Ya'll Come Back Now... Ya Hear!

We're headed to Texas tomorrow and I starting to feel the crunch to get stuff done. It will be a good visit and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, friends and family.
If you think of us pray for our plane trip.
This will be our first flight with all three kids.
Eric will be back before the weekend, but the kids and I will be there until next Saturday.
If you caught that, I'll be flying back by myself with all three.
Am I worried? Not really, if things go bad, there's not much that I can do.
I'm excited and I think some time away will do wonders for me.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Busy Bee, Busy Mee!

Here are a couple more little projects I've been working on.

What am I using for my creations???
Stampin' Up Stamps, cheap shirts and homemade stencils.
Which gives me the perfect opportunity to present
my awesome friend, Beth at Start Simply with Beth.
She does some really neat cards, swing by her blog sometime!

Family Saturday

This was the first Saturday in months we didn't make plans. Eric and I frantically searched through our calendars to be sure we didn't miss something :-).
Luke has been begging for Daddy to make French Toast, so we had a wonderful French toast breakfast that morning.
It started to rain so the kids played in the rain for a little while.

As soon as it stopped, Daddy got out the chainsaw....

At first I was opposed to the cutting down of my favorite Birch, but after seeing the destruction it was doing to the driveway and walkway, I gave in.
Now that it's gone, I can't believe I didn't nag Eric to take it down sooner.
The difference is remarkable..... and even better,
I have a whole new space to add plants and flowers!
This new and exciting project will have to wait until next Spring,
the gardening budget needs to do some of its own "growing." :-)

I just ran outside and took the 'after' picture at 9 pm.
You get the jist of tree/no tree.
Before:

After:
Eric said in the fall he wants to take down the bushes and pine tree on the left.
I can't wait! He's even picked out a couple of flowering plants that I am just giddy about!
I love my MAN!

Out and About for Double Date Night

I could hardly believe it when Eric asked me earlier in the week if I wanted to go on a date.
I looked forward to it all week. Grandma graciously and wonderfully offered to watch the kids, so off we went to dinner, putt-putt and the batting cages.
What made this extra-ordinary?
Eric planned it on the 11 year anniversary of when we met.
Yeah, he's smooth...

"A friend is someone who makes it easy."
We also enjoyed the company of some good friends, The Moore's.
They made it so much fun!

And the winner is.....

ME!!!!!

Eric took this picture of me on the 18th hole.

After putt-putt we headed over to the batting cages.
This was a first for me. I found that I could actually hit the ball, but I have no swing!
My forearms were so sore the next day.

ood food, good friends, good husband~~~ GREAT TIME!
Thanks Charley and Beth!
Get ready, Euchre Date Night is on the horizon!

Sew Crafty Friday

Okay, so I've never bought jammies for my girls. Between Grandma and Nana, I just haven't had to get Kayla any. I went to Walmart thinking that would be the cheapest place, because yes, I'M CHEAP when it comes to jammies. I couldn't believe how much they were!
$6 for a little night gown! Good gracious!
I stood there for a minute then decided to purchase three Hanes Undershirts for $4 instead.
I got this ambitious idea to try applique.
I can't stop!
I took a white onesies and sewed on a small skirt and flower for a dear friend who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Faith Irene.
It turned out cute for my first try. I can't wait to make another!

For more Sew Crafty Friday projects visit: Shereen.

New Bloomers

These were such a wonderful surprise to find last year.
I think is called Sweet Asylum????
They are so beautiful, a favorite of mine!

Big Boy goes tot the Big Pool

On Wednesday, Luke got to go into the big pool, "but not the biggest pool",
he was quick to correct me.

Miss Emily had him kick and blow bubbles.
He did awesome!

She was surprised when she said 'Jump'...
He jumped!

I have been so proud of my Luke. He's been a such a big boy, especially not needing me to walk him all way over to the pool. He turns for a hug and asks for a kiss then joins his class. I had to keep myself from reaching out and pulling him back for another hug. He is really growing up.

Bibby's Backyard Bible Club

Last weekend we hosted Backyard Bible Club at our home. We handed out flyers in our neighborhood and invited some surrounding families as well.
Thursday evening we kicked it off with an Ice Cream Social.
There wasn't a good turnout, but it's only our first year. Nevertheless, we're glad we did it and will do it again and again. Our kids were thrilled with it and it was all Luke could talk about!

Friday's lesson was the Parable of the Lost Coin:

For the activity we hid coins in wood shavings for the kids to find.

For our craft I sewed hide and seek bags.
The kids decorated them with fabric markers and filled them with rice, pennies and a quarter (the lost coin).

We ended the day with lunch (pbj sandwiches) and a Bibby train ride.

But the engine got tired and had to modernize with a little more horsepower.

Saturday was a rainy day and the lesson was the Parable of the Sower.

We pretended to be plants in order to help the kids get a better understanding of what seeds need to grow.

For our craft the kids painted small pots, filled them with dirt and a seed.

For the activity we filled the balloons with pictures of the different grounds where the seeds fell. They enjoyed throwing the darts and popping the balloons to see where their seed fell. The good soil earned them candy.

We ended with some extra balloon fun and of course, another train ride.

Swimming Lessons, take 2

Last year, we tried swimming lessons and it went terrible! Luke was only three and had no interest in being part of the class at all. This year he gladly participates and waves to me from the pool throughout class. I'm so very proud of my boy and glad to see him enjoying it this year. We only missed one class on Monday due to the rain, and he'll go Mon-Fri of next week too. You can't beat the price of $15 for two weeks.

Designs by Jean

I found these tank tops on sale, but wanted add a little something to them.
I used some cheap (non-washable) paints and stamps to make the blue top and I used a homemade stencil for the pink top.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE these tanks!
Yeah for me! :-)

New Bloomers

Hasta Row

My favorite flowers: Hydrangea

Out at the box