseph. each family was divided up in groups. You stayed with that group for the whole VBS week and did games, there was a group time of singing and they made a market place for everyone to walk through with activities for the kids like a salon, bead shop, hieroglyphics name tags, toy shop, brick making etc... It was a really fun time. Then there was a game time where you competed against other family groups. One of the games that we liked was the mummy wrap! They even had a "bakery" where you could get a little nibble of something and a drink! Then we went into a room that on the first night was Joseph in his jail cell and listened to him give us a narrative on what life was like for him in there. The next night it was in front of Pharoah etc... It was a wonderful time! Perhaps the best VBS experience that I have ever had!

Here are a TON of pics from the week!

getting my Egyptian makeup done at the salon!

The boys making their head pieces

Owen refused to wear his - so, I did.
I am dying! i just realized he is picking his nose! LOL
classic.

A little basket weaving 101

The mummy wrap game

Our team working hard to wrap up Jackson!

Our little mummy with his mommy!

Joseph

Hieroglyphic Name tags

Brick Making time!!

Jackson ready for a "shave" at the salon!
relax! it was a spatula! :)

Multipurpose room transformed into an Egyptian Marketplace

One night was dress up night - here are our little Pharaohs! :)

Thank you so much to our church family who worked so hard to put this all together! We thoroughly enjoyed the week!

Have any of you done this at your church before - a family VBS time? What did you do?

Treats from Honduras

In June, Nathan flew to Honduras on business. He returned with fun presents for the kids .....

Liv received this lovely hand embroidered ensemble
with handmade leather sandals (a little too big perhaps? :)

She was excited to see her daddy the next morning!

The boys sporting their new Team Honduras Futbol Jersey
World Cup was a big deal down there.

..... but we were the most happy to have him safely back home with us!

What an amazingly busy summer!

Well, life is finally settling back into "normal" here. Between Nathan and I we have been traveling since the 2nd week of May and have been everywhere from SC to KY, Atlantic City, Canada, Honduras and back again! Attending weddings, hanging with family and flying on business. It was been busy!

I have greatly enjoyed spending almost a month with my mom and sister - which hasn't happened in 10 yrs?! Or at least close to that!

The kids and I stayed in Canada for 2 weeks and then my mom came back to PA with us for 2 wks. and then My sister Jenny came for a week!

The kids have slept in the same room together for the last 5 weeks and have done a great job!

When my mom left Jackson said "i am glad you came gramma, but i am VERY glad to have my room back!"

When Jenny left, Jackson said "mom, aunt Jenny's leaving today - that's the sad part, but the good thing is, we get to be a family again!" LOL

I guess they are ready for things to go back to normal too! :)

So, hopefully blogging will get back to normal. There are always things swirling in my head that I could write about during my day! :)

Here are a few pics from the last month...

Today I am baking (if you know me - i would rather cook all day than bake!) but I am happily using up our bounty of zucchini from our garden!

Took mom to Red Robin for the first time!
So happy Liv's got pig tails! :)

Celebrated 6 years together!

Got a backstage tour at Sight and SoundMet our new little Nephew/Cousin Levi!
So happy to meet him!

Greenview Aviaries

When I was little, my favorite place to go on a field trip was Greenview Aviaries. There was a great place ground (made of metal of course) - that at the time consisted of a HUGE (to me then) slide, teeter totter, swingset and a FANTASTIC zip line! There was also a wonderful petting zoo and the most beautiful peacocks. Yup, those are the things that I remember the most.

Fast forward 20 years. I got to take my kids there this past week and it was more fun then I ever remembered! It was such a fun time watching my little ones explore and enjoy all of my old favorites and then being able to make new memories together on all of their

NEW, SUPER COOL Upgrades!

Here are some pics! We enjoyed the splash pad and outdoor ball pit the best! If you are ever in South Western Ontario for any reason - you need to spend the day at Greenview!

to see the rest of the pics you can go to my FB album HERE and HERE.

seriously...one month since my last post?

sheesh. i read TONS of blogs everyday and somehow that makes me feel like i write in my own everyday. guess not :)

so, here I am, with a second (or two) to blog. I HAVE HAVE HAVE to show you this!

If you are in FB - this will be a bit of a repeat since you've seen my pics already - but if you care for the story behind this sweet little dress - Here it goes!

I was all prepared to write a tutorial for the dress and my camera

battery died. I took that as a sign! :)

So, I have loved this pillow case for a long time. (my grandma calls them pillow slips - and i LOVE that!)

Anyway, it was such a pretty vintage looking pillowcase. Creamy background with light blue and yellow periwinkles all dreamily scattered around - and a ruffle -

OH THE RUFFLE! That's what made my mind start whirling about 4 yrs. ago that this would make a beautiful dress for my little girl...but we kept having boys :)

So, while I have been here in Canada, I saw the pillowcase and got so excited and asked if i could turn it into a dress!

I enjoy sewing interiors. My sister Jenny has been making her own clothes and refashioning pieces for years so with my plan in mind,we worked together, drew out a pattern, measured one of Liv's dresses and went to town!

It took us a few hours - but we had a blast designing it together and seeing it realized (AND SEEING IT FIT HER PERFECTLY!! That was awfully satisfying!)

So, here she is in her little dress made with love by mommy and aunt j-mo.

Would you pray today...

I have not written on my blog about my Father-in-Law, Sam Rohrer's, race for Governor of PA. There are lots of reasons why - but today, I wanted to ask you to pray.

Today is Voting Primary day in PA.

If you have friends in PA - send this information to them - perhaps it will change, or open their minds.

We are so excited to see what God's plan is - only a few short hours until we know. I imagine this is going to be a LONG day! :) Thank you for praying!

If it's stuck in my head.....

It may as well be stuck in yours too!

*wishful sigh*

I am sooooooo looking forward to life slowing down a little so that i can make THIS!
Downloaded my pattern and contemplating skipping laundry day today...hmmmm....what will my priorities be today...

Alright, alright! I will print the pattern, grab my fabric and do the laundry! :)

It is not death to die.

On Wednesday, we celebrated the short life of Carlie Maia James.

It was an overcast morning as I headed to the cemetery. Maria, Carlie's mom, had asked me the night before to specifically pray that it would not rain while they said good bye to Carlie that morning. God was so sweet to answer this small prayer that morning. The rain held off until they said good bye to Carlie and as they got into their car, it began to lightly drizzle.

There must have been a hundred cars in the processional for Carlie. As I drove away from the casket I began to sob and called Nate. We talked for a little while and then the Lord began to minister to my heart through songs that came over the radio - Blessed be Your Name, For God so loved the World, I'll praise you in this storm etc....over and over song after song and I couldn't help but praise God for His generous love for each one of us.

The ceremony for Carlie was beautiful. The gospel was so wonderfully presented and Christ was so supremely exalted. The songs were beautiful, the testimonies touching, the room was filled with joy in the midst of our sorrow that Carlie, our little sister in Christ, would be waiting to see us again.

Wil and Maria and the girls were deeply hurting that day, but God's strength and grace was so evident in their life that you couldn't help leaving them encouraged yourself.

It was a beautiful celebration of Carlie's life. I am thankful that I was able to be there and experience the impact such a short life had on so many people.

This was just one of the songs sung at Carlie's Memorial.




Please continue to pray for the James Family.

Blessed be Your Name

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Carlie is dancing at the feet of her creator tonight.
Thank you for all of the prayers that you have offered
for sweet Carlie and her family.

Carlie has 4 sisters who will miss her terribly.
Will you pray for these sweet girls as they come to your mind?

Carlie has a mom and a dad who love her dearly and will miss her deeply.
Would you pray for Wil and Maria as they begin the journey to this new 'normal' in their lives?
Would you pray that God would use this to only bring them closer to Him and to each other?

Please pray for the Salvation of their entire extended family.
Carlie's life, nor her death are a waste.
God is glorified.


Carlie is now whole with her Savior!!

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name