Look Who Got a Haircut!!!

We decided it was time....and we did the unthinkable.  We cut Colin's hair!!!!

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

I admit.  I cried.  It is much shorter than what I wanted.  MUCH shorter.  They always seem do that.  I was mad.  So mad....that I had trouble looking at him for the remainder of the evening after he had it done.  Seriously.  But...we went to bed, morning came, and 48 hours later it started growing on me.  I still think it's too short, but after playing with it a bit we decided he looks much better if we put some product in it and give it a messy look or kind of spike it.  

SO thankful that hair grows back!

Photo Shoot {Us}

When Tim was deployed this last time he came to the realization that we only have a handful of pictures of the two of us.  He willingly signed himself up for a photo shoot!  We also knew that Tim's parents wanted some new pictures taken.  My friend Jess was gracious enough to come out to Tim's parent's house and do a little photo shoot for us while we were there in July.  She is an AMAZING, creative, talented, photographer and I would recommend her to anyone in the area!  (I wish she was doing photography and I knew about her when we got married!)  I am SUPER excited for her too, as she is pregnant with her 1st!  When she took our pics I could tell the baby was giving her a hard time 'cause she wasn't her normal energetic self.  It obviously didn't affect her work!  ;)  Make sure you take time to check out her website and blog!

 

We LOVE our pics Jess!!!  Can't wait till we can get some more family shots taken!!!

Milestone {Blaine: 9 Months}

Blaine is actually 10 months now, but I took these SUPER cute pictures of him back in July that I've been meaning to share.

Blaine started crawling a few weeks after Tim got home in June, so by the end of July he was a pro!  He also started pulling himself up onto the couch and he bee-lines it for the stairs any chance he gets.  He's quick too.  We got behind on a shot, so we took him he for a 9 month well-baby check up and he weighed in at 22 pounds and was 31 inches!  He also decided, right about nine months, that he no longer wanted anything to do with baby food.  Or being fed from a spoon, period.  It wasn't a gradual decision either.  One day he ate it, the next day he refused.  He looks like a little hillbilly sometimes with his two front teeth poking out when he smiles and he still screams, instead of laughs, when you tickle him.  He tries his best to get in on the wrestling action with Tim and the boys, and he knows that the best place to be is upstairs in the toy room or outside.

When we visited Tim's parent's this last time around, Tim's mom gave me a few more pieces of clothing that Tim wore when he was a baby.  The pictures I took of Blaine at 9 months are in one of the outfits.  I'm glad Tim's mom gave it to me when she did 'cause he barely fit into it.

LOVE this boy!

Who Am I {as A Christian Woman}

When Tim and I got married a very dear friend/mentor gave me a copy of Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot.  I read it then, but picked it up again recently needing something to encourage me.  It's an easy read in the sense that each chapter is only 2-4 pages long.  And with three kids running around I can actually get through one or two chapters in one sitting (5 minutes max).  :)  I also love that these are her own personal letters to her daughter.  Advice on love, marriage, life, and being the woman that God made you to be.  I just wanted to share some of the things that have stuck out to me this time around.

"In order to learn what it means to be a woman.  We must start with the One who made her."

"I remember how it was.  Your father (not my fiance yet) made the three-week voyage by sea from San Pedro, California, to Ecuador, stopping at fascinating ports along the way from which he sent me fascinating letters.  He began his study of Spanish in Quito without me.  He made his first trip to the jungle where he was later to work.  He had his first opportunity to do medical work, his first crack at an unwritten language---all of these things I myself longed to do, and longed desperately to do with him.  'Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living,' he wrote to me, and those words have helped me very often since.  We accept and thank God for what is given, not allowing the not-given to spoil it."

"The way you keep your house, the way you organize your time, the care you take in your personal appearance, the things you spend your money on all speak loudly about what you believe. 'The beauty of Thy peace' shines forthin an ordered life.  A disordered life speaks loudly of disorder in the soul."

"...This is the crux of the question of liberty and liberation.  Does it mean casting off all restrictions? (Could a ship sail without them?)  Does it mean doing what we feel like doing and not doing what we don't?  It means discipline.  It means doing the thing we were meant for.  What is it to which we are called, women under God?"

"We are called to be women.  The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman.  For I have accepted God's idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back to Him of all that I am and all that He wants me to be."

A Makeover {Desk}

When we made our last move my parents brought down a set of furniture from their house for us to use for the boys.  It was the set my dad and his brothers used from the time they were very little.  My sister and I used them, my brothers used them, and now my boys are getting to use them.  It was made back in the 1950's (I believe.)  The set includes 2 twin beds (which can also be bunked), a dresser, a night stand, a desk, and another chest.  My parents tried giving us another set of furniture they inherited from my Grandpa, but after speaking with Tim we made an offer to take this other set instead.  I'm so glad we did!

It is A.MA.ZING. furniture.  All the pieces made by Ethan Allen.  They are solid wood; I'm guessing Pine. 

  They aren't put together with screws or nails, but like puzzle pieces.

 

While Tim was deployed and in my exploration of the blog world I came across many refinished furniture projects and self built furniture.  This of course got me thinking and planning of all the great things we could do!  I even bought a sander with some of my Christmas money!  While the furniture set we got from my parents was sturdy I definitely envisioned it with a face lift.  I was hoping to complete at least ONE piece of furniture before he came back, but it just didn't happen.  So after we visited family we came back home and choose our first project.  The desk.  I didn't get very good "before" pictures. Hopefully on the next piece. 

  We ended up having to remove the entire top piece.  It has some type of laminate layer on it that we could sand through or peel off.  It worked out pretty well though.  We bought another solid piece of pine and got a few extra inches out of it.  A few inches makes a big difference!  I love the extra space!

Now don't give me a hard time, but we (I) had a little "trouble" with the stain.  I was going for a deep, espresso brown color.  I'm wanting to redo all the pieces we have, plus add a few, and knowing we will be moving a few more times in our military career I would like to have pieces that are interchangeable throughout the house.  I made the mistake of going by the color of the picture on the front of the can, and not the name.  Apparently, Ebony is black. 

I started on the back panel to try it out.  After the first layer it seemed (to me) to be drying a deep, deep brown.  So I proceeded to continue with staining the remainder of the piece.  

 The "trouble" seemed to unravel AFTER I completed two layers of stain.  Tim, and Ryan, notified me that it was black.  Tim and I must have had a bad communication day when picking out the stain, because I told him that I wanted brown, not black, and he knew that Ebony was black, not brown.  Yet, I still ended up staining the desk black.

While I don't particularly mind the black, it's not a favorite of Tim's.  Having already stained it though, we decided to go ahead and leave this piece as is and to pick out a new stain for the remainder of our projects.  Eventually, I'd like to exchange all the hardware out as well, so that everything will match.  For now, we just spray painted what was already on there with a Nickel finish.

Not the greatest "after" picture ever, either.  (I took it with my phone.)  I think we were anxious to have our garage space back for parking use, so we moved it back upstairs as soon as we could.

I think it took us a total of about two weeks to finish all the sanding, staining, and sealing.  It was hard to find the time to go out and work on it and it was even harder to wait for all the different layers to dry before adding another one.  I am so pleased with how it turned out and can't wait for our next one!

Getting Our Craft On

Two of my friends, Sarah and Mandy, and I decided to go in on a table at a local business expo thingy (not exactly sure what to call it).  It sounded like a good idea at the time.  While I'm still excited...I'm exhausted.  I'll be happy to not have to sew/craft for at least a week.

   Thankfully, I finished all of the projects I set out to do around noon today; minus a few last minute, minor touches.  The sale is from 2-6 PM tomorrow.  The girls are coming over tonight and we are going to do a trial set up of our table.  Between the three of us we made a WIDE variety of items to choose from.  It actually kind of worked out great in one way.  We are all getting pretty excited (and nervous) and just praying that something sells.  Below are some pictures of what I have been working on.  I visited a business expo a few months back and noticed that there were TONS of options for little girls, but nothing for boys.  So I tried to focus a lot on boy stuff.  A few of these things I've made over the last six months, but a majority of it has been in the last two weeks.  It was really hard to keep focused on only making a few things!

4" Growth Chart (All of my growth charts go up to 6 ft in height, but a majority of them start at two feet.)

 5" Growth Chart

For Mom:  A cute tissue pouch for your purse.

Coasters, set of 4: Can be made to match anyone's decor and the entire bottom is covered in felt so they won't scratch up your furniture.

Burp Cloths/Bum pads.

6" Wristlet keychains.

 Tummy-time Play Mat.  Made out of flannel so it's nice and soft for baby.  Just throw it down underneath them during tummy time that way if they drool or spit-up you can just throw it in the wash and not have to worry about cleaning your carpet!  (One of my favorite baby items!)

Little Boy Onsies: Size 0-3 mo and 3-6 months.

What little boy doesn't need a little onsie that looks like he has a sweater vest on?!

  

You can also go here to see some of Sarah's stuff.  (I know for sure that Sarah's going to sell something!  I LOVE the pin cushions and I am in need of something bigger than my miniature one that came with my all-in-one kit when I first got my machine.)

I can't wait to see everything in person and praying we all sell stuff!!

Milestone {Ryan's First Day of School +}

Ryan had his first day of school just shy of two weeks ago.  He was so excited about school that he had trouble going to sleep the night before.  It made him one tired boy in the afternoons the next few days. 

It was barely light out when we headed out to the bus stop.

He looks so sharp with his new haircut!

He made me so proud that first morning at the bus stop.  There were three other boys there and they were talking about video games.  One of the other boys was telling Ryan how his brother wouldn't take turns with him on the game.  (You know how kids are really dramatic when they are telling stories.)  Ryan responded, "Well, that's not fair!  God wants us to share!"  How it warmed my heart to know he was headed to that first day of school with the name of the Lord in his heart and mind.

 

We had one little hitch in the end of Ryan's first day.  For the bus ride they have a tag system in place for the Pre-K and Kindergartner's that allow the bus drivers to keep track of the kids.  When Ryan gets on the bus he's handed a lanyard with a card in the bottom with names of people who are authorized to pick him up.  We are required to show our I.D. before the bus driver will release him.  Three o'clock rolled around and Tim went to meet Ryan getting off the bus.  I was standing across the street in our driveway, camera in hand, watching as all the other kids get off the bus.  Then I watch Tim go up to the bus and ask for Ryan.  The bus driver gets up and starts looking for him.  My heart probably started racing about this point. I could hear the bus driver call his name a few times and he even got up and walked down the isle looking at the other kids.  Still no Ryan.  I was really starting to get nervous, upset, mad; but I stayed put and let Tim handle it.  I was trying my best not to jump to conclusions or to over react.  The bus driver came back up to the front and it looked like he radioed someone.  Just about the same time Ryan came walking up the side walk from the direction the bus just came from.  Apparently, Ryan took the tag off from around his neck and was holding in his hand.  The bus driver didn't notice it and Ryan just walked right off the bus, one stop early.  Thankfully, Ryan knew where he was and it wasn't that far.  It sure gave me a scare though.  I'm glad he showed up when he did.  I'm not sure what I would have done if two more minutes had gone by.  I was just about on the verge of tears and I had to let Tim talk to him for a few minutes while I composed myself.

We were a little frustrated with Ryan because he took his tag off, but my heart tells me the purpose/importance of the tag wasn't explained to him in a way that he understood.  That is one of the things I wish I would have had more information on prior to school starting so I could have gone over it with him.  My impression was that it was a tag he brought home with him and we would put it on him in the morning before he got on the bus.  

Since that first day though we haven't had any other bus issues.  Praise God!

Later in the week, I was also blessed by Ryan and his vision for some of the friends he's already made.  On Thursday we were headed out to run some errands after Ryan got home and he asked us about one of the neighbor boys and where he went to church.  We told him we didn't think he went to church anywhere.  Ryan sounded very surprised and asked, "Well, how is he going to learn about God?!"  I am very thankful for the mission field that public school is and the many ways that it has already opened Ryan's eyes to see the need to tell others about God.  We encouraged him to invite the boy to church with us.  While nothing has happened yet, I am excited about encouraging Ryan to invite his friends to church with us and any/all other ministry opportunities that might present themselves through this new chapter. 

As the first week progressed, the teacher started sending home a little more information to help fill in a FEW of the gaps.  Even with as much as Ryan likes to talk, there's still a lot that is lost.  Everyday Ryan has a notebook that he brings home with him.  As of now there is a snack calendar, a homework calendar, a daily behavior calendar, and a few other random pages.  There is also a pocket in the front of the folder to where we can leave notes in order to correspond with the teacher.  For the daily behavior calendar the teacher will mark in it everyday.  If there is a check mark, then it means it was a good day.  If there is a number, then it means there was an issue.  Each number corresponds with a certain issue.  IE #1: Not being a good listener. # 8: Misbehaving in the hall.  Then every evening we are to initial next to it.  This helps us to be aware of anything that might have occurred that day and it helps the teacher to know that we are seeing it.

The teacher didn't mark anything that first week of school since it's mainly an adjustment time.  He came home twice this week though with the #4.  He seems to be having trouble keeping his hands to himself when they are in line going somewhere.  (hehe.)  I have to kind of giggle.  That definitely sounds like Ryan.  Although we were a little disappointed to be seeing numbers so soon, I'm pleased that it's for what it is and not for being disrespectful to adults or one of the misbehaving ones.  I expect to see other numbers on the calendar from time to time.  Not that I expect him to misbehave by any means, but it's a new environment for him.  He gets excited.  He likes to touch.  He likes to talk.  He has trouble staying focused sometimes.  Tim and I know that we are going to have to sit down and talk about the consequences he will receive at home for any ongoing issue that he is having at school.

Overall, he's had a good first two weeks.  I'm hoping to go eat lunch with him sometime next week and maybe go spend a few hours in class with him the week after that.  I don't know how they feel about me bringing Colin and Blaine along, so that might hinder how often and how long I can go for.  But I'm very excited to go see what he does!  It has also been wonderful to have Tim around these last few weeks.  With the job he's doing now he is here in the morning when Ryan gets on the bus, and is home just before he gets off.  It's wonderful to be able to share all the excitement with him.  I love watching Tim interact with Ryan and ask him questions about his day.  Tim will go through his backpack; look at his folder; discuss the day with him.  Tim will check Ryan's lunch to make sure he ate everything he was given and that he drank enough water during lunch.  It's so special to have Tim home those first moments when Ryan gets home from school and to be involved with what is going on.  It warms my heart.