2012 January

“Love You” Mix!

January 30, 2012 12 Comments

Isn’t this “Love You Mix” sooo cutie?!

It also kept little Ms. I.never.ever.ever.sit.still.Harper entertained for over 30 minutes!
So, I can say with confidence that this will entertain your little one…
And it is a yummy snack too!

Ok, this is what you need:
Some cheerios (we love multigrain but any kind will work), some valentines day M&M’s,
some mini marshmellows, a lot of love and an eager toddler that is ready to help (or in my case, eat candy…)!

I put each ingredient in a seprate small bowl and asked Harper to help me by putting them in the cannister piece by piece!

This was HARD work, so Harper HAD to stop for many breaks…

…then she would get back to work…

She took her “job” very seriously!
It was so cute watching her choose which ingredient to add next to her belly…
errr I mean to the cannister!

Now gather your imgredients and make some “Love You Mix!”

Now we have “Love You Mix” sitting on our counter and the littles LOVE it!
(ok, I do too!)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Pinned it, Made it, Love it.

January 27, 2012 6 Comments

Just like everyone on this planet,
I am addicted to…
dare I say it?!…
Pinterest *gasp*!

I hoard tons and tons of awesome images, ideas, recipes and tips.
Well, I decided that I am going to put my addiction to good use and
start making, cooking, baking and using some of the fun things I have pinned!

Recently I pinned and made these cookies:

{pinterest}

The recipe is so easy and I actually had all of the ingredients on hand!
These are the BEST cookies I have EVER made and I will never make another kind again!
Yep.
They are THAT good!
(ok, I probably shouldn’t admit this but we ate ALL of the cookies for dinner that night…)

Pin it then make some for yourself – you’ll be glad you did!

Oh yea and if you want to hang out on Pinterest,
you can find me here!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Glasses USA {review}

January 26, 2012 2 Comments

I received an email a while back about reviewing some eye wear from GlassesUSA.com.
My first thought was I don’t wear glasses, but Ross does!…
They agreed to give Ross a credit and allow him to buy glasses for himself!

The ordering process was so simple and quick!
We used their fun “try it on” tool to try all kinds of eyeglasses on Ross’s picture!
(Of course I had to pick the CRAZY glasses for him to “try” on!)
Since Ross is pretty much blind… we got his prescription out once we chose the ones he liked
and filled in the prescription glasses form.
A few days later the glasses arrived at our door!
Soooo easy and painless!

(Don’t they look great on Ross?!)

For $100, Ross was able to order TWO pairs of amazing glasses!
Seriously, their prices are amazing and talk about high quality,
Ross says his new glasses feel like they were custom made just for him!
He is so pleased with everything about his new glasses,
we will definitely order from GlassesUSA in the future!

GlassesUSA is THE place to shop for eyeglasses!

(These are my favorites!)

Need some new glasses for yourself?!
Well then today is your lucky day!

Click over to GlassesUSA and use these codes to save even more on your order:

Take 20% off your entire order of $80 or more and get FREE US shipping with the code: FS20
Take 10% off any order. Code: Blog10

Yay for glasses!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Christmas (a month late…)

January 25, 2012 7 Comments

On Christmas Eve, we load up the littles and head over to my Aunt’s house for some food and fun before going to the Christmas Eve Candle Light Church Service.

This year The Girl seemed to understand …

and seeing her bubble with excitement just may be the cutest thing I have ever seen!

The Boy was super excited too, but he seemed to be able to contain it a little better…

…that was until he opened THE “McQueen Game!”

(thank you Nonnie!)

And this moment at Church made me cry.

Cliff really understands that Christmas is about celebrating Jesus’s Birthday so that we can all be saved and that makes us so proud!

WAY too early Christmas morning, I heard “Mama… Daddy… GET UP!”

Two excited little feet and the squeaky wheel from Cliff’s walker echoed down the hallway…

This moment is priceless.

Ross and I sat back ,video camera in his hand, Nikon in mine and watched the littles discover all the fun new toys Santa left for them!

Seriously, there is nothing like a Christmas Morning face:

Harper squealed with delight as she flipped through the pages of “Shoe-la-la!”

She has a serious obsession with shoes… one that I am sure will NEVER go away!

In the middle of going through their stockings, this happened.

As a tear slid down my cheek, I smiled behind the camera and prayed that God will nourish their relationship as they grow so that they will always be best friends.

Moments like this are what life is about.

Cliff was thrilled to open boat shoes “just like Daddy!”

Elmo and DeDe (Ross’s parents) came over with a HUGE surprise for Cliff…

Yep.

“A Ranger just like Daddy’s!”

…After a little instruction they were off..

and everyday since Cliff takes Harper on a “Ranger Ride!”

Seriously, this is the BEST toy Cliff has ever had – it keeps them in one place and entertains them for HOURS!

(Thank you DeDe and Elmo!)

The Girl got a crib for her babies…

…and a highchair too…

but in her mind she IS the baby and so the poor babydoll got the boot and Harper did this:

This Christmas was so special.

So much fun!

We are so blessed!

Merry Christmas!

(…a little late!)

Filed Under: Family, Holidays

Three?!

January 24, 2012 38 Comments

(Harper is THRILLED… can’t you tell?!)

Yep!
We are expecting number three in August!

( …EVERYONE who is pregnant right now HAS to take this picture thanks to Pinterest! )

I often find myself wondering…

will I EVER leave the house again once #3 arrives?!

Yay for babies!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

DIY Upcycled Shutter Fireplace Screen!

January 23, 2012 8 Comments

Jill called me with a fabulous idea on how I could use all of those shutters that were collecting dust in my garage.

And this, my friend, was her brilliant idea:

Yep.

A fireplace screen made out of shutters!

I was thrilled!
A simply brilliant way to use up those old shutters I found on the side of the road so long ago!

See, before Jill shared this awesome idea with me,
I avoided taking pictures in our den because the black hole aka fireplace ruined the pictures…
Not anymore!

Just in case you happen to have old shutters laying around…
this is how I made it:

I took some of my old shutters that we just hanging out in our garage and wiped them down a little…

Of course I busted out my favorite spray paint color of all times:
Krylon Avocado!

And gave the shutters a thin coat.

Then I let them dry A LITTLE BIT…
before they were completely dry, I took a piece of sand paper and began to sand away to achieve the “old peeled paint” look I wanted.
My goal here was to make them look like they were outside for many, many years and the weather just took it’s toll!

After the sanding was complete and the shutters looked perfectly imperfect,
I took the shutters inside.
I laid four shutters in a row wrong sides up and used straight brackets with little screws to hold them all together.
I put a bracket at the top and the bottom of each shutter.
Then I laid one shutter on each end and used the hinge that was on the shutters to attach them to the other four.
Super confused?!
See this pic:

I am seriously in LOVE with our new fireplace screen!

Doesn’t it add a fun pop of color in our den?!?

I love taking the old, making it new and using items in unexpected ways!

Thank you for the awesome idea Jill!
(now come on over so we can make yours… the shutters are waiting!)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Realization.

January 22, 2012 19 Comments

It happened.
The moment Ross and I have been dreading since we received Cliff’s diagnosis.
His tiny heart was shattered.
His sweet spirit was crushed.
The reality of his situation knocked him down.

No parent ever wants to see their four year old in pain.
No one wants to see their child hurting.
And the worse part:
There is nothing we can do about it.

There are no band-aids for this boo-boo.
No ointment to make it all better.
The only thing Ross and I can do is pray that
God will guide us to help Cliff understand.

We were walking into Church a few weeks ago.
Cliff was waving and saying “Hey!” to everyone who walked passed us.
He worked so hard to walk all the way from the car to his Sunday School classroom.
As soon as he looked into the classroom it happened.

Tears took over that captivating smile.
We passed him off the his wonderful Sunday School teacher.
And went to “Big Church.”
I knew something wasn’t right.

We left Church a few minutes early and went to pick Cliff up.
He was playing with playdough.
That smile we all know and love was back!
He must have had an “off day,” right?!

While on the way to lunch we asked Cliff
“Why were you crying at Sunday School today buddy?!”
He replied
“Because the other kids were running around.”

I couldn’t breathe.
Someone just sucked all of the air out of the car.
I could hear my heart breaking into a million pieces.
This was the moment we dreaded for the past 2 1/2 years.
This moment, right now.

I gathered my thoughts, said a quick prayer and before I knew it…
“Well guess what you are going to do next Sunday Mr. Cliff Potts?!
YOU are going to get in that walker and run around with your friends!”
Came out of my mouth.
So smoothly. So matter of fact.

I looked over at Ross.
He looked back at me through his tears, shocked.
Then he chimed in
“Yea Buddy! You WILL run around with your friends next week!”

God took over.
He knew we needed Him.
He was right there helping us give
Cliff the tools he needs to be included.

When Ross and I felt so alone.
So lost.
Unable to find the words to help Cliff,
He was there.

And the next Sunday – He ran around with his friends
and flashed that contagious smile.

Please keep Cliff in your prayers.
Please ask the Lord to continue to guide me and Ross to
have the tools to help Cliff as he grows and faces new challenges.