Bless Our Nest

Watch Me Grown Sticker Set Giveaway

2012-01-25T08:49:00.003-06:00

The sweet twins of Twice As Nice Lettering have opened a NEW etsy shop called Watch Me Grow and are offering to give away three sets of stickers! They have sooo many cute options to choose from!

Look at these cute ties for little boys!

I think I will probably pick out these elephant ones. So cute!

These are a great gender neutral set if you are giving a gift or waiting to find out what you are having on the big day.

Like I said, so many options and there are a ton more in their shop!

There are four ways to be entered to win one of three sets. The first one is mandatory. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Please remember to leave your email address if you don't have a blog! Three winners will be randomly picked this weekend (probably sometime Sunday.)

1. Mandatory-Go visit the new shop HERE and let me know what stickers you would choose.

2. Mention this giveaway on facebook.

3. Tweet about this giveaway.

4. Blog about this giveaway.

Don't want to wait for the giveaway? They are offering a 10% off discount in honor of their Grand Opening. Enter "babies" at checkout for the discount!
Good luck!!

Valentine Decorations

2012-01-23T16:12:00.000-06:00

I had fun decorating for Valentine's Day this year because I don't think I have decorated the past couple of years. Even though Westin probably doesn't notice yet, I still decorated for him. :) The only new things I used were the two printables I showed you in a previous post.

On the living room shelf there is a Valentine print and Westin's V-day card from last year.

In the kitchen I hung the Be Mine hanger over the laundry room and framed another print from pinterest. The candy jar is filled with my favorite....heart Gobstoppers!

By the sink is a silver tray with a framed quote, bird salt and pepper shakers and a Larkspur Lane figurine.

In the hall bath I stuck two heart picks from Hobby Lobby in the greenery and printed out another printable that I have had downloaded on my computer for several years. So unfortunately, I do not have the source since that was pre-pinterest days.

I am sad to say that this little guy is sick again. Although, I guess we have had a good run (minus the stomach bug) since the last time we went to the Dr. was in April. He has a cold, eye infection and a ruptured ear drum. I feel terrible about his ear drum because we didn't even know he had an ear infection. :( He must have a high pain tolerance because he has not been fussy one bit. The only reason I took him to the Dr. was because he has had trouble sleeping this weekend because he can't really breathe because of his cold. I'm so glad I took him! Poor baby is now on an antibiotic, ear drops and eye drops. Thankfully he isn't cranky but it is sad to see him moping around and just not feeling good. I pray that he gets over this quickly and that we are sickness-free around here for a long time.

There will be another fun giveaway this week too!

Winner!

2012-01-16T17:38:00.000-06:00

The winner of the True Love pillow from Sweet Tea and Linen is

# 87

Stephanie from Hope is the Thing With Feathers!

Congratulations! Email me your address at row35401 at yahoo dot com and I will forward it on to Carolyn. Thank you to everyone who entered! And thanks again, Carolyn!

Sweet Tea and Linen Giveaway

2012-01-14T10:30:00.003-06:00

Carolyn of Sweet Tea and Linen has graciously offered to giveaway one of her True Love burlap pillows, just in time for Valentine's Day! This pillow is 12x16 and comes with the pillow form and embroidered wedding date (or date of your choice.) This would make a perfect wedding gift or anniversary present too!

To enter, go visit her etsy shop HERE and let me know what your favorite item is. Be sure to leave your email address if you do not have a blog. Random.org will pick a winner Monday evening so the winner will get their pillow in plenty of time for Valentine's Day. Good luck and thank you, Carolyn!

Pinterest Projects

2012-01-12T14:48:00.003-06:00

What did we do before Pinterest? I guess whatever we did before cell phones. Ha! I've printed a few things off lately that I thought I would share with you.

First, I was so happy when I saw that these ABC scripture cards were free! These are simple Bible verses your toddler can memorize. I'm so excited to get Westin started on these. He remembers and repeats every little thing I say so I know he will be able to do these.

It suggests you laminate them but I don't have a laminating machine. I just printed them off at home but if you want to save your color ink, put the files on a jump drive and take it to Office Depot and they can print it on card stock in color for less than .70 cents a page. There are four verses per page so it will be less than $5 to print them all. I print stuff at Office Depot all the time! You can find these ABC cards HERE.

I also printed out this calendar of prayers you can pray for your children. I have it on our fridge so I see it several times a day. You can find it HERE. I printed this at Sam's Club because I wanted it to be 8x10 and in a durable photo finish.

***It looks like the link to the calendar is not working now. However, someone posted a link to a similar calendar in the comments. Sorry about that!

I got a jump start on my Valentine's decor (I'll post pics soon) and printed off two prints at Sam's Club. To print at Sam's or Walgreens (or wherever you print pics) then just save the image to your computer and go to Sam's website and follow the directions under the photo tab to send it to them online. Once you do it once, it is very easy.

HERE is the link for the one below. I printed it in an 8x10.

The one below is 16x20 and HERE is the link.

I was looking for a print to put in this frame for Reagan's nursery and found THIS one. It was already the perfect colors so I just printed it on card stock at home.

I stapled a piece of twine on the back and clipped the print up with a tiny clothes pin (I bought a whole bag of them in the scrapbook section at Hob Lob.) The frame was an old gold one my mom had and we painted it white and took out the glass and picture.

In non-pinterest news, Westin got his first stomach bug yesterday. :( Thankfully it lasted less than 12 hours. He did throw up seven times though, and that is the most pitiful thing ever to watch. I basically watched him like a hawk all day so I knew when he was about to throw up. We had very little mess because I was able to catch everything with a beach towel. Haha! By the end of the day he knew to throw up in the beach towel. He got sick for the last time at 9:45 last night so thankfully he slept good the rest of the night. He was a good sport about it though, after every time he was sick he would say, "it's oh-tay." :)

He woke up at 6am saying, "eat eat eat". I took that as a good sign and he has been fine today. Thank you Lord! It is so sad to watch your baby when they are sick.

New Guest Room

2012-01-06T06:17:00.002-06:00

This room was what I called our "small guestroom." It had a double bed and a huge antique green cabinet in it. We moved the green cabinet to Jason and Katie's house and moved the queen sized guest bed in here. This room is so small that it is pretty much all bed now.

Even though it is small and the bed takes up the whole room, I like being in here. It is light, bright and clutter free. Right now it is the one room in our house that doesn't need cleaning out. :)

The bedside table on the right is Cody's grandmother's old sewing table. I'm storing some of my sewing notions in it in hopes that I start sewing more. :)

Now that we have all our rooms moved, I can focus on cleaning out closets, drawers, cabinets and everything else. My "before baby comes to-do list" is a mile long. Three more months!

Westin's New Room

2012-01-04T06:50:00.002-06:00

Westin loves his new room! He has so much more space and I find him playing in there all the time. I wanted to move him as soon as possible so he would have plenty of time to adjust before Reagan gets here. I should not have worried because he hasn't missed a beat. There has been no change in his sleeping since he moved rooms and I am so grateful! It took him a couple of weeks to run to his new room when I said, "let's go to Westin's room." He would always run to his old room and stop in his tracks when he saw that his stuff was gone. Ha! Now he runs to his new room and yells, "WOW!" and jumps around like he can't get over the space. :)

My plan was to move everything and put it in his new room just like it was in his old room. I could be wrong but I think this helped him not care that we moved him. Walking into his room is his coat rack.

His crib wall looks pretty much the same except this ladder shelf wasn't in his old room. It is from our guest room. Right now it is just filled with stuffed animals to kind of hide the fact that it is a ladder so he won't get any crazy ideas to climb it. :)

His toy area is the same, just loaded up with lots of Christmas goodies.

His rocker and reading area is pretty much the same too.

Personally, I like all the space his closet has.

As I was taking pictures, Westin was having fun behind the scenes making a mess.

Then he tried to ride out of his room, Evil Kenevil style.

Next I'll show you where we moved the guestroom that used to be in here. I'm so glad all this moving is behind us!

Nursery Progress

2012-01-02T13:46:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!! I actually didn't even know it was New Year's Eve on Saturday until Cody said something about it that night. Haha! I was thinking NYE was on Sunday for some reason. I did make it until 10pm though! :)
I've been tinkering in the nursery and trying to cross some things off the endless list. I saw these mobiles on etsy so I bought the kit from THIS site and made one. This was definitely not the most fun thing to make but it was exactly the look I was wanting. The jury is still out on if it is too long. Cody likes it like it is but I'm still thinking.....

Across from the crib is the antique chest of drawers we found at a flea market in Searcy. I'm not sure if the lamp is staying. I covered a "R" in pink yarn and put fabric in a couple of embroidery hoops. I glued the buttons on and stitched stems to reassemble flowers. I had both of the fabrics and buttons on hand so these three pieces were well under $10.00. That is my kind of project. :) If the lamp goes, then they will be getting a new arrangement.

My sister-in-law, Shara, picked up the cute toy box for me and I painted it a light pink last night. I also found a small table at a flea market today to go by the glider (which we do not have yet.) I need to paint the table too but I'm not sure if I want it white or pink.

I'm most excited about the double stroller we got this past weekend! It was a floor clearance and came with a free infant carrier and car base. It is the Britax B-Ready double stroller. I like how Westin will sit up high and how the baby will face me. Westin could also face me if I wanted him to. If you have this stroller, what are your thoughts? But only good thoughts since it was floor clearance and not returnable! Haha! We took Westin to the neighborhood park in it and it was really easy for me to get it in and out of the car which was good.

I still haven't forgotten about posting pics of the new guest room and Westin's new room. Every time I think about taking pictures he is napping. :) I will do that this week.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T13:49:00.000-06:00

This post is pretty much for memories sake. There are about a million pictures of Westin with toys. :) Fair warning. It is kind of hard to take a lot of pictures while a wild toddler is opening presents! So these are all pretty much of Westin. I don't think we even got one family picture. :(

On Friday we had a little family Christmas before we headed out of town. Cody distracted Westin while I put his presents out.

He was so funny to watch and acted like each present was the BEST thing he had ever seen. He would yell, "All right!!" after each one. Haha! Turns out his favorite was a dollar store helicopter and his new sippy cup. Isn't that how it always is?

On Christmas Eve we celebrated with my Mom's side of the family. Westin quickly discovered the piano at Gigi and Papa's house.

Christmas morning was spent with Cody's family. Westin cannot get enough of his cousin Peyton (the older one) and just follows him around everywhere. I was laughing because he did not want to share his toys with anyone but he would just willingly hand them over to Peyton. I also want to remember that he pronounces Peyton as "Pee-tawn." :)

He loved his Little People Barn!

Christmas afternoon was spent back over at Gigi and Papa's house where he got this "motorcycle". At least that is what he calls it! When he walked in the house and saw it, he started yelling, "motorcycle!" and jumped right on it. It is battery powered and he has been riding it around the whole house today.

Christmas evening was spent with my parents. Westin got a Cozy Coupe and loves it! He rotates between driving that and his motorcycle all day.

Jason and Katie got him a tool box and this drill is his favorite. He calls it his "loud tool" and wants to sleep with it. He thinks he is big stuff because it is just like Poppie's and G-Daddy's. He knows they use loud tools while they are working.

And his vacuum! He is one happy boy and loves all his toys! He is one blessed little guy to have so much loving family. We are too!

One more funny thing I want to remember...He was a little confused this year on who baby Jesus is. His friend Asa's dad's name is Joseph so when he names Mary and Joseph, it is about fifty fifty if he says baby Jesus or Asa when pointing to the baby. :) He ran up to a big nativity set and pointed to the baby and yelled, "Asa!" Haha! It was kind of funny and kind of embarrassing. :)

He also thinks any man with a white beard is Santa. He has pointed to several men in stores and restaurants and said, "Santa! Ho ho ho!" This has also been kind of funny and also kind of embarrassing. Some of the men thought it was funny and played along but some did not. :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T06:27:00.002-06:00

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

iPhone Pics

2011-12-22T10:24:00.000-06:00

These pictures are so random and terrible quality but my phone captures every day life the best!

After small group one Sunday, Zach and Westin decided to steal our drinks. Zach got the best deal because Cody's drink was Mt. Dew. Westin was happy with my Sprite though. His face just cracks me up every time I look at this picture! He was working hard to get that straw in.

He will steal my drink anytime he can!

Westin wasn't really scared of Santa this year, he just wanted the toy the photographer was using to get his attention. This is the only picture they got where his hands weren't up reaching for the toy.

Westin is getting a vacuum for Christmas. He is never happier than with his puppy, a sucker and the vacuum.

This was another craft we made at bunco. A burlap JOY banner.

He sure catches on quick! He saw me listening to Reagan's heartbeat so the other day he decided to check his heartbeat.

Sneak peek of Reagan's room.

Westin is a little high maintenance. :) This is what he has to have while I take a shower. His pillow, lovies, two snack choices and Barney on TV. It lasts about 2 minutes and then he's banging on the shower door.

While I was brushing my teeth, he decided to help himself to a Christmas present.

I made my mom's fudge for Westin's nursery workers and MDO teachers. I had to send this picture to my mom to make sure this was a "rolling boil." Haha!

It must have been because the fudge turned out great! I was so proud of my first attempt. :)

Can you tell I'm stalling from doing cleaning, laundry and packing? :)

Christmas Train and Christmas Craft

2011-12-19T06:43:00.003-06:00

A couple of weekends ago we met the Richey's at the Christmas Train. It is a train in our town that gives tours throughout the year but at Christmas, Santa comes to visit you while you are riding!

Westin loved looking at the train and all the activities going on before we boarded.

These characters came on and Westin wasn't too sure of them at first but then he sat by them and kept petting them and saying, "soft!"

They brought by a basket of candy and of course Westin picked out the sucker.

BFFs deep in conversation. This was such a fun thing to do this time of year and will probably be something we do for many years to come. It will probably only get more fun the older he gets.

At the beginning of December, our bunco group had a craft night. I was in charge of the craft so we made these burlap ornament door hangers. We used the same technique I did on our Hog door hanger HERE.

It is a little wonky, off centered and far from perfect but I reason that you only see it from the street most of the time anyway. :)

Board and Batten Details

2011-12-16T09:42:00.000-06:00

Like I said earlier, we (my Dad and Cody's Dad) did this project for around $40. My goal was around $100 so I was very happy! On our way to Lowe's to look at what kind of wood we wanted, my Dad had the idea of using one piece of 1/2" cabinet grade AC plywood and cutting it down to size. I was thrilled when we got there and saw that we could get all our pieces out of one $35 piece of wood. We had them cut it into eleven, 3" strips and two, 4" strips. They did this for free. Not sure if they normally charge or not but the checkout lady did not charge us even though she knew we had it cut there. We also bought two tubes of paintable caulk for $1.99 each.

They used a nail gun to nail the 3" wide boards on the studs which were 16" apart. Then they nailed the 4" wide boards on top to cap it off. Cody then painted the walls and boards with our baseboard color. (It is a custom color so I have no idea what it is.)

By the way, the 3" and 4" sizes were just a personal preference. I've seen wider and smaller widths. Also, you could cap it off with the same size as the slats. Just go with whatever you like visually.

You can see in the picture above that the plywood is very smooth and easily paintable.

Since the plywood is 1/2" thick, it hangs over our baseboards by a smidge. I took this picture at an angle so you could see, but in real life it is not noticeable at all. I saw on a few blogs where they trimmed the edges at a 45 degree angle so they wouldn't hang over so you could always do that.

I am so happy with how this turned out and really want to do it in my dining room now. :) Especially now that I know we could probably do the three walls for less than $100. That is big impact for little money! It made our small nursery look bigger and brighter so I know it would really make our dining room stand out.

I'm sure I've left out some details (I'm rushing because Elmo is almost over!) so if you have any questions, ask them in the comments and I will answer you IN the comments. That way everyone can see the answers. Happy weekend!!

Board and Batten in the New Nursery

2011-12-12T20:53:00.000-06:00

A couple people asked for some detailed instructions on how I make the appliqued shirts. Next time I make one, I'll take pictures of the step by step instructions. Although I really don't think there is a right or wrong way. I just go for quick, easy and durable.

This past weekend I dubbed Saturday, "work day." My parents, Cody's parents, and his sister came into town to help us get our house baby ready. I mentioned before that we were moving three rooms and I'm so happy that we got it all accomplished and more! None of it would have been done without their help. My dad and Cody's dad were the carpenters/handymen. Our moms were the movers, cleaners, and organizers and Cassie was an amazing help by keeping Westin entertained and out of the way.

Besides getting the rooms moved, my main goal was putting up board and batten in the nursery (Westin's old room.) I'm going for a very light and bright, mainly all white nursery. The board and batten just completely opens up the room and makes it seem much bigger than it is. It also makes the room seem so much brighter. I LOVE it and now I want to do it in the dining room. :)

We kept the wall color the same as it was for Westin's room and added the board and batten on the one main wall. The top of the molding is 64" high. My Dad figured out a way to do this very economically. I will get all the details and make a more specific post but this whole wall cost $35 for the wood plus the cost of the white paint.

Here is a sneak peek of Reagan's crib and bedding too! Her crib is the "Jane" by Bratt Decor (which doesn't seem to be on the website anymore but is similar to THIS crib.) Her bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids. We found the crib for a steal at a consignment shop in Little Rock. I almost didn't even ask if it was for sale because I was sure it was just their "display" crib but it was, and I even talked them down a few dollars. ;)

Next up I'll share pictures of Westin's new room and the new guest room. Westin loves his new room and all the extra space!

P.S. I had a few questions on how to pronounce Reagan's name. It is pronounced "Ray-gan", just like the former president, Ronald Reagan.

Appliqued Shirts

2011-12-08T06:52:00.002-06:00

First of all, thank y'all so much for all the sweet comments on her name. Of course we love it but it's always nice to hear kind comments from others who say they like it too. :) She is one active little baby and it makes me a little nervous for when she gets here. Haha I guess she will have to be to keep up with her brother. We are having a "work day" this Saturday and getting all the rooms switched over. My parents and Cody's parents are coming so hopefully we can knock it all out! I'm excited but totally exhausted thinking about it. (And maybe a little sad that Westin won't be in "his" room anymore.)
Anyways, have I mentioned how much I love pinterest? Maybe a time or two. :) The other day I searched "applique patterns" and I found so much cute stuff! I decided it was time to make Reagan a shirt since I hadn't made her anything. I thought the bunny was cute because she will be born a few days before Easter, Lord willing. You can find the pattern HERE.

I feel like she is going to be a big baby for some reason so hopefully it will fit her! :)

I made this Christmas shirt for Westin using THIS pattern. This was actually a "round 2" because the first Christmas shirt that I made him was deemed "too girly" from Cody. See below.

I will admit that after I put it on him it did seem a tad girly. I didn't stitch it because I figured he wouldn't be wearing it anyway. Maybe I can peel it off and make something else. I didn't find a pattern for this one so I just free handed it. I saw a similar shirt at a craft fair and thought it was cute. They used real ribbon for the scarf though which would be really cute for a girl. :)

I printed out some more patterns so hopefully I can get to those soon! Have a good rest of the week and weekend. Wish us luck! :)

Her Name

2011-12-05T07:00:00.005-06:00

I am a little surprised at how quickly we agreed on a name.

When I was pregnant with Westin we didn't even talk about a girl name because we just knew it was a boy. Girl names are so hard for me! This time we came up with a boy name and girl name before we found out what it was. We wanted something that was "normal" and easy to say but not too common. Her first name is just something we both love. Her middle name is the same as my middle name and my Grandfather's first name.

We continue to be amazed and thankful we have been given this gift from the Lord.

Reagan Lynn

Winner Of The Burlap Runner

2011-12-04T21:19:00.000-06:00

According to Random.org, the winner of

the burlap runner from Sweet Tea and Linen is:

# 58-Melissa of I Carry Your Heart!

Email me at row35401 at yahoo dot com and I will get your info to Carolyn.

Thank you to everyone who entered! I love her shop and knew you would too!

Burlap Runner Giveaway

2011-12-02T07:23:00.001-06:00

I was so excited when I won a giveaway on facebook from Sweet Tea and Linen. She has one of my favorite etsy stores! I won a gift certificate and used it on this burlap tree skirt.

I have never had a tree skirt and now that I have this one, I don't know why I waited so long! I love it! Carolyn does such a wonderful job!

I can't put presents out because Westin would just tear into them. (He already opened one in the first five minutes I had them out.) Haha! I'm not even sad about it though because I would rather look at the pretty tree skirt! :)

You may remember the burlap runner I keep on my dining room table and used at my friend's shower. Carolyn of Sweet Tea and Linen also made the runner.

She has agreed to give away a runner to one lucky reader! You can choose from three colors of burlap and and choose either cream or white cotton muslin for the lining.

She has so many cute things in her etsy shop. You can find it HERE. To enter in the giveaway, visit her etsy shop and let me know what your favorite item is. Also, it is not required but you probably want to follow her on facebook too so you keep up with her latest products. Find her HERE. Remember to leave your email address if you don't have a blog! The winner will be randomly chosen on Sunday evening. Good luck!

Christmas Decorations

2011-11-30T15:54:00.001-06:00

We always put up our Christmas decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving. We are gone the whole weekend of Thanksgiving so it is nice to come back to an already decorated home. To me, that is stress-free!

This post contains a lot of pictures! :) Here is our Christmas tree. I think I said last year how much I loved having the tree in our dining room. It is open to the living room and kitchen so we can see it all day but it doesn't crowd the mantel and the best part is we don't have to re-arrange any furniture.

I didn't really have anything for my dining room table so I used a platter I already had and added some left over ornaments.

This is the sofa table. That red candle holder has already gone missing. I'm pretty sure I know who the curious hands belong to but what I can't figure out is where he hid it. I have searched for two days looking for it! The only conclusion I have is that he threw it away and I never saw it in the trash. He loves "helping" by throwing trash away. This morning I found his milk cup in the trash can.

The mantel is always one of my favorites because you see it right when you walk in the front door and I love the nativity. I got it several years ago on clearance at Hobby Lobby. Seven years later, I still love our stockings too. They are from Ballard Designs. I'm looking forward to adding another one up there next year! Hers is the opposite of Westin's-green stripes with red polka dots.

Dining room.

I printed THIS Christmas printable yesterday and it is in the large black frame now.

Westin loves looking at this picture of him and Santa from last year. I'm so curious to see how he reacts to Santa this year. I think we are going to take him tomorrow night.

This is my favorite spot in our kitchen right now. I love this printable from Jones Design Company. You can find it HERE. I usually hang those ornaments from our kitchen chandelier but wanted to change it up a bit this year so I just put them in some small silver dishes. I love looking for silver pieces at antique stores. You can usually find them for a couple of dollars and they look great with candles in them too.

I got that Santa mug this year at a flea market for $2.00. My goal is to put some peppermint sticks in it. We will see if that gets accomplished. ;)

The Lori C. Mitchell elves found a place on a silver tray by the sink.

I'll be the first to admit that I think this little vignette looks a little "off" but the Santa looked a little lonely by himself so I added the ornaments on the candlesticks. It will do for now. Haha

Our little countdown man.

The guest bath got a Christmas sign and wreath on one wall and some Santa candlesticks on the counter.

There will be a GREAT giveaway on Friday! One of my favorite etsy sites will be giving away a burlap runner like the one on my dining room table. So be sure to stop back by on Friday!

Our Little Turkey

2011-11-28T13:52:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We got to see a lot of family and eat a lot of good food. We have a lot to be thankful for this season too. We are so thankful for Westin and the new baby! I'm a little over half way there!

Lindsey and I crafted some turkey shirts for our kiddos a couple of weeks ago. Westin was excited about his turkey!

Our last Thanksgiving as a family of three! Westin has no idea what is coming but he is constantly saying, "baby sister" and kissing my stomach. I hope his love continues when she is here in person! :)

I'm in major nesting mode and trying to clean out every cabinet, drawer and closet. We are going to be moving around three bedrooms soon so I'm trying to get a head start on it. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed! Westin's room will become the new nursery, the back guestroom will be Westin's room and the front guestroom will be a new guestroom. We have a lot going on but I love having projects and to-do lists. :)

20 Weeks and Random Buys

2011-11-21T15:21:00.000-06:00

We had our 20 week ultrasound today. Everything looks great! She is weighing 13 oz and measuring a week ahead. Her heartbeat was 143. My next appointment is in 5 weeks and it is the glucose test. I actually like the fruit juice! Ha! We have a name for her which I will announce soon once we finalize the middle name. :)

These next pictures are totally random and way over-due but that is how I am functioning these days. :)

These were the first two gifts we received when we found out we were pregnant. Elizabeth got us the burp cloth and my parents got us the soft lovie. I hope she likes her lovies as much as her brother does. It is so cute!

You are probably wondering what in the world is that thing?! Haha! It is an old mattress spring that I got at our local craft fair. Yes, I paid money for it. I thought it was $2 and then I saw it was $5. I wasn't going to get it but Westin broke something in their booth so I felt bad and bought it. :) I plan on using it in the nursery with a picture in it where the card is.

I also got our family ornament for this year at the White Washed Comfort booth. I went back to get one with the new baby's initial but they didn't have it. :(

This was just a fun ornament I bought because I liked the colors. These are the colors of our tree.

This pillow is actually a Christmas gift for a friend. So if your name starts with a C and we have been BFF's since 7th grade then, surprise! Here is your Christmas gift. ;) HERE is the Lola and Bea shop.

I love Santas and I love glitter so I bought this Christmas picture. I wish I would have gotten a card from this booth because their stuff was so cute and reasonable.

Here are some other fun links:

The Blue Lark- Cute jewelry
Oh Lime- Original art and photography. I got some cute magnets.
The Pink Lilli- Very cute baby and children's clothes and accessories.
Adornaments- I always love this jewelry booth!

Gender Reveal Party

2011-11-13T16:18:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it a week without looking at the envelope! I thought it would be hard to not peek but I honestly didn't even think about it unless someone asked me about it. I actually didn't even take it out of my purse all week! I guess that shows you how all consuming having another child at home can be. :) Westin takes all my energy! I didn't even have time to think about it. Haha! I am so glad we didn't peek because we were both completely shocked on Saturday.

We had the party at my parent's house so it was more centrally located and more of Cody's family could come. My mom was the perfect hostess and put a lot of work into the party. I couldn't have done it without her!

My mom got the cake and we made the cupcakes. Cody's mom brought the cookies so were set!

Westin with Papa and Gigi. I told him I was going to take a picture with him and Papa and Gigi so he just put his arms around them like he was an old pro. It was so cute!

We took the envelope to my parent's neighbor and she filled the box with either pink or blue balloons depending on what the ultrasound said. :) Of course I saw this idea on pinterest, HERE. I painted the chalkboard on the box so we could get a tally of every one's opinions. As everyone arrived they made a mark under boy or girl depending on what they thought it was going to be. I told them they couldn't make a mark based on wishful thinking but on what they truly thought it was going to be. Haha!

Our family members that were able to come. (My dad is taking the picture.) The final tally was boy-8 and girl-9.

As we were ripping the tape off, Cody and I were able to see the color of the balloons first.

My face is one of pure shock! Ha!

It's a GIRL!!

I was honestly shocked. Cody said he had begun thinking it was a girl the past week so he was more prepared. I had been feeling it was a boy all along and the heartbeat was exactly what Westin's was so I just thought for sure we were going to have another boy.

Checking out the "proof". The ultrasound picture that shows the gender.

Everyone was sweet to bring a little gender neutral gift. Westin took ownership over this little lovie. He will soon be sharing with his baby sister!

A sweet smocked dress from my parents.

It was SO FUN finding out the gender with everyone at the same time! I loved doing that with Westin and it was probably even more fun this time since I was so shocked. I had never even thought about it being a girl because a boy is all I know but I have to say, I'm very excited about it!! I think it will be so fun to have one of each and I know Westin will be a great big brother to his sister. Plus, my mom and I went shopping after the party and she bought her 4 outfits which was really fun! I know I will probably be getting in trouble shopping for a girl. :) We are very thankful for a second baby and so excited to learn what it means to be parents to a girl.

We also already bought her crib and an antique chest of drawers, so I'll show you those pictures soon!

The Results Are In

2011-11-12T19:44:00.000-06:00

Watch the video below to see if we are having a boy or girl! :)

Boy or Girl?

2011-11-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

My doctor let us find out a little early what we are having. I'm 17.5 weeks so we got to have a fun ultrasound yesterday. We closed our eyes while the technician took a peek but we were able to watch this baby moving all around.

Here we are after our appointment. She put the results in an envelope and we will find out next Saturday when we have a little party with our families. It hasn't been as hard as I thought to not peek. I'm sure it will get harder as the week goes on. :)

Pregnancy Notes:
-I've been feeling all along that it is a boy but now I'm kind of wishy washy. I'm going to be surprised either way on Saturday, I think.
-I'm feeling so much better! I still take one Zofran in the morning but that is it all day.
-Wearing maternity pants but my normal shirts. I'm sure maternity shirts are not far away. My belly is still in that awkward, "is she pregnant?" stage. :)
-I feel the baby move more and more every day. I felt it early on (about 14 weeks) but there would be days in between that I wouldn't feel anything. Now I feel it moving everyday. Mostly at night.
-We are pretty set on a boy name but haven't talked about any girl names.
-The heartbeat was 149 yesterday. Any guesses on what you think it is?

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to scroll down one post to see what is on Very Jane today.

We had a fun night trick or treating last night! We got started around 6:30 and it took about an hour and a half to walk around the neighborhood loop. Westin wanted to walk in every one's house and actually made it to some one's kitchen!

For Zach, half the fun was ringing the doorbell. He averaged about three rings per house. :)

This witch actually started moving and talking which sent Zach running! Westin just starred at her and wasn't sure if he should be scared or not. They were able to push through their fright to get some candy though. Of course.

Pause for a picture.

I think Westin had about 3 suckers last night. If the people at the houses let him choose what he wanted out of their bowl then he would dig for a sucker. If he couldn't find one he would get M&M's.

I think it's funny that Zach and Westin both have candy in their mouth in these last pictures. It was a fun night and it was so fun to see how excited Zach and Westin were running from house to house. :)

Very Jane

2011-11-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

Have you been to Very Jane? It is very much like Groupdealz with their daily deals. Right now Twice As Nice Lettering is featuring two of their Christmas vinyls. These are regularly $12 each but through Very Jane, you can choose which one you want for $4.50! I love the days until Christmas vinyl because I think it would be really cute on a framed chalkboard.

I'll be back later with trick or treating pics. :)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:21:00.000-05:00

Of course I think Westin is the cutest cheeseburger around! :) He got to wear his costume to Mother's Day Out today so we snapped some pictures before we left.

He actually really loves his costume! He keeps rubbing it and saying it is "sauce" (soft).

He wore his shirt on Saturday and loved it too. He kept calling it a monster shirt. Haha

Last night we went to our church's Blocktoberfest Carnival. It was much bigger than I was expecting. There were tons of rides, bounce houses, games, fun houses, candy, food and even a petting zoo.

I didn't know if Westin would be scared of the rides but he loved them and did not want to get off. There were only three that he was big enough to ride but he loved the airplanes.

I know this is blurry but this is what his face looked like most of the night. He was having so much fun!

He even got to hold a chicken.

Adeline and Westin liked petting the donkey.

Lindsey and I stood in line for close to an hour for a funnel cake. Cody thought we were absolutely crazy but you can't go to a carnival and not get a funnel cake! To keep Westin and Adeline entertained, they were given plenty of candy. Westin was wired when we got home!

We've been having so much fun and are looking forward to trick or treating tonight with Zach and Colson!

Fall Decorations

2011-10-28T14:49:00.000-05:00

Hello!!! I cannot believe it has been so long since I blogged! Y'all were sweet to check in on me. We are doing great. I tried to blog a couple of times but our Internet was down for some reason. It's working today though!

I am 16 weeks now and feeling better each day. I'm so thankful! I think week 14 was a turn around and every day gets better and better. We find out what we are having in a week but I think we are going to do another gender reveal party so we won't actually find out until the following weekend. Crazy, I know! I like to find out at the same time as everyone else. :)

I put out our fall decorations several weeks ago and here are a few pictures.

Our mantel.

I found the fall subway art HERE on pinterest. I printed it out at Sam's Club for around $2.00.

A few trick or treaters found their way onto a silver tray in the kitchen. The treat jar was full a couple of weeks ago. :)

The guest bathroom.

Even Westin's room got a few decorations.

He has actually never even tried to play with this pumpkin man!

Just in the nick of time I finished his Halloween shirt. I found the idea HERE on pinterest (of course.)

We are off to trick or treat at Daddy's work and then to a pumpkin carving contest tonight. We have a birthday party to go to tomorrow and Sunday our church is having a Fall Carnival. Of course on Monday night we will trick or treat around the neighborhood. I'm excited about our full weekend! Westin is going to be a cheeseburger. :)

Have a great weekend!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-10T12:01:00.000-05:00

Hello! It's been a long time since I've been on here! I am 14 weeks today and still feeling pretty sick. I'm ready to like food again! Haha!

A couple of weeks ago we went to the pumpkin patch with Jason and Katie and my parents. It was really fun! This was a huge farm with two corn mazes, a petting zoo, pony rides, hay rides and of course the pumpkin patch. It was the best pumpkin patch I've been to. We went in the kiddie maze which supposedly took 5 minutes. Well, we got lost and 20 minutes later we found the way out. :)

Westin liked the goats and wanted to touch them if we were holding him.

This "corn kernel box" was a great alternative to a sand box! Westin and Zach loved it.

Our pumpkin. We tried to find the biggest one we could carry. :)

G-Daddy and Gran with their boys.

Westin didn't like the fact that G-Daddy put him down for this picture. Always drama! :)

I have managed to put our fall decorations out, which I'm excited about. I'll post those pictures soon!

Westin Lately and Some Blog-Keeping

2011-09-29T15:04:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have so many thoughts running through my head. So this post will be totally random with very random pictures of Westin lately.

So according to the comments on my Mother's Day Out post, MDO is definitely a Southern thing. I'm not sure why! It is a great ministry that most churches offer down here. Usually you can send your child one to three days a week for 4 or 5 hours for a small fee. It is much cheaper than getting a babysitter. Westin's school averages out to a little over $4 an hour since he goes one day. It would actually be cheaper if he went two days. So this is the perfect time to grocery shop or run those little errands that are not fun with a baby. You Northern girls should look into bringing this to your church. :)

Westin walking around in his sleep sack.

Apparently in my Details post, I left out an important detail. My due date! Haha! I am due April 11th. However, since it will be a c-section (since Westin was) it will be at least a week earlier than my due date. Since I only made it to 37 weeks with Westin I am so curious how this pregnancy will go. Obviously I am definitely praying that I do not develop pre-eclampsia again. Oh, that was not fun.

He doesn't look very guilty to me.

I have a confession....my inbox is overwhelming me. I had to delete everything (500+ emails) and start over. So if you have emailed me a question in the last couple of months, please email them again and I promise I will answer them. And hopefully in a more timely manner. I never want to ignore you so please know I try so hard to stay on top of things.

It seems like someone asked me where I got my dining room drapes. I got the yellow and cream silk fabric at Hobby Lobby and made them myself. It has been about 6 years since I made them and I haven't seen that fabric there in awhile but there is one very similar. Mine is more of a horizontal stripe fabric and the one at Hobby Lobby is sort of a checked fabric.

Westin loves to wear this yellow headband.

This is such a "cheeeeese" face but I think it is hilarious.

He had his first popsicle the other day. He was tired of it about half way through.

My parents have had Westin since Sunday. I am majorly missing him but have enjoyed my break. I have felt pretty sick all week so it has been nice to throw up in peace. Ha! For some reason Westin likes to be held or running through my legs when I'm sick. Haha! I know y'all were dying to know that. ;)

Anyways, I get to see him tonight and I cannot wait!! Have a great weekend!

Pinterest Project #3

2011-09-26T07:23:00.002-05:00

Thank you again for all your wonderful comments. I loved reading each one, even if I don't get to respond to each one. Thank you!

A couple of weeks ago I made another pinterest project. I first saw these HERE and knew I wanted to make one.

This was another easy fast project and only took two days because I let the paint dry overnight. I actually forgot to put this on our door this past Saturday, although I don't think it could have helped our poor Hogs. We still love them though!

These are the steps I followed:

1. Make a pattern out of poster board.

2. Trace around the poster board with chalk onto two layers of burlap.

3. Cut out the burlap and draw your design in chalk.

4. I used regular craft paint to paint on the burlap with a foam brush. Just beware that a lot of fibers from your burlap will come off on your brush but it doesn't hurt the overall look. It also helped to sort of tap the paint brush on the fabric like you would do if you were stenciling.

5. Trace around your designs with puff paint. (I was giggling at myself as I was buying puff paint because it just seemed so 80's. Haha!)

A little tip: You cannot tell in the picture below but the red "Hogs" and the red polka dots dried a different color. The "Hogs" is painted directly on the burlap and the polka dots are painted on white paint. So "Hogs" dried a little darker. If I did it again I would paint the polka dots on the burlap too and then paint white around it.

6. Staple the hanging ribbon to the backside of the front of the football. Staple around the football leaving a small opening and then stuff with tissue paper or old plastic bags and then finish stapling closed.

7. Add as many decorative ribbons as you want.

This was fun to make and hopefully I won't forget to put it out on game days. :) I think it would even be cute for your kid's school too!

The Details

2011-09-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

Thank you sooo much for all of your sweet comments!! I feel so loved and we certainly feel so blessed. If you are anything like me, you are wondering about the details. :) This post will probably have more details than you care to know but I will print this post out for the baby book so I want to remember as much as I can.

We knew we had three frozen embryos we wanted to use when we were ready to have another baby. Of course we weren't sure if any of those would take so we wanted to try as soon as possible. Also, we knew we wanted to go about it a little different this time. Last time, soooo many people walked our journey with us every step of the way (which was great!), but this time we thought it would be fun to have it a complete surprise. So only 4 close friends knew we were about to do a frozen transfer. This was so weird (and so hard to keep from my mom!) but I knew it would be worth it.

So on June 26, 2011, I started my estrogen patches. I changed these every four days, increasing the amount along the way.

On July 14th I had my first ultrasound to make sure I didn't have any cysts or follicles. I got a positive report so the next day I was able to start some antibiotics and the first of many progesterone shots. These shots go in your hip so Cody gives them to me every morning before he goes to work. I can finally stop these shots on Monday. I have no feeling left in either hip. Haha

July 20, 2011 was transfer day!

Cody took off work to stay with Westin and I drove down to Conway the night before to stay with Christina. (This was on a Wednesday and I was leaving Friday for IKEA so we didn't want Westin to stay with a babysitter for two full days.) She was able to come with me on Wednesday to the transfer. I was so thankful! It was such a fun day and we laughed so much. As usual.

They freeze and thaw the embryos in pairs. We got the good news that morning that both embryos had made the thaw and had started to grow right where they left off. The same Dr. who gave us Westin (ha!) put these embryos back in. I love that when he is finished he says, "In God we trust."

We only had to wait 9 days for our pregnancy test. I just had a good feeling about it so that morning I woke up and took a test. With Westin I did not take a home test and waited until 4:50 pm for the nurse to call me and tell me I was pregnant. That was a loooong day! I didn't want to go through with that again so I took one at home and saw "pregnant." Even though I was about 95% sure it would be positive, I was still shocked and still cried. Once you have dealt with infertility, I guess it will always be a shock to actually be pregnant. You just don't get used to it. I still went to the Dr. to take the blood test and it also came back positive.

The little vial was what the embryos were frozen in for two years. You can see the date on there that says, June 30, 2009. The dish is what they thawed them in before the transfer. It is so crazy to me to think that Westin's fraternal twin was frozen for 2 years! :)

I've had three ultrasounds so far. My first one was two weeks after my pregnancy test and it was actually kind of scary. I should have been 6 weeks along but the sack was empty. There was nothing in there. The words, "blighted ovum", "miscarriage", "don't panic yet" and other scary words were said at that appointment. My Dr. had me do some more lab work to make sure my numbers were still rising and called me that afternoon to say they were still rising just not as much as they should be. So she had me come in four days later for another ultrasound. As soon as she got it on the screen we both said, "I see a heartbeat!" Of course I started crying and she said she was just amazed. She said the sac was completely empty four days ago and she normally wouldn't even do an ultrasound this soon but since my numbers were still going up she wanted to double check before we started talking about a miscarriage. God is Good!! Turns out this one was a late implanter. :) I was measuring 6 weeks. So it was just too soon to see anything 4 days prior.

My third ultrasound was this past Monday. I was 11 weeks and it was my normal appointment to hear the heartbeat. We heard it right away and then she gave me an ultrasound just for fun. I love my doctor! She knows infertility patients like a lot of reassurance.

So that is my story! It was definitely a roller coaster ride and full of emotions. I can't imagine going through it without Jesus and I'm so thankful to Him that he never leaves us or forsakes us. It was only because of Him that I had a peace about everything those four days when I thought I was miscarrying. I am also thankful for those four friends (and one blog friend) who prayed us through and for everyone who is praying for us now.

A few more details....

We told my family the night before we left for Florida. We put Westin in his big brother shirt and had Andrew (my brother) film my parent's reaction. When we got to their house we just let them play with Westin and it was fun to watch how long it took for them to notice his shirt. :) It took about 5 minutes. They were SO surprised and excited. I didn't know if my mom would be mad or not for me not telling her but she did say it was nice to be spared all the worry that comes with all the waiting. :)

We told Cody's family a few weeks later when we saw them in person. We did it the same way but they never noticed. Haha After about 15 minutes, Cody finally told Westin to go show Nana his shirt. :) They were also SO excited and very surprised.

How am I feeling? I have been way more sick this time around. Like barely functioning sick. It has not been fun but at the same time I am thankful. With Westin I was only sick in the morning and then felt fine all day. This time I get sick all day and even in the middle of the night. I am taking Zofran but there is not much difference in when I don't take it. I'm too scared to take phenegrin because it just makes me so sleepy. I have a vision of me falling asleep on the couch and waking up to the house totally destroyed while Westin is jumping on the bed. Haha! I get to stop my estrogen patches and progesterone shots Monday so I am hoping that that helps. Thankfully I haven't been as tired this time around. I think it is because I don't have a choice. Ha!

Also, I am still praying for everyone who has asked me to. Some of you have emailed me with updates of positive pregnancy tests and some have emailed me with stories of miscarriage. I don't think we will ever understand why this happens, this side of heaven. It is so unfair and doesn't make sense. Please know I am still praying. I'll be praying until everyone on my two page list gets a baby!

A Few More Florida Pics

2011-09-22T13:32:00.000-05:00

I was going to show you the third pinterest project I've completed but I found these Florida pictures that I had forgotten to share with you! :)

Fall Wreath From Pinterest

2011-09-19T07:02:00.002-05:00

The second Pinterest project I did was make a fall wreath. I actually do not think I've ever made a wreath! Thankfully, Kari Beth came over and we made these together. I first saw this wreath HERE on Pinterest.

This was a very easy and fast project but it was messy. We set up shop in the garage to keep the mess outside.

We took a grapevine wreath and hot glued spanish moss all over the front and sides. Then we glued fake pumpkins on and tied a burlap knot at top. I do love how the inspiration picture had a burlap bow though! We didn't have a long enough strip of burlap to make a bow so it is just a knot today.

Westin and Elle were so good while we were making the wreath. They just played outside by us and even posed for some pictures. :) Hopefully Westin will always be this shy when a girl tries to hug him. Haha!
P.S. Isn't she the cutest?!

Another Fun Pin

2011-09-16T14:02:00.001-05:00

We both survived Mother's Day Out! I got there fifteen minutes early to watch him through the one way window and he was doing so good. He was running around playing and smiling. That made me feel so good! However, all week he has been so clingy. He wants to be by my side or wants me holding him all day long. Even when Cody gets home he only wants me, which is so not like him. So I'm thinking when we get to MDO on Monday it might be a bit more of a struggle. He will know what is coming. I think it is going to take a several weeks for him to get used it.

Also, I don't know if MDO is a Southern thing or not. I've always heard of it and even went when I was a toddler/preschooler. So do other areas in the US have MDO?

I love Pinterest! I have completed three projects this week that I saw on there. The first one I did was make my own phone cover. I saw this idea HERE. I hate spending a lot of money on my phone cover because I get tired of it so quickly. So I knew this would be a great little project.

I got some cute scrapbook paper and a clear iPhone cover. I actually lucked out finding the cover because I was mailing something at UPS and there were some clear covers on the counter. I'm sure you could find one online and maybe even the phone store or Best Buy.

I have the older version phone so a regular hole punch was the perfect size for the camera hole. I also used a template that was in another cover I had bought before.

I used the template to trace around it on the scrapbook paper and then cut it out. I used the hole punch for the camera and then put it in the case. This was one of the easiest projects I have done lately and perfect for me since I can change them out whenever I want. However, now that I don't have a boring solid color cover, Westin thinks he needs to hold my phone at all times. He likes the bird! :)

A Milestone

2011-09-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

Well, it might not technically be a milestone but it sure feels like it to me. Westin had his first day of Mother's Day Out today. After researching a couple of places we decided on one that sounds like a great fit for Westin. It is small and the hours are from 9-1. He will only go on Mondays and my favorite part is that they do not take naps. I just couldn't see Westin sleeping at school so I was happy about this. I thought that might freak him out a bit.

He was all smiles this morning before we left.

His backpack is so cute and pretty much as big as him.

Once we got there, however, his smiles disappeared and he was a little nervous.

Once we got in the room he completely lost it and I almost did. I at least held it together until I was back in the hallway. I definitely shed a few tears as I was watching him through the one-way window. I know this is just a part of growing up (for him and me!) and it will be good for both of us. I just hope he gets used it pretty quickly.

Elizabeth is also taking Asa once a week and his room is next door to Westin's. We had to get a picture of the brave Mama's before we left. :) My plan today is to stay busy but I am already looking forward to 1:00!

Quick Fun Project

2011-09-06T06:45:00.002-05:00

We've been so busy lately I've missed doing little creative projects. On Saturday, our laundry was overflowing and there was a pile of dishes in the sink but I started a creative project instead. :) Cody walked by and jokingly said, "You always find something to do that doesn't need to be done." haha So true.

Awhile ago I saw THIS project on pinterest and wanted to re-create it. I didn't reference it before I bought the supplies so I had forgotten that hers was three tiered. I like hers better but still had fun making mine.

I bought the burner covers on clearance at Old Time Pottery in Florida but got the wooden pieces and spray paint at Hobby Lobby. I painted the wooden pieces white and gave the burner covers several coats of the avocado spray paint.

I glued everything together with E-6000 glue. It has held up really well. I can't wait until I have an excuse to use it. This was such a fun little project. The longest part was the drying time in between spray painting coats but I still finished everything within a couple hours of starting.

You can find me on pinterest HERE. I hope everyone had a fun holiday weekend!

Beach Pics

2011-08-30T14:54:00.000-05:00

Our last night on the beach we took some family pictures. You know, the night where you take a million pictures hoping for a few good ones. :) Westin did good for the first few pictures and then he was done.

He learned how to show his muscles. ;)

He always loves to do "touchdown!" too.

This was the best family shot we got. He wasn't into the group pics.

G-Daddy and Gran

Gran and G-Daddy with their grandsons.

Papa and Gigi with the boys.

All the boys.

And all the girls.

My mom bought the boys these matching shirts. You never know how the picture will go with these three. Z loves putting his hands on their heads but Westin and Cols aren't too sure about it. ;)

Just like every year, we had a great time. It was so different this year with an almost 18 month old as opposed to the 6 month old we had last year. I would say this year was easier though. I think it will only get more fun from here on out! Maybe a little crazier, but definitely more fun. :)

Vacation and Groopdealz

2011-08-23T20:42:00.000-05:00

I haven't meant to be so quiet around here, we have just been so busy. So there hasn't been much to blog about. We are in Destin, FL having a wonderful family vacation. There are 14 of us here so it is fun and loud. :)

Westin likes the beach okay but loves the pool more. He doesn't like it too much when sand gets on his hands but he is learning to get over it.

He has to wear his life vest in the pool because he is so wild and crazy! He trys to run as fast as he can away from us and jump in before we can catch him.

Poor baby is as white as the sand. He blends right in.

The water has been so calm and crystal clear. These really are some of the most beautiful beaches.

Also, the sweet ladies of Twice as Nice are being featured on Groopdealz on Wednesday. These decals are perfect for Grandparent's Day which is Sept. 11th. :) Click HERE.

Our Days In iPhone Pics

2011-08-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

Wow. I can't believe I haven't opened my computer since my last post. Life is just buzzing by and we are enjoying the ride! We spend our days playing, playing and playing. Here are some pictures from my phone that show a bit of our days.

Westin loves story time at the library! He thinks everyone is singing to him. He sits in the middle of the circle and takes it all in.

He also loves the computers at the library. He thinks the keyboard mouse is a phone.

Classic.

I would have thought he had outgrown this little hobby, but toilet paper continues to be a favorite around here.

We went to Old Navy the other day and Westin could not get past the mannequins. He loved them! He waved to all of them and absolutely loved the dog. He spent about 20 minutes talking to the dog.

This random cow was just standing on the side of the road on our way home from Walmart the other day. After I took his picture he took off running. Thankfully in the other direction.

I walked in our room and found Westin laying on the ground watching a movie. (I had turned the movie on and he was in and out of the room playing.) He had gotten his lovies out of his crib and just laid right down on a pillow. He loves being comfy cozy!

In other news, I finally got Cody to hang the new drapes in the guestroom. Once I finish switching up the bedding in the other guestroom I'll take some pics. :)

Two Years

2011-08-11T06:13:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Reese!

We wish more than anything we were celebrating your birthday with you but we know one day we will all be together again and we can't wait. We love you so much!

"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be."

Psalm 139:13 - 16

Westin-17 Months

2011-08-07T16:01:00.000-05:00

**I unchecked the box to keep me signed in so hopefully that helps with the comment problem!

***Also, last call for the Little House Tees winner to claim your prize! Click HERE to see if you are the winner. I will pick a new winner Monday night if I haven't heard from the winner by then.

I haven't done a post in awhile about what Westin is up to these days so I thought it was time. He turned 17 months last Friday the 5th. I love this age/stage! I think I always say that but there is something about watching them learn and figure things out that is just so fun. Plus, listening to them say new words every day just makes you feel so proud of them.

He is such a character! He has the most facial expressions I have ever seen. He is such a little turkey too! He knows exactly when he is in trouble and knows exactly how to smile to get out of it. He is happy 99% of the time and is just such a joy to be around. He is also so fun to be around. He loves to smile and wave to everyone he sees and has gotten sooo much better about being dropped off at nursery. Here are a few other things he is doing these days:

He loves to be outside. I hear, "outside, outside" all day long. He wakes up saying it sometimes.

He loves to mimic almost every word we say or anything we do. I feel like he "talks" so much for a little boy. He always has something to say.

He loves animals and can do the sound for the elephant, monkey, snake, pig, cow, cat, dog, horse, sheep, owl, and lion.

His favorite toy by far is a ball.

This summer he has learned to love swimming and playing in the sprinkler or water hose.

He has also started to like books. Yay!

If we are home in the morning he will take a 2 hour nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap. If we go somewhere in the mornings he will take a longer afternoon nap. He loves his bed!

He goes to bed around 8:00-8:30 pm and wakes up around 7:00-7:30 am. He sleeps with his pillow and two lovies. He also still loves his sleep sack!

He weighs about 21-22 pounds, wears a size 3 diaper and wears 12 month clothing and some 18 month shirts.

His favorite foods are still chicken, fish and pizza. He also loves some french fries!

He has 9 teeth and got his first molar a couple of weeks ago.

He has also started to love his milk and ask for it. He drinks about 2 or 3 sippy cups a day. He still drinks mostly water though and doesn't care for any kinds of juice.

He loves to dance and jump. He also LOVES stairs and if he sees any he just goes up and down them over and over and over and over.

He loves to snap his fingers.

Forget walking, all he does is run! Even if it is just from the living room to the kitchen. He runs everywhere!

He won't watch any cartoons but still loves his Baby Einstein and Praise Baby DVD's.

One of my favorite things he does is run up to me and pull me to wherever he needs me. It is usually to get a ball that is stuck under the table or to get his milk out of the fridge. I love that he knows I can do whatever he needs me to do and that he is trying to communicate with me.

I know I'm probably leaving out sooo much because he does something new every single day. I love watching him explore and learn! I am so blessed to be his Mama and love him so much!

Pat's Again Winner!

2011-08-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry I'm just now posting this....Yesterday, Elizabeth and I decided to take a last minute trip to Little Rock to see her sister and her new baby. :) So we have been getting some snuggles in with 3 week old baby Lilly. Who is just as cute as can be!

According to random.org, the winner of the plate holder is

#11, Susan! You left your email address so I'll be emailing your

email address at Debbie so she can get your info!

Thanks to everyone who entered!!

P.S. I know several people are having trouble commenting on my blog and I have the same problem on other blogs.....does anyone have any tips? I've been told blogger knows about the problem.

Pat's Again Giveaway

2011-08-01T08:32:00.005-05:00

Yay! Another fun giveaway! Thanks to Debbie of Pat's Again for this one. She actually goes to my church and contacted me about a year ago about doing a giveaway but my reply email was lost in cyber space. So I'm so glad she emailed me again a couple of weeks ago! She has offered to giveaway this great plate holder to one reader.

There are so many uses for this plate holder! I had fun playing around with it this weekend. I dropped two of my everyday bowls into it to hold some jewelry and bathroom accessories.

But my favorite way to use it was with plates and yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies! Of course! These are always fun to use at parties and showers holding yummy cupcakes. I also love small details so I think my favorite part of the plate holder is the pretty wooden handle. :)

If you would like to be entered in the drawing, please visit Pat's Again and let me know your favorite item they are offering right now (their candles are amazing!). For a second entry, "like" Pat's Again on facebook, HERE. Random.org will pick a winner Wednesday evening. Thank you, Debbie!

Also, I still haven't heard from the Little House Tees winner. Please click HERE to see if you are the winner!

E-Mealz Winner

2011-08-01T07:23:00.002-05:00

According to random.org, the winner of the

E-Mealz 3 month plan is

#28, Anonymous (Wendy)! Thank you for leaving your email address. I'll email you today.

Congratulations!

If you didn't win and want to get 10% off click the picture below and enter

the code, BLESSNEST at checkout.

Ikea Finds

2011-07-29T10:00:00.002-05:00

Don't forget to scroll down to enter the E-Mealz giveaway, or just click HERE. It's a good one!

I finally got around to taking pictures of my IKEA finds. They were out of some things I wanted but my main goal was new bedding for our bedroom and I found some! We have had all white bedding since we got married over 7 years ago. It has held up great but I was just ready for a change.

Please ignore the brown headboard. I'll be recovering it in a white fabric as soon as I can get to the store to get it. Also, I don't know why it only came with 2 Euro shams? Anybody have an extra one you want to sell me??? :) (seriously, I'll buy it!) I would love to put three Euros in the back with the white king shams in front and then the decorative cases in front of those. This is a Queen/King quilt and it is almost too big for our king bed. Haha!

I also got the white oblong pillow from IKEA. I am really happy with everything! Hopefully this will last us another 7 years. :)

My mom and I both got these pretty pillows for our couch and as soon as we got home we wished we had gotten two each. Isn't that how it always works? ;) I love the color it brings to my living room.

Everything else I got was toys. Well, I did get some curtains for the guest room that I'll show you after Cody hangs them up. I moved our white bedding into the back guest room and moved some of the guest room bedding into the small guestroom. It got confusing there for a minute in my head but I think it is going to work out great. I'll post pictures soon!

I know I said we would have two giveaways this week but since it took me so long to get my act together, the next giveaway will be Monday. It's a good one too! :)

Have a great weekend!

E-Mealz Giveaway

2011-07-28T07:16:00.009-05:00

Whew, I think I've decided you always need a few days to recover from being gone a few days! Haha! I still haven't been able to photograph my IKEA finds so we will have another giveway!

I was so excited when Heather from E-Mealz contacted me to review and give away one of their meal plans. A couple of my friends already use this and love it. Basically you pay $5.00 per month (or $1.25 per week!) to get weekly meal plans and shopping lists. The best part is that they base your meal plans on what is on sale that week!

So, you choose what plan you want (there are tons to choose from.) They have over 20 plans that range from serving 2-6 people. We chose Walmart for 2 since I shop at Walmart. Each week I am emailed me a meal plan with a shopping list for Walmart. The shopping list will even tell you what aisle the item you need is on. These shopping lists are SO convenient. Plus, I actually already had a lot of the ingredients they called for. Here is an example of one of our favorite meals I made off the menu.

Chicken and Rice Taco Fiesta

This was really good and really easy! Everything I have made has been super easy which is nice since I am not a good cook. Cody even gave this meal a good review and that says a lot since he is the pickiest eater you have ever met.

Do you want to win a three month subscription to E-Mealz? That's about 60 recipes customized for your family. Random.org will pick a winner Saturday.

Lot's of ways to enter this giveaway (leave a separate comment for each):

1. Go visit E-Mealz and leave a comment here letting me know what plan you would choose.

2. Leave a separate comment if you like them on Facebook, HERE

3. Go visit E-Mealz BLOG and like your favorite blog post.

4. Tweet what meal plan you would like from @E-Mealz.

PLUS

Click the picture below to be taken to the site. If you would like to order a meal plan, use discount code

BLESSNEST to get 10% off!

Giveaway Winner

2011-07-25T11:19:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to number 45! Random.org picked you as the

Little House Tees

giveaway winner!

Jenn from The 3 Amigos please email me at row35401 at yahoo.com and I will
send your info to Jennifer of Little House Tees.

Thanks again, Jennifer for a fun giveaway!!

I'm hoping to get pictures of my IKEA finds today and have those posted tonight or tomorrow. We had so much fun and we all found some great things! Also, there will be TWO more giveaways this week! Yay! Have a great Monday and hopefully I will be able to get back on here during nap time or tonight. ;)

Little House Tees Giveaway!

2011-07-22T07:57:00.005-05:00

We started the week off with a giveaway, so let's end the week with one too! Jennifer with Little House Tees sent Westin this adorable Razorback shirt with his name on it. He got so excited when he had his new shirt on that he started running everywhere and going crazy! Haha!

Cody was also so excited that Westin now has a Razorback shirt. :) I can't wait for him to wear it this football season. Plus, it is soo soft!

Little House Tees has the cutest shirts! They offer so many cute styles! Including these fun big brother/big sister shirts.

I also loooove these adorable pumpkin shirts!

I know you will love these cute shirts as much as I do. Jennifer is offering to give a shirt away to a lucky reader! If you would like to win one, go visit her site HERE and let me know which design you would choose. Random.org will pick a winner Monday. Thank you, Jennifer!

Giveaway Winner

2011-07-20T09:09:00.000-05:00

According to random.org, the winner of the

Twice As Nice Kitchen Labels

is number 24!

Congratulations, Mom4Mom!
I don't have your email address so email me your info at row35401 at yahoo dot com and I'll pass it along. Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

**If you didn't win, you can still purchase them at the sale price through the end of this week!**

Family Reunion and Crafts

2011-07-19T10:55:00.001-05:00

***Don't forget to sign up for the cute kitchen label giveaway HERE!***

Over the 4th of July weekend we got to go to a Davis family reunion in Texas. It was h-o-t but a lot of fun! Westin never minds being outside and got to go on a walk in the woods with Nana.

Taking a break on the swing.

I've noticed other kids his age like small steps too. He loved walking off those deck boards onto the ground. He thought he was big stuff!

Taking a break from all that steppin' with his cute little rosy red cheeks.

He developed a love for watermelon on this trip! There is nothing better than watermelon to cool you off on a hot day. It was fun getting to spend some time with family that we don't get to see nearly enough.

Back in the air condition of our home, I have been trying out some more appliques. So far I have ironed these on the kitchen towels but haven't stitched around them yet. I'll probably use my sewing machine on the pennants (that's a lot of stitching!) but hand stitch the others.

I also have 10 burp cloths waiting to be finished. Can you tell I'm really dreading getting my sewing machine out? I just need to sit down and do it. Does anyone else always have to read the instructions on threading the bobbin? Haha!

I doubt these will get finished this week since I'm getting so excited about going to IKEA but hopefully soon! Especially since some of them are gifts! :)

There is going to be another fun giveaway on Friday!

Twice As Nice Lettering Special and Giveaway!

2011-07-17T20:24:00.004-05:00

The sweet ladies of Twice As Nice Lettering are offering you another special and a giveaway to one lucky reader! Right now on their blog, they are having a sale on these fun kitchen labels. The set of 12 is normally $12 but they are offering them to you for $8!

Aren't these so cute? I love them on the containers but they would also be cute if you wanted to make labels for baskets in your pantry.

Be sure to click HERE to order them.

Also, they are going to start offering giveaways and special offers through Twitter and Facebook so be sure to sign up to follow or like them. Click HERE for Twitter and HERE to like on Facebook. You don't want to miss these deals because they are always offering good ones!

To WIN one of these cute sets, leave a comment on this post. If you would like an extra entry, leave a separate comment if you like them on facebook or follow on twitter. So you can leave up to 3 comments for 3 chances at winning!

Be sure to leave your email address if you are anonymous or don't have a blog. Random.org will pick a winner sometime Wednesday! Good luck!

Westin's First Trip to the Library

2011-07-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! Y'all are so sweet. Oh, and my ruffled tank top is from Ann Taylor Loft. I wish I had bought one in every color. :)

Last Monday I took Westin to the library for the first time. (Well, he went when he was about 5-6 months old but he didn't know where he was.) :) It is has been so hot here that we can't play outside until around 6 or 7 pm so we have been looking for indoor activities or activities with water. I plan on taking him to toddler time this next week. This time he just ran around and looked at everything but books.

He worked a few puzzles. And by "worked", I mean he threw the pieces down.

He kept running up to this globe yelling, "ba-oon!" He thought it was a balloon and really wanted it.

Taking it all in.

I'm pretty sure he thought the computer games were movies without sound.

This is how I spent most of my time...following him all over the place.

He had a great time and I loved watching him explore and get so excited over everything! I know he is going to love toddler story time this week.

I mentioned in my last post that I am headed to IKEA on Friday. Yippee! Any recommendations on things I should look at or consider buying? So far on my list is new bedding for our room and possibly the guest room, picture frames, toys, and food storage containers.

My 29th Bday

2011-07-13T15:54:00.000-05:00

This past Friday was my 29th birthday! I've heard this is the age you stay forever. From now on, I will always say I'm 29. ;) It was a fun day! My parents and grandparents came up that afternoon and we played with Westin and when Cody came home we headed out for pizza. I love pizza and always want it. Cody, on the other hand, hardly ever wants it so I had to take advantage of the opportunity since I got to pick the restaurant.

We got a quick family picture before heading out. I didn't get any pics at dinner but Jason and Katie and her parents also joined us.

It was a little cooler outside when we left so we let Westin run around the square for awhile.

Quick pic with Gigi and Papa.

And Gran and G-Daddy.

We then came home and had cake. It was really good! Cody picked it out all by himself. :)

I mostly got $$ for my birthday and I'm saving it for IKEA next weekend. (Lindsey and I are going again and taking our moms!) I did spare $5 for this fun vase from TJMaxx though. :)

Our Fun Weekend

2011-07-12T14:22:00.000-05:00

We had such a fun weekend! My birthday was Friday (post coming soon!) and we celebrated Colson's first birthday on Saturday! Katie did such a good job on his "sweet shop" party. She posted more pictures on her blog, HERE. He loved his first taste of cake!

They had all the guests get a family picture behind this big picture frame. Such a fun idea! Happy Birthday, Colson! We love you so much and we are so glad you are a part of our family!

I also got to work out in the yard this past weekend. I took your advice and cut the dead blooms off my knockout roses and they look so good and are already producing new growth.

Your advice for my gladiolas was to wait until the leaves were wimpy and yellow before cutting them back. Does that also apply to my iris? Can I cut these back?

I think everyone is dealing with the heat lately! It has just been exhausting. Our AC can barely keep up but I am SOO thankful for our AC! I honestly don't know what they did before air conditioning. Westin spends most of his days like this:

He plays so hard that he can hardly stay cool with a shirt on. Haha! I hope y'all are staying cool!

P.S. I have a lot of posts coming up, including a giveaway!

Calling All Gardeners

2011-07-06T15:52:00.000-05:00

I have a lot of plant questions and y'all are always so helpful so I thought I would throw them out there. :) Any advice you have I would love to hear it!

I planted gladiolas this past spring and I am loving them. These are the first things I have ever planted from a bulb. :) The purple ones are my favorite. I know I am supposed to cut off the stem once they have finished blooming but do I also cut all the leaves back to the ground? In the picture above, the plant to the far right by the steps has already bloomed and been cut off. Do I just leave the leaves?

In the picture above, I have no idea what that is! My Grandmother sent a bunch of plants in a bucket and I just randomly planted them. Some have come up as crepe myrtles and some as irises but I'm not sure what this one is. I'm actually thinking it could be a weed that I have been babying and watering every night. ;)

This is my snowball bush. I recently read on line that they are drought resistant and that I shouldn't water it very often. By not watering very often it causes the roots to go further into the ground looking for moisture and makes the branches thicker and sturdier. Also, it said to cut it back about 2' off the ground after it blooms. Does that mean that I should cut it back now? I want the branches to get stronger because right now they cannot hold the blooms in the spring.

In the picture above are my lace cap hydrangeas. Is it normal for them to not bloom one year? They have bloomed the past two years but this year only the far left one has produced any blooms. The leaves are very healthy and they continue to grow.

My butterfly bush is taking over! It gets so huge each year even though I cut it back to about 2 feet in the winter. Is there a way to keep it smaller without loosing the blooms? It is covering up a nandina. :)

I love knockout rose bushes. This one started out as a small little plant last spring and has grown so much! Do you do anything with the dead blooms? I know they are supposedly "self-cleaning" but it sure looks ugly for about 3-4 weeks during it's "cleaning process."

This might be my favorite. Our dogwood tree. These are just SO pretty in the spring! However, I feel like mine is looking very heavy and full. Is this how they are supposed to look? Should I thin it out some? It is actually starting to block some sunlight in our dining room.

I know that is a lot of questions. I would love to hear your suggestions! Thanks in advance!

Thank You and Westin's Shirts

2011-07-02T10:50:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much for all of your comments, emails and facebook messages. I have read every one and will be replying to every one soon. I'm going to be away from my computer for a few days but I plan on responding to everyone by the end of the week. I'll be writing everyone's names down and praying for you by name.

To answer the most frequently asked question-Yes, we plan on using our three frozen embryos in the future. :)

Last week I was able to finish Westin's shirts. They were so fun to make and kind of addicting. I've already started some more projects! Y'all suggested I iron on the fabric pieces first and that made it so much easier. Also, thanks for suggesting I take off the pocket with a seam ripper! I did and you cannot even tell they were there.

I doubled up my thread and did small stitches around each piece. The first shirt took about an hour but the second two just flew by.

Funny story-After I had spent forever cutting, ironing, and stitching the car shirt, I held it up to Westin, so excited to show him. He acted so happy to see it, he grabbed it, hugged it and took off running with it. I didn't think that much about it but about 10 seconds later I went to see where he ran with it. I found him in our bathroom smiling because he had thrown it in the toilet!! I guess that is what he thought about it. Haha!

For my next project, I'm going to use these fun fabrics to make some burp cloths for my friend's babies and some kitchen dish towels for me. I'll keep you posted. ;)

My friend, Christina and I were able to get away for two days (without kids!) this week and go to Branson, MO to lay out by the pool and shop. Branson is only a couple hours away from us. It was so fun and so refreshing! I'm not sure I have laughed so much or so hard in a long time. :) We decided it definitely needs to be an annual tradition!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! We are celebrating with burgers and homemade ice cream tonight and headed to TX for a family reunion tomorrow. Whatever you do, have a great weekend!

Our Journey To Parenthood-Part 3

2011-06-29T15:17:00.000-05:00

Wow. I'm overwhelmed with your comments. Thank you for your support and encouragement. If our story can touch one life and be an encouragement to one other person then it is all worth it.

After many prayers and talks with my doctor, we decided it was time to try In Vitro Fertilization. My official diagnosis was "un-explained infertility." That diagnosis brought mixed feelings. On one hand I was relieved that it wasn't something untreatable but on the other hand I was frustrated because I wanted a reason. To this day we still don't have a reason but that is okay. I could never have imagined we would be two and half years in our journey or that IVF would even be a possibility! I did not know much about IVF except that it was expensive. After talking to my doctor and finding out she had had two successful pregnancies from IVF and that it didn't seem as far fetched as I once thought, I was excited! My Dr.'s clinic is a satellite clinic of Little Rock Fertility Clinic so that was an extra blessing and made it very convenient too. I only had to come to the LR clinic twice.

Cody and I in Florida

Side note-At this point in our journey I decided to keep a journal. I wish I had done it at the beginning but like I said, I never thought it would be a "journey." I would encourage you to start writing down your feelings, concerns, comments, and even all the information you are given at each appointment. I was given a LOT of information at every IVF appointment and I was relaying all that information to all my prayer warriors too so it helped to keep it all straight. :)

So now we are to June 3, 2009. We were in Florida but it was time for me to give myself that first shot that would start my IVF process. That was the first of 20 Lupron shots I would give myself. I am so thankful that none of the shots ever really hurt. It really was not as bad as I was expecting. I watched a lot of You-Tube videos of people giving themselves these same shots and got some good tips.

June 11, 2009-Bad news. In my ultrasound they found a large cyst. The Dr. (not my regular doctor) said we would probably be stopping IVF and starting again in a couple of months. I was devastated. (You have to take birth control the month before you start any of your shots and apparently the birth control gave me a cyst.) I called Cody on the way and I'm not sure he could understand me through my tears but I just didn't want anymore delays.

However, that evening the LR clinic called and said I could have that cyst aspirated the next day if I didn't want to stop my IVF cycle. I drove to LR that night. I had my cyst aspirated and all I can say is that if I ever have to do that again then I will be put under. To this day that was the worst pain of my life. Way worse than recovering from a C-section.

June 15, 2009- This was the day I started my "stimulation" shots. So now I am giving myself two shots a day for the next 8 days. This drug will make me produce a lot of eggs.

Thursday, June 25, 2009- Retrieval Day! This was the day I would come to LR, be put under and have all my eggs taken out. They were able to get 16 eggs.

On our way to the clinic.

Before retrieval

Friday, June 26, 2009-The nurse called and 8 out of the 16 eggs fertilized. She said they hope that half will fertilize so we were looking good.

Saturday, June 27, 2009- We were at the lake with my mom, Jason, Katie and Zach when the Dr. called with my embryo update. (They call every day to update you on how your babies are growing.) Ideally they want the embryos to grow for 5 days before they put them back in. Sometimes they only let them grown for 3 days though if they think they could take a turn for the worse. My mom, Katie and I came back to LR just in case we had to go to the clinic the next day.

Sunday, June 28, 2009- The Dr. said he wants to do a 3 day transfer so we went in that day at 10am. Dr. B put two of our embryos back in while we watched on the ultrasound screen. My mom and Katie were able to be in the room. Talk about an emotional moment watching two of your babies being put into your womb. When he was finished, he said, "in God we trust." Couldn't have said it better myself. They were able to freeze 3 embryos for future use.

Before transfer

Fun side note-Technically those 3 embryos are Westin's fraternal twins since they all were conceived the same day during the same cycle. I think that is neat.

After the procedure I was on bed rest for 48 hours.

Now the waiting begins. My blood pregnancy test was scheduled for July 9th. The day after my birthday. I'm sure you can guess what my wish was when I blew out my candles! :)

Thursday, July 9, 2009- I was up very early because I couldn't sleep. It is amazing all the emotions you can feel and even convince yourself. I had completely convinced myself I wasn't pregnant so if it was negative I wouldn't have been surprised. I took my blood test at 11:30 (Elizabeth went with me!) and I was told I would have my results by 1:30. I spent all day with Katie and Zach and every time my phone rang our hearts stopped beating for a second. Would you believe they did not call with the results until 4:30!!! Talk about the longest day of my life.

From my journal: Praise the LORD! I'm pregnant! I was completely shocked and Katie and I started crying and screaming. It was so surreal. After getting a negative every month for almost three years, it is hard to actually believe you could get a positive!! She called all the prayer warriors she had praying for me and I called my prayer warriors.

The dish Westin grew in for 3 days.

Cody was out of town for work but when I called and told him he said he knew all along. ;) My mom couldn't talk because she was crying and my dad was getting his oil changed and was crying in the waiting room. I had dreamed about what it would be like to make those phone calls and it was so fun! Everybody I called just started crying and would get me crying all over again. HERE is the post where I announced it on my blog.

Family celebration party

So that is our story. I know it was not nearly as hard or as long as some of your journeys. Some of you have shared your success stories with me and some are still waiting. When you are waiting for a baby, either a few months or 10+ years, the wait is agonizing. I will always pray for those who are still waiting. If you ever need to talk, please email me! I would love to become your prayer warrior.

Thank you for letting me share our story.

Flowers sent from Christina and Trey.

Our Journey To Parenthood-Part 2

2011-06-28T07:49:00.002-05:00

The next step for us was a different fertility drug called Femara. It works like Clomid but some people who do not get pregnant on Clomid, get pregnant on Femara. We did about 3 or 4 months of Femara with artificial insemination. After those very disappointing months I took a few months off. I was tired of all the drugs, calculations, shots (a "trigger" shot to make me ovulate) and just tired of all the emotions!

I will say that the day every month, when I found out I wasn't pregnant, was hard. Very hard. There were lots of tears on those days and lots of "why me?!" However, it is truly amazing how the very next day, I was at peace and had hope again. I was already looking ahead to what our plan would be that month. I am so thankful to the Lord for not ever letting me get down or depressed about the process. He is so good to us and so faithful!

When we started trying to conceive, I never thought I would still be waiting to get pregnant when Zach was born (Katie and I started trying around the same time-although we didn't know it at the time. :)). Much less at his first birthday!

Also, I never thought I would see my best friend have two babies while I still waited.

I know that both Katie and Christina were nervous to tell me they were pregnant but I was truly SO happy for them! I cannot take credit for those feelings because without the Lord's help I know I could have easily been bitter and jealous. I always told them that I thought it was because I loved them so much that I couldn't have been anything but happy for them. I am thankful that the Lord did not let me dwell on the negative feelings in this process. I had my pity party on that one day of each month but that was it. I also had the encouragement of sooo many faithful friends and family members who helped me stay positive! You know who you are! I'm not sure I have ever had so many people praying for me. Westin's baby book is FILLED with encouraging cards, emails and Bible verses that helped me along the way.

I would encourage you to confide in someone if you are in this process. At first I didn't want to tell anyone, but it is such a lonely place to be. Husbands only understand your emotions so much. ;) Tell a friend so they can be praying for you and encouraging you along the way. They can also be there that one day when you just need to cry and vent. :) If you do not have anyone you feel like you can tell, please email me! I will be your prayer partner and friend in your journey.

Before I get to the part of our journey that worked for us, I wanted to share some Bible verses that were very encouraging to me. I wrote these out and kept them in our bathroom. I read them multiple times a day and believed the promises in them.

Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with boldness, freedom and confidence.

Daniel 4:37 Praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all his ways are just.

II Timothy 2:13 Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, He remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of Himself, and He will always carry out His promises to us.

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

Ephesians 3:14 &20 For this reason I kneel before the Father...Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

There were many more verses that I read every day and will email them to you if you are interested.

After 2.5 years, we decided it was time for the next step.

Our Journey To Parenthood-Part 1

2011-06-27T07:34:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure how many parts this will be but I'm just going to start typing. I think the reason I have not made the time to sit down before this, is because these emotions are hard. They are not fun to re-live but a lot of you are living in them right now so I know I can go there. And hopefully my story will be encouraging to you and give you some hope. Also, this is just our story. Your story will most likely look very different. I am not saying your journey should go in this specific order. We all do what we feel comfortable with after much prayer and conversation with your doctor.

Cody and I were married in May of 2004. We thought we would enjoy married life for a year or two and then have some kids. We had it all planned out! :) Obviously God had some different plans and His plans are perfect. We started trying to have a baby in September of 2006. I had never really known anyone who had trouble conceiving so it never even crossed my mind. Honestly, my biggest worry was that our baby would be born in 2007 and odd numbers are hard for me to remember!  Haha! Sad, but true. After six or seven months of negative results I went to my regular doctor and she encouraged me to keep trying naturally for about 6 more months. She didn't want to jump right in on fertility treatments because I was very "normal" and regular and it usually takes couples up to a year the first time.

That first year I wasn't too stressed but I was getting a little anxious. When you ready for a baby, you are ready! Toward the end of the year I started wondering if this was ever going to happen for us.

After that first year, we started trying the fertility drug, Clomid. I responded great every time! I was told it usually takes about 1-3 times to work so that is what I expected. After the 5th or 6th month my Dr. suggested we add artificial insemination with the Clomid. I thought this would for sure be the ticket! Why wouldn't it be?  Everything was just as it should be-I was responding perfectly to the Clomid and there was nothing wrong with Cody.

After three unsuccessful rounds of artificial insemination we moved to the next step...

Feeling Crafty!

2011-06-21T16:02:00.000-05:00

Hello! I feel like it has been forever since I've opened my computer! My parent's came up this past weekend and we have a fun Father's Day weekend filled with the pool, park and grilling out. Westin went down a water slide for the first time and also started climbing up and going down a slide at the park by himself. He is just growing up too fast!

I am so thankful for my Dad who basically served us on his weekend. He did a lot of things around the house for us. He is the definition of selfless. I love you, Dad! I hope you had a good Father's Day! Of course I think Westin also has an amazing father. The way Westin lights up when he sees his Dada and the way Cody lights up when he sees Westin is a joy to watch. We love you, Cody!

I have been wanting to try my hand at making a few shirts for Westin. I knew it had to be pretty simple so when I saw these shirts in a catalog I thought they would be perfect to try.

I gathered my fabric and washed and dried it before I cut out the designs.

I just free handed the drawings and cut them out. I couldn't find any shirts without pockets on the front so I'm just ignoring them. I have to buy that iron on stuff (no idea what it is called) to iron on the pictures and then I will hand stitch around them. I hope to finish them soon so he can actually wear them before he outgrows them! I'll be sure to take a picture of the little model with the finished product. Y'all keep me accountable! :)

Westin's First Haircut

2011-06-17T14:03:00.000-05:00

A few days ago we bit the bullet (is that the saying? haha!) and trimmed Westin's hair. I was sad about it for a few days but I'm used to it now and it makes his hair look much thicker. Here is a before picture. I loved the way it flipped out in the back but it was time for a trim.

When it was wet it would look like this. So while he was in the bathtub Cody fed him a few bites of ice cream to keep him still and I cut those three little curls off.

This is just a side note...Cody is holding that toy up because my camera would not focus on anything because Westin is the same color as the bathtub! haha!

Here is the after. Much more little boy-ish instead of baby-ish but of course I still think he looks cute. ;)

I even saved a few curls for his baby book. :)

Busy, But Fun Weekend

2011-06-13T12:33:00.003-05:00

I made the silhouette of Westin by taking a profile picture of him, printing it out, cutting it out and then painting it black with craft paint. :) You can print it out any size you want but I just printed it out as a regular 4x6 picture. After you cut it out you could also trace it onto black paper and then cut that out but I just painted the picture. :)

We had a great weekend! Friday morning I watched Adeline while her mom went to her Dr. appointment. Westin and Adeline had fun playing together and they looked so cute in their coordinating outfits.

They really look like they could be related. :)

Friday afternoon Cody's parents came for the weekend. They hadn't been up in awhile and hadn't seen Westin walking. They couldn't believe how big he was and how fast he walks. Haha I didn't get many pictures but I got some cute video of Cody's dad playing the guitar and Westin dancing.

On Saturday, his dad hung this old window and planter out back on our deck. We have a big space of brick and I wanted something pretty on it.

I've had the planter since we got married and have always used it inside so I'm glad I finally get to use it how it is supposed to be used. :) Plus, it is another place to add pretty flowers!

I also spruced up these pots since the scorching heat had beat up the other ones.

Saturday evening we met our small group at the park for a picnic. Adeline was a little mother to Westin. She will be a great big sister!

Sunday, I cut some of my roses to enjoy inside. This always makes me happy! I hope you had a great weekend too! I have a busy week of teaching VBS this week. :)

Re-purposed Frames-UPDATED

2011-06-07T16:46:00.003-05:00

**Update: my mom emailed me last night and told me when I "corrected" my anniversary date, I corrected it wrong! I got it wrong again! It should read 5-8-04. Haha! Good thing Cody doesn't really read my blog! Ha!

Remember these gold frames I found at Goodwill awhile back? I used the wooden one HERE. I wasn't sure what I would use the oval frames for but I like finding things in pairs. Plus they were only $2 each.

I started by spray painting them black. Then I took inspiration from Emily's post, HERE and put an old book page on top of the original picture. I took one of Westin's silhouettes that I made when he was 7 months old and glued it on one and printed out a "d" for the other one.

Total confession/embarrassing moment: I got our anniversary date wrong on the "d" frame!! It should read, 5-4-04. I'll be fixing that soon! Not sure what I was thinking other than Westin was napping and I was rushing to finish before he woke up. Sometimes I wonder where my mind has gone.

I hung them in the hallway with Westin's 3 month and 6 month portraits. Well, I have one hung but I couldn't hammer on the wall while he was napping. ;)

Westin was so bald at 3 months!

I hand wrote the little tags for now because I was in a hurry so I might change those later. To make them look more like tags, I used a black sharpie and a ruler to outline them and then put two dots on them to look like tiny brads.

Yay for a project started and completed! Those are rare these days. ;) Now, I wonder how long it will take me to correct our anniversary date. Better yet, I wonder how long it will take Cody to notice it is wrong!

Water Day

2011-06-04T20:45:00.003-05:00

I think I have sent an invite to everyone who requested one for pinterest so if you asked for one and didn't get it, leave your email again and I'll get it to you as soon as I can! Isn't it so fun!?

We headed to Springdale today to go to the Aquatic Center. Some people are grossed out and afraid of public pools (including Cody!) but I knew Westin would love being in the water. I will admit that it did gross me out a little when he tried to put his face in the water to drink it. Yuck!

He loved it! I love the baby area because it is mostly shaded and the water is only like 5" deep. Westin walked all around in it.

His hair is getting so long but I just cannot bear to cut it. He already looks like such a big boy to me that I know if we cut it he will look like a grown man! Haha! Maybe I'll be ready to cut it soon, but not yet.

The Richey's were there too but this is the best picture I could get of Westin and Adeline. They are just too busy to be bothered with a picture. :)

We sure are enjoying these lazy summer days! (I know it's not technically summer but it sure feels like it!) I see lots of water days in our future!

Pinterest Tutorial

2011-06-03T19:52:00.000-05:00

I'm glad so many of you use pinterest so I can follow you! My ID is Shannon82 if you want to follow me. Beth at The Stories of A to Z has created a great video tutorial. It covers all the basics on how to use it and get the most out of it. Click HERE.

And because I hate posting without a picture, here is what we have been doing tonight. Happy weekend!

Pinning, Westin, Pride & Prejudice and More

2011-06-02T16:58:00.000-05:00

How's that for a title?

I can't seem to get anything done around here thanks to this little guy and my newest hobby-Pinterest. Thank you, Kari Beth for introducing me to Pinterest. Do you pin? If you do, let me know so I can follow you. I could spend hours on there and that's exactly what I did today. :) It doesn't help that my computer is 800 years old and runs as slow as dial up. haha!

If you need an invitation to pinterest let me know your email address and I'll send you one. It is an amazing website where you can keep all your favorite pictures, future projects, recipes and anything else you find online, in ONE place. It is so easy and so convenient. The best part (in my opinion) is that when you save (or "pin") a picture of something you like it saves the source with it. Hallelujah.

This little man is into everything! I just chase him around all day. He insists on wearing his green hat all the time but lately he likes to wear two at a time.

We have had to move our toilet paper off the rolls and just keep them on the counter because yesterday he flooded the guest bathroom toilet. In a matter of seconds he unrolled the whole roll into the toilet. He was so proud. Well today he found the extra rolls under the sink and when I walked in, he held it up to show me and then took off running with it. That little turkey knows exactly what he is doing.

Another thing that is keeping me busy is that I downloaded the free kindle app on my iPhone so I've been reading a lot more. I only download the free books (imagine that) so right now I am reading Pride and Prejudice. I will admit that I have never read it before and I think it would be a hard book to follow if I hadn't seen the movie first. :) I do love having faces and places to picture in my mind as I read. By the way, that is one of my favorite movies that I watch at least once a month. Love it!

I'm not sure this post could be anymore random but I'll try...

I've been on an organizing kick lately and organized my scrapbooking supplies. No, I do not scrapbook. Yes, I do wander up and down the scrapbook aisles to find things I can use for other projects. If you need inspiration for something, try going down the scrapbook aisle. They make the neatest things.

I bought some fabric and T-shirts to make Westin some shirts...I'll keep you posted. It involves hand sewing so it should be an adventure.

Sorry for the total randomness but that's the only way I can seem to get a post in. :) Oh, Katie posted some more pictures of our Memorial Day weekend. Westin had his first sucker. :) He is getting so big!

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T10:17:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day!

We put our flags out and celebrated at the lake with family. Westin loved the boat rides and playing on the shore. The water was a little too cold for him to get in but I have a feeling he will love it when he can get in!

Thank you to every one who has served, or is serving in the military for our country!

All About Westin, Plus a Few Other Things

2011-05-26T21:32:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all your prayers for the storms. Thankfully by the time it reached us it was just a thunderstorm. Unfortunately, a small town south of us was hit pretty hard by a tornado. I'm ready for these storms to be over!

I got my dress in the last post from our local craft show. The brand is "blue bird" and the seller said you can purchase items from her facebook page. Click HERE for her facebook page.

I am very behind on my emails and got slightly overwhelmed this past week and deleted pretty much my whole inbox. So if you had emailed me with a question would you mind sending it again? I am so sorry! Hopefully I can stay on top of it from now on.

I haven't forgotten about posting about our journey to get pregnant. It is just going to take time for me to sit down and type it all out. ;)

Now, on to the "all about Westin" part...

Drum roll please...............he is sleeping through the night and officially weaned!!! (I think I can hear the Hallelujah Chorus!) I mentioned before that I was nervous he would start waking up again when we got back home. Well, he has not woken up once all week. I am sooo thankful! He goes to bed around 8-8:30 and sleeps until 7:30 on the dot every morning now. I don't know what to do with myself! I feel like I could stay up until midnight if I wanted to. Haha! (Anyone who knows me in real life knows that will probably never happen.) :)

I wanted to write down a few things he is doing at this age for my memory. This is such a fun stage! He is a full time walker now. I keep thinking he is going to crawl but he just walks everywhere! I'm still not used to it. He holds his right arm out in front of him and it kind of acts like his steering wheel. :)

He loves sitting on little things and in tight spaces. I know that sounds weird and I think it IS weird! Haha! He wanted to sit on the bottom shelf of this bookcase all the time. (Please notice the ever-present balloon.) He will find a small patch of dirt in the yard and sit on it. Today he kept sitting on one of his small toys. The funny part is that he backs onto whatever he wants to sit on.

He is increasing his vocabulary every day. If I say, "Old McDonald had a farm", he will say, "E I O!" He also says:
beep beep
dog
tank ooh (thank you)
yight (light)
no no
nigh nigh (night night)
mama
dada
da (ball)
da (this also means bird) ;)
ba-oon (balloon)
uh-oh
dack (Zach)

He likes to mimmic anything we do. If we swing our arms, he swings his. If we snap our fingers, he trys to snap. If we hold out our hand, he will hold out his hand. His favorite things to do right now are dancing, playing with anything that is not a toy, throwing balls and walking around outside. Oh, he also likes to hold two things in one hand. He is so proud of himself when he does this. Ha!

He has become quite the eater! I feel like he eats a ton! I hope it stays this way. Some favorites right now are any kind of chicken, fish, macaroni, spaghetti, yogurt and he LOVES pizza! He also really loves milk now. I offer it at meal times and he drinks about 6 oz at night. He prefers straw sippy cups. This month he also had a cookie, ice cream and a brownie for the first time. Not all at once, of course. :)

Another thing he likes to do is play with all his lovies. He can sit in his bed for hours and just love on and re-arrange his lovies. In fact, he doesn't want to get out of bed in the mornings or after his naps. He throws the biggest fits when I finally do take him out after I have let him play for about 15-30 minutes. I'm sure this stage will pass but I love that he loves his bed.

He waves at everyone that walks by in the store and every car that drives by our house.

I'm sure there is so much more but this post is already so long. Thanks for sticking with me if you made it this far! I just don't want to forget some of his little "quirks". :)

He is just such a happy little boy and we couldn't be more in love with him! We thank the Lord every day for him!

Leah's Baby Shower

2011-05-24T22:03:00.002-05:00

We are about to have some bad weather in our area. I must say that I have never really been afraid of storms or worried too much about them but having a baby changes everything! Especially after seeing what happened in Joplin (not too far from here) the other day and what happened in Oklahoma today. That same storm is headed our way as I type. I have our hall closet cleaned out and our flashlights ready just in case. I just can't sit here and wait anymore so I thought I would blog. :) Especially while we still have power.

This past weekend I helped host a baby shower for one of my lifelong friends, Leah. We have known each other and have been friends literally since we were born! She is due to have a baby girl in July. We can't wait to meet Lilly!

I was in charge of the table decorations so I enlisted my mom to help me. We got our inspiration from the table decorations from one of Katie's showers when she was pregnant with Colson.

We started with the burlap table runner that my mom bought me for Mother's day. It is from THIS shop on etsy.

The candle sticks and bird cages are from Oops and we potted some flowers to put inside them.

On top of the candle sticks we added some moss from Hobby Lobby and topped with some candles. My mom already had the moss bird and it looked right at home by the birdcage. Leah said everything reminded her of her wedding decorations so I think she liked it!

The advice cards matched the invitations and the guests wrote notes of encouragement and advice for the mom-to-be. The left over cards can be used for notecards.

Basic steps for the chalkboard:
-find a cheap matted picture (it doesn't matter at all what it looks like)
-paint the frame however you would like
-peel the paper off the back and take out the mat and glass
-paint the glass with chalkboard paint
-cover the mat in fabric of choice (I just taped it to the back of the mat so I can easily switch it up)
-put the mat in first with the chalkboard glass behind it and re-assemble frame
-easy peasy with endless possibilities

Leah and I were able to get a picture before the guests arrived.

Leah with the hostesses. We had a great time celebrating Leah and Lilly!

Westin's Bathroom Re-do

2011-05-23T06:29:00.002-05:00

Hello! I had a very productive week around the house without Westin but I missed him like crazy! I headed back to Little Rock Thursday morning even though my to-do list was only half finished because I couldn't take it anymore! I had to see him. He greeted me a huge smile and let me carry him around for about an hour. ;) I was a little worried that he would start waking up again at night just because he knew I was here but he has continued to sleep through the night. Now we will just have to see if he sleeps through the night at our house when we go home Monday morning. :) Fingers crossed!

I picked up these frames at Goodwill last week for $2 each. I knew I could find something to do with them.

When I found THIS site with all sorts of fun, free printables I knew I could use some in Westin's bathroom. I didn't change anything in his bathroom when I did his nursery because I knew I would want to be doing a "big boy" bathroom soon. So I printed off some of the printables at Office Depot on card stock and bought these frames from Hobby Lobby.

I painted the rectangle frame with some coordinating paint and taped the alphabet onto some foam core. The alphabet printable prints on an 8.5x11 piece of paper so I cut them out while I watched an episode of Ellen. I hung this over his towel bar.

On the other side of the room I changed out his birth announcement and newborn picture with these fun campers. They are mounted in the Hobby Lobby frames that I painted in coordinating paint.

That site also has the whole alphabet made into flashcards! They are all so cute! I printed out his initials and added them to some twine over his crib.

I love how these projects turned out! You must check out The Handmade Home if you never have because you will be inspired!

Another thing I marked off my to-do list was get these boards painted. Sorry about the gross garage floor but you can see why I could never do this while Westin was here. :) Too many open paint containers! This is something I didn't get finished completely but they are all painted so I will be able to finish them sometime while we are playing outside. I can't wait to show you the finished product! (Hopefully they will be as cute as they are in my head!) :)

Also, Twice As Nice Lettering is featured on Groop Dealz today! The vinyl that they are offering is so cute and I think I will be buying one! If you haven't been to Groop Deals, you need to check it out. I've ordered a few things and I love how they support small, growing businesses. Click HERE to see today's feature.

Winner and HUGE Week!

2011-05-17T10:26:00.000-05:00

According to random.org, the winner of the wonderful Thirty One Gifts basket is:

#17- Anonymous! :) She said:
Anonymous said...
love the large utility tote...received it as a Christmas present and now I don't know what I did before I had it, lol :)
sarah

Sarah, you left your email address in your comment so I will email you soon to get your address! Thanks again to everyone who entered and thank you Dana!

Why is this a "HUGE week?" Because for the first time in 14.5 months, Westin is staying the week with my parents! I say "week" but I seriously doubt I will make it a week and will probably be heading down there by Thursday. To say I miss him is a huge understatement! I knew it would be hard but I had no idea. I know by the 5-6 pictures and the 10 phone calls a day (made by me) that he is having a great time! We decided to let him stay because he was still waking up once a night to nurse. Obviously he didn't need to be doing this and it was just time. So while I am home "drying up", the little toot is sleeping through the night at my parent's house! Since he was 6 months old he has slept through the night about 5 times but at my parent's house he is on his THIRD straight night! My plan is backfiring! Haha! He was supposed to wake up and my mom was going to teach him how to go back to sleep without nursing. This is just like him though. Haha! He will probably be back to waking up when he gets home. Mom, do you want to come back with us next week? ;)

Anyways, I had a huge list on what to accomplish this week. Yesterday was my fun day and I browsed Goodwill and flea markets at my own pace. I did have to remind myself a few times that I did not need to be in a hurry. I found myself feeling like time was running out and I needed to get home. Haha! It is a weird feeling.

Today I'll be cleaning, organizing and crafting. I have a huge list of things I've been trying to make and paint. Yesterday I did a few projects and it was weird to be able to start and finish a project in one day. :)

I do sit down at the computer every now and then and look at Westin's pictures. :)

We have been outside almost all day these days. He loves it! He is also pretty much a walker now!

It is so cute to see him toddling around. My Dad took this picture below last Sunday before we left to come home. Cody said I was stalling since I kept thinking of one more thing I needed to do. :)

Thirty One Gifts Giveaway....Take 2!

2011-05-13T15:10:00.003-05:00

Well, lets try this again! If you entered the giveaway before you will have to enter again since blogger lost my last post including your comments. Also, I'll extend the giveaway until Monday night.

Dana with Thirty One has offered to give away another small magazine basket. I love this! She sent me one a couple of months ago and I love it. We have it at the end of our sofa with magazines and books in it.

I do love this idea of using it as a wrapping station though. Also, you could use it for toilet paper or even in your car for organizing.

Also, Thirty One Gifts has soooo much more than baskets. Their totes are very popular and I'm confident you will want one of everything just like I do. ;)

To enter:
1. Go HERE and then leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.
2. Go HERE to like Dana's page on facebook and leave a comment telling me you did this. If you liked her before just leave a separate comment telling me you already did.

Thank you, Dana for a great giveaway! Good luck!

Our Days Lately-iPhone Style

2011-05-11T06:55:00.001-05:00

My days are busier and busier it seems. Westin is into absolutely everything and I usually don't even get to open my computer until he goes to bed. During his naps I'm too exhausted to do much of anything besides get ready, clean the house and just plain zone out on the couch. Ha! I sure do love it though. These pictures from my phone show pretty much what we do all day.

Westin gets pushed around the house a lot. He loves it and throws a fit when my poor back just can't take it anymore.

We like to hang out with friends as much as possible. Him and Adeline were in deep conversation.

We love hanging out with Asa too!

We take a LOT of wagon rides around the block and to the park.

We also do a lot of swinging! Sometimes he swings so long he almost falls asleep!

Just yesterday I got him this little "pool" and he played in it for a long time. I can tell we will be playing in this a lot. And I also can tell I'll be soaking my feet in this while I lay out while he is napping. ;)

These are our days right now. Just a lot of playing and a lot of fun. :)

Tomorrow there will be a fun Thirty One giveaway!

My Second Mother's Day & Our Weekend

2011-05-08T20:44:00.001-05:00

My second Mother's Day was just as special as my first. I will probably remember more about this one since last year we were pretty much in newborn survival mode. :) We had such a great day today. Not only was it Mother's Day and our 7 year anniversary, Westin's cousin, Colson, was dedicated at church today too! It was a big day around here. I don't have any pictures of all of us at church with Colson but I'm sure Katie will be posting about it sometime this week.

We did get to take some pictures before church though.

Westin's nursery workers are just the absolute best. They sent home this adorable planter with Westin's finger prints on it! I will treasure this forever.

My parents bought me this double pink peony and a hummingbird feeder and Cody's parent's bought me a knockout rose bush. I love getting plants!

I hope you had a great Mother's Day as well! Happy Mother's Day to my Mom! You are an amazing, godly woman and I will look up to you always. Thank you for teaching me and showing me what it means to be a great mom.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to be Westin's mama. I promise that a day does not go by that I do not think how blessed I am to be a mother. I never want to take it for granted. I thank the Lord for allowing me the privilege of raising him. What an awesome responsibility.

Not only did I have a great Mother's Day, we had a fun weekend!

Friday night we went to a gender reveal party for the Richey's. It's official-Adeline is getting a baby sister. We can't wait to meet Annabel in September!

Saturday was spent shopping with my Mom. We had some great craft fairs in our area and we found some goodies (of course!). We both got one of these cute burlap pillows.

I also found this platter in the most perfect shade of green. For $4 I could not pass it up!

Well, if you are still reading then you are one loyal reader! Haha! This was a long post. :) Happy Mother's Day!

There is going to be a great giveaway this week so stay tuned!

Random Weekend Post

2011-05-06T15:10:00.000-05:00

For some reason all my posts are random lately! It seems like that is all I have time for. My friend, Christina and I were talking yesterday about how busy we are. I actually have nothing on her since she has three boys, 3 and under but I do have a taste of what it's like. I told her that before Westin, I got up at 5:30 everyday, got to work by 7:30 (I was a nanny), got off at 6 and got home at 6:30. That was easy compared to being a SAHM! Haha! I couldn't imagine my life any other way right now though! I'm so thankful to be spending my days with Westin.

I cut my first peonies of the season! I love this time of year!

We have a fun weekend ahead! Tonight we are going to a gender reveal party for Lindsey. I love these. I can't wait to find out what she is having. She has a girl so I am hoping for a boy. :)

My parents are coming up this weekend too. They are going to keep Westin tomorrow night so Cody and I can go out for our anniversary. 7 years! I can't believe it. It makes me sound old. Haha! Our anniversary is actually Sunday but we will be celebrating Mother's Day and Colson's dedication that day.

Our days are filled with a lot of this:

When he is not pushing it around the house, he is sitting in it and I am pushing him around. Of course, the balloon is never far away. He is getting so close to walking. He will take about 5-6 steps between Cody and I but he is still cautious.

I also got an early Mother's Day gift from Westin! :)

If you do not have a blog and leave a question in the comments, will you also leave your email address so I can answer your question? Thanks!

A couple of weeks ago my dad cut some boards for me to make some fun picture frames. Hopefully I can get those painted soon so I can show you! They are going to be easy peasy and so fun. :)

Around this time of year I really think about those of you who want more than anything to celebrate Mother's Day as a mom. I pray for you often! I know exactly how you feel and I celebrated many Mother's Days with a heavy heart. I never want to take it for granted. It was a long journey to get Westin and I have really been thinking about sharing our story with you. It might be a 2 or 3 part series but I will be working on it. I also love emailing with those of you who are TTC (infertility language-ha!). I'll be thinking about you and praying for you on Sunday.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! And thanks for putting up with all my random posts! :)

He Keeps Me On My Toes

2011-05-02T06:52:00.001-05:00

First of all, thank you to my wonderful sponsors who sponsored Bless Our Nest in April! Y'all are the best! If anyone is interested in sponsoring in May, let me know and I can send you some info!

Westin has really been keeping me on my toes lately! He is a climber for sure. He took a head first tumble off the fireplace and got his first goose egg on Friday. So sad. It hasn't stopped him from getting right back up on it though.

Sometimes I open our ottoman and let him walk around it and play with the toys that are in it. Well, I walked in from the kitchen to see that he had just made himself comfy in there and was playing away.

Sunday night Cody told me to come in the kitchen and see what Westin had done....

He was so proud of himself! I pretty much have to constantly watch him these days. It is so funny though to see what he tries to do. :)

This past weekend I got an early Mother's Day/Anniversary gift. I got to go buy all our flowers for our pots.

I love doing this every year! On our back deck I did the big pots in whites, purples and greens. I did this last year and loved the color scheme.

I added some red begonias to our hanging basket and hung some pink impatients from Westin's swing. Didn't my dad do a great job building this?! Westin loves it!

I want to get a climbing rose bush or clematis to grow up the post.

Out front I usually do red geraniums but decided to do red begonias and a yellow flower that I'm not sure of the name. I thought they would match the flower on my door. :) We had to put a snake out to scare the birds away that were trying to build a nest over our front door. They did that one spring and it was so miserable to not be able to go out your front door without getting attacked! Haha! The snake works great and we got it at the dollar store.

In other news, Westin took three steps in the church nursery! I'm so glad Cody and I were working in his class so we could see it. He just thought it was so funny and was giggling the whole time. Ha! I really think he could walk if he wanted to. He zips around the house pushing his push toys but I guess crawling is just faster right now. :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend too!

Thank you!
Thirty One Gifts-Dana
Longaberger-Julie
Twice As Nice Lettering
Stella and Dot-Danielle
Studio JRU

Saturday Feature-Twice As Nice 1/2 Off Special

2011-04-30T08:24:00.002-05:00

Our favorite twins are having a sale on some cute vinyl! These are perfect for your spring and summer plants. Look how cute these plant, grow, bloom decals are. They look great on these fun, colorful buckets but they would also look great on terracotta pots too.

You could even just use the words on your pots and use the cute pictures on something else. Or just use the pictures. There are so many things you could use these for. ;)

These are featured on their blog, HERE. For a limited time you can get all three decals for $6.00 with FREE shipping! That is half off! Thank you, Fern and Fran for this great deal! Click HERE if you would like to purchase these. Leave a comment on their post with your email address so they can get your info.

Thank you!
Thirty One Gifts-Dana
Longaberger-Julie
Twice As Nice Lettering
Stella and Dot-Danielle
Studio JRU

Picture Frames

2011-04-28T18:34:00.002-05:00

First of all, is anyone else as excited about the royal wedding as I am?! I have my DVR set to start recording at 3am. I can't wait to see her dress! However, I do not know what the people on TV will talk about when it is over. I'm sure they will find something though. :)

When I was in Little Rock my Mom and I went to a new Goodwill store. I found this lamp and the duck picture. Oh, I had big plans for that lamp!! I primed it, spray painted it and then when I checked on it, the spray paint had literally cracked away from the lamp. It looked like it had the crackle finish on it that used to be so popular. It was so weird and something that had never happened before. My Dad's verdict was the lamp had some kind of finish on it that the paint just simply did not stick to. So it is now in the trash. The lamp only cost $6.00 so it was worth the effort.

My Dad made me a frame for the giant picture we got from Westin's one year pictures. He had some leftover molding so he made me a 16x24 frame for this picture:

We painted it with some leftover paint and we had a brand new, free frame! Thank you, Dad! I'm not sure this is the final resting place for the picture but this is where it is for now. Cody likes it here but I'm not sure. It is just sooo big!

I can't remember how much the duck picture cost, but I think it was $2.00. I took the glass and picture out, painted it with the same leftover white paint. Now I have a picture frame for Westin's 8x10 picture that we got.

Goodwill is my absolute favorite place to find picture frames. They are so cheap and you can find many shapes and sizes. Do not let the color of them turn you off. Just look for the shape and size you need and you can paint them whatever color you want. :)

Thank you!
Thirty One Gifts-Dana
Longaberger-Julie
Twice As Nice Lettering
Stella and Dot-Danielle
Studio JRU