Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone! I won't be posting tomorrow... we'll be busy, and I'm still busy today actually... sigh. Not done making my last Christmas gift. Every year I make my husband a homemade star wars ornament, and haven't been able to do so yet. I got everything else done, but I still have to make that ornament.

Anyway, here is a couple of pics of our own little miss clause! Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Another gift (or two) FINISHED

Yup, I finished some more... technically I would have been done earlier, but I was unsure of some things... anyway, I took some pics!

Showing one side...

Showing the other

Showing all three items made

So, there they are! All done in displayed in finished glory... without the candles being lit (I'll post one of mine with the candles lit later on... it's too bright in the house currently for that, and I need to touch up the paint on the one, which I'm keeping, that way I can wrap the other two already).

Funny thing... I saw this item in a certain catalogue... they wanted $60 for it. I made all three for a total cost of $10 in materials... and a number of hours of time, but still... 3 for $10!

I don't really feel like posting how I did this... so I won't! ;) I did have enough troubles with this project though... I think I might do things a bit differently the next time... if there is a next time.

Two more down... three gifts to go!

Roll Over!

Ok, so this morning I decided to put Marin on her belly for awhile, as I figure she needs to build her arm strength eventually to crawl, right? Well, she prefers her back... as she rolled over onto her back again. So, I rolled her back to her belly and then started recording this video... and lo and behold, she rolled back over. I thought it was so cute I had to share it!

Thankful Thursday

So, today I'm gonna shortcut this, as time is a commodity I don't seem to have as much of lately. :)

I'm so thankful for my hubby who takes such good care of our daughter, giving me a bit of a break.

I'm thankful that Christmas is almost here, and that I'll be able to give away homemade gifts again this year... it's been so long! I love making gifts! I'm also thankful to be almost done! The end is in sight! :)

I'm thankful that our bannister is getting put in! It looks gorgeous.

I'm thankful for family and friends, and the time we can spend together. It's so nice to know we are so loved.

I'm thankful for the gatherings we'll be having this week/weekend! I LOVE gatherings (I think I've said that before too...). I'm so thankful for all my extended family too. I adore all my cousins and aunts and uncles! Really! I can hardly believe how fast my lil cousins are growing up! They are becoming so grown up... and I remember them as such little squirts still! Sigh!

I am so thankful for my daughter! I love her laugh, and she's doing it every so often now (we even video'd her laughing... I'll have to post that yet later). She's so super sweet! :)

Yup... I am so thankful for everything I can hardly figure out what to put on here! :P

Photo Shoot

So, I took a whole bunch of cute pics of my baby girl... again... I LOVE having a digital camera! I posted 3 of them and the digital modifications I made to them on my Picture Perfect blog, so if you wanna sneak a peek at them, go right ahead, ;).

Embroidery

So, today I finished another project... embroidering and stitching a fleece blanket with my father-in-law's initials. Since this was my first time embroidering, I feel I did pretty good.

I love fleece... the fact that you don't need to finish the edges is super nice. I did so anyway with some yellow thread to go with the whole John Deere theme. Just a basic zigzag stitch. Did that today. The embroidery... well, I printed the initials on a sheet of paper and pinned it to the fabric, then later thought better of it and partway through the H grabbed my cross stitch (that is still unfinished) and used the wooden loop to make the fabric tight with the pattern on it. Then, I just worked on the letters in the way one would right them, starting with the top left and working my way down! It took a number of hours, but I like it!

One more project down... still many to go. At least this one was able to join the others under the tree today!

Bookends

I finished another Christmas project, again for the girls… one set for M and one for A.

No paint

Finished and painted

Bookends are relatively easy to make. All you really need is a 3 foot 1x6 board (I use knotty pine as it’s relatively inexpensive at about $1.50/foot), graph paper, a mitre saw, scroll saw, wood glue, clamps, and some sandpaper of various grits (plus paint, varnish, or whatever you wish to finish it in).

Using the mitre saw, start by cutting two 7inch and two 5inch lengths (make sure to chop off the end of the board as it usually has glue or stamping on it). Sand the ends of those boards and glue/clamp the end of the 5inch piece to the 7inch piece to make an L-shape. Using graph paper, draw your pattern in a 4 ½ inch by 5 ½ inch rectangle (tall). You can do whatever you wish. I chose to do and ‘a’ and ‘z’, but you can do the child’s initials, a teddy bear, or whatever your heart desires. Cut two more boards at 4 ½ inches to transfer your pattern(s) to. Using the scroll saw, cut them out.

Scrolling tips: If you have a hole to put in the center of the piece, drill a hole using a drill press (or regular drill will do) and then insert the scroll saw blade through the hole before putting it on the saw. Cut as normal, then remove the blade to remove your board. Another scrolling tip is to use the drill in really tight corners to help maneuver the scroll saw blade (easier turning without it snapping). Make sure to use the right blade as well. I use a 15 tpi (teeth per inch). The higher the tpi, the better control over tight curves (also smoother cuts), the lower the tpi, the faster you can make the cuts. If the tpi is too low, you may end up with chatter and difficulty around tight curves. If too high, your wood may burn. It is always recommended you keep at LEAST 4 teeth in the board at all times.

Sand all the pieces, making sure to round all the edges. Using a pencil, draw lines 3/8inch on either side of the center of the boards on the L shape. These will help with placing the 'patterned' pieces. Glue them in. I also chose to put 1 1/2 inch nails where I felt it was necessary, but the glue should hold fine by itself. When the glue is dry, finish the project how you wish. I chose to paint them pink with a fake painted off-white stitching around all the edges.

Sit back and enjoy while reading a book! ;)

Homemade Blocks

Last week I managed to finish some homemade gifts... mainly a birthday gift for my niece and part of a Christmas gift for my daughter.

What each girl will recieve.

They are surprisingly easy to make... just a bit time consuming. All I did was make 9 blocks for each girl. Cut a 3x3 brick out of 3inch foam (you can get it at Walmart for cheap enough) using an exacto knife. Pick three colors of fabric and cut two 3 1/2" square pieces from each color (I mixed things up a bit by having a total of 5 types of fabric and having varying looks for each block). Sew, right sides together, two different fabrics(let's call them a, b, and c) on one side edge. Remember making cubes in grade school?
______
l a l b l a l
l c l
l b l
l c l

Sorry if it looks a bit off, I tried my best! Anyway, you'll be stitching five sides together to make this shape... stitch one side of each b to one side of each c, then on one of the 'b's, stitch the two 'a's to make a t-shape (a hint, cut the corners of the squares a bit to make nicer corners). Once done, I prefered to stitch the rest together going around each of the 'a' sides. Can be a bit tricky. I found it easiest to iron all the seams open, including what was going to be a seam later on (just fold the 1/4 inch seam allowance over, wrong sides together, and iron... gives you a bit of a guideline for sewing the rest of the sides). Once all but one of the 12 sides is sewn together, turn the cube inside out and squish the foam brick small as possible to squeeze it inside. Hand stitch the last opening shut (this is where it's real nice to have ironed the edge 'open' first...). Each color should have it's twin on the opposite side of the block. Now, add the letters and pictures... a for apple, b for butterfly, c for cat, and so on. I used felt and just glued it on... making sure the picture wound up on the same color fabric as it's letter did.

The blocks

Anyway, have some fun with your fabric scraps! I know I did! And the girls will hopefully love these!

Me having some fun with them.

Bathtime!

I couldn't resist... I simply adore my little girl, and as she's learning new things (like finding her voice and making coos and gurgles, smiling, and sucking on her fist... and splashing in the tub) I've been taking pics and vids like crazy. So, I decided to post a vid of one of her baths... and a pic or two to make you smile!

Mischeivious grin...

Smile for the camera!

mmmm... fists are tasty

Firstborn Q's

Just some fun questions on your firstborn. I saw this on Becky's blog, In the Trenches.

1. Were you married at the time? For sure!
2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? At first I was in denial, and kinda scared because of the previous miscarriage, but I got to like the idea after awhile.
3. How old were you? 24
4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I just knew... I 'found out' at the doctor's office... didn't bother buying a home test because, like I said, I just knew.
5.Who did you tell first? My hubby of course.
6. Did you want to find out the sex? Nope... wanted it to be a suprise... I love suprises!
7. Due Date? September of this year
8. Did you deliver early or late? 5 days late
9. Did you have morning sickness? Just a little on week 12... only lasted a week and only really in the mornings...
10. What did you crave? Peanut butter and celery. Nuts in general. Mmmm .. and ice cream with strawberries.
11. Who irritated you the most? My hubby... mainly because I was around him the most. Although, I don't think he really irritated me as much as certain family members .....
12. What was your first child's sex? Girl
13. How many pounds did you gain throughout your pregnancy? Maybe 25?
14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Not during the pregnancy... I had a miscarriage scare at 9 weeks, but we heard the heartbeat and everything was good.
15. Where did you give birth? In the local hospital.
16. How many hours were you in labor? 15
17. Who drove you to the hospital? My hubby!
18. Who watched? My hubby... no one else! Besides nurses and doctors, that would be too weird.
19. Was it natural or c-section? Natural
20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? I tried the gas, but it was terrible and I preffered to breathe through it. However, I was in active labor for a REAL long time and they suggested a spinal. So, got that, and minutes later was ready to push (after a nice short nap... ahhh)
21. How much did your child weigh? 7lbs 3oz
22. What did you name him/her? Marin Ladawn
23. How old is your first born today? 2 months! Ok, almost 10 weeks. Yeah... haven't had her that long yet!

Well, that was fun! ;)

It's been awhile

Yup... I'm still here!

Sorry for being MIA, but life just sort of hits you and then you leave out certain things. My lil girl is taking priority, and she's a squaker! I can't put her down for a nap without her complaining about it. And I think she's going through a growth spurt... she wants to eat almost constantly!

I finally got the Christmas decorations up yesturday... I normally get to do it on the 20th, but again, things have been busy. It took me hours... longer than normal... mostly due to one of the light strands not working and having to test each bulb of the dead half of the strand to get it to light again. Oh well, all's well that ends well. The single 200light strand is on the tree, and I had to get creative again with the white lights as we don't have the stairs finished... so I cant string them along there like I usually do. I like what I did though. I think I will do it again next year and come up with something else for the stairs.

I just finished baking a banana bread loaf. I have to get to work on Christmas gifts... got lots to do and so little time to do it. I feel a bit busy. Hubby's on the field this week to get the last of the corn off... they were too wet to get the tractors on them (sinking into mud doesn't work well), so now that the fields are frozen we can finally get the really low quality feed off... it won't work to silage it, but we can feed it to the animals until the weather warms up again... at that point the stuff will be completely useless.

Our little girl is now in her own room for the night. I figured it was time to move her once she hit 9 weeks. She didn't do as well the first night, but the second went 8 1/2 hours between feedings. Last night it was 6 and 5... not too bad, but I really liked the 8 1/2 hours. I just have to get the last feeding of the day timed right. Easier said than done... especially with how she's been lately.

I'm happy to say that I'm continuing to work out on wii fit regularly. I love seeing the progress I'm making. I need something a little more difficult soon though, as I'm beginning to push the envelope on most of those stretches/exercises. They're getting a bit too easy. Love them though! And I don't think I'll ever tire completely of the yoga.

Anyway, that's my lil update for now. My birthday came and went, without me hardly remembering it existed except for the gift my hubby got me... Animal Crossing City Folk. Now to find time to play... perhaps after Christmas! ;)

Where are you Christmas?

Today I saw a video on my friend Willow's blog at A Journey in Faith. I found it very inspiring.

I don't know about you, but for me, Christmas is a time of giving, a time of laughter and fun. Some of my fondest memories of the season are of us as kids all going to the big hill in town to sled, something we did at the gathering of my dad's family... some uncles would take the grandkids to the hill and we'd spend hours sledding after lunch, before opening gifts. There's the time spent picking out a tree, and decorating it together. The times me and my siblings would spend together at the table, making homemade decorations for the house and tree, sipping hot chocolate after playing in the snow, making angels from paper, little decorations for a small dollhouse we had to make it look more festive, coloring Christmas pages from coloring books, stringing popcorn on the trees outside for the birds. There were the get togethers with family and friends. I remember taking time out of the evenings after school, sitting in my room, spending hours and hours making homemade cards, drawing pictures for each friend, making gifts from paper, cardboard, eventually sewing and woodworking... baking... putting time and effort into each item I was thrilled to give...

Buying gifts just doesn't do the same justice.

I love shopping for Christmas, don't get me wrong, but my fave kind of shopping is for craft supplies, wood, fabrics, etc as I dream up the sorts of things I could make from each item for family and friends. Not only that, but it allows me to give so much more. And I'm thrilled if I have the time I can spend making gifts... which I'm hoping to have this year.

It bothers me that Christmas has become so commercialized. I don't know about you, but the second Christmas season is in the air, the television, radio, and billboards (and even our mailboxes) are flooded with expensive items dancing in front of our eyes with the labels 'perfect gift for her/him', 'make this season memorable', and other various 'the-more-you-spend-the-more-you-will-be-loved' titles. What happened to spending time with each other? I think we need to get back to what we remember most about our own childhoods... do any of you remember the toys as much as the time spent with each other? My fondest memories have nothing to do with things. In fact, the most memorable gifts I have are the ones my parents made for me... one of them being cardboard boxes... Yes... boxes. Mom and Dad turned them into a playhouse in our basement. Mom even made little window boxes with fake flowers in them, and there was a bunkbed and a kitchenette... I believe the 'purchased' item was a small table and chairs set to put inside.

Ah, memories!

Anyway, enough of my chitter chatter... here's the little video that really got me thinking... maybe it will get you thinking too! :)



Merry Christmas, and I hope it's everything you were hoping for this year!

Oh, and the title? One of my fave songs! (Ok, I love just about every Christmas song, hee hee, but I thought the image of this song sort of suited my post).

Tag!

Ok, so it took me awhile to finally post this... mainly because I didn't see the comment for awhile (for some reason I haven't been recieving the emails lately... hmmm).

I've been tagged by Melanie at Fruits of the Spirit to tell of "15 things I'm not afraid to admit". Hmm... let's see...

#1: I'm a neat freak... I love to organize and I have a cleaning schedule... that I printed up... with a calendar on it... in my cleaning closet......

Yeah, I know! (smile)

#2: I LOVE playing video games, especially puzzle games and action games (I could probably play all day if I had the time). I bought some wii points recently and am debating a number of games to get. Doesn't help those wii points sitting there, staring at me saying 'buy more games!'... I even have a side blog devoted to gaming although I haven't done much with it lately. Having a baby slowed down my gaming a bit.

#3: I love kiddie movies. Yup, cartoons are one of my fave things to watch! I want to have a collection of Disney movies eventually, and now that I have a baby girl (hee hee) I want to get myself her the Barbie movies... don't look at me like that!

#4: I carry my camera with me everywhere. I seem to need it the one time I forget it however. You just never know when a great picture opportunity will present itself.

#5: I love crafts. I'm hoping to handmake most of the Christmas gifts I wish to give this year. That might be difficult due to certain time constraints (named Marin, hee hee), but I've already started on some that seem to be doing well. It doesn't matter what it is... sewing, cooking, baking, woodworking, painting...

#6: Kinda going with 5, I have my own workshop. With tools. It has a heater... so I can use it in winter! Yippee! I hope to get a table saw and planer soon so I don't have to keep using my dad's. And I kinda want to upgrade my mitre saw from a 10" blade to a slider (mine just doesn't 'cut' it... *smile*).

#7: I am always rocking or moving or something. I can't seem to sit still. It's no wonder that Marin seems to need to be rocked almost all the time! ;)

#8: I'm allergic to straw... not a good thing when living on a farm!

#9: One of my fave things to do is go for a walk with my hubby. It doesn't matter what time of year, however this year we'll be walking less unfortunetly. I would even drive to town for the purpose of walking along mainstreet with my hubby. In winter... even when it's snowing. I LOVE when it is snowing!

#10: My fave season is fall!

#11: I can't stand raisins. Don't know why, just can't. Believe me, I've tried.

#12: When it comes to the house and yard, that's my territory. My hubby doesn't need to do it because I do it all... except electrical. And things that I just don't want to do that he enjoys. I'm the one who mows lawn, clips trees, paints walls, puts up the mouldings and trim, fixes shelves... you get the idea.

#13: I have eczema... blech.

#14: I prefer not to bother with makeup... or doing my hair... or doing anything with myself but the bare minimum... I just started wearing jewelry and now have a baby so that is out too, (smile).

#15: I'm a lister... I have lists for everything... I just adore checking things off. I'll even put stuff on the 'to do' list that I've already done just so I can have the satisfaction of checking it off, lol.

Ok, so now I'm supposed to tag people... uh...

If you read this, TAG! Your it! (hee hee, I know that's not supposed to be how it works, but I'm lazy today).

Oh, but I guess no tagbacks, so Melanie, your free on this one. ;)

#38: Get back to pre-pregnancy weight

Yes! I've done it! After working out regularly I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight... although not my pre-pregnancy shape. That belly still is a bit jelly-esque. However, after meeting my 2 month goal of sticking to a weekly routine (and tracking it) I'm sure it will be much closer to what it was. I've noticed a difference already.

I have to say, Wii Fit has definitely helped in meeting this goal... and will be the main factor in meeting goals #36 and #37. The yoga is great fun, and the strength training is good too. I also love some of the aerobic games, and my fave balance game has to be the marble drop... it's in my fave 10. Not a fan of the lotus focus... but I have tried it. I've unlocked everything in the game already, including all the challenges. I haven't bothered doing the push up challenge yet, but I actually enjoy doing the plank and it strengthens my core considerably. I can't wait till I'm no longer shaking when doing some of the core exercises... I need to strengthen that area again anyway.

Woo Hoo! Now to tone that flabby belly...

News...

We found out what has been bothering the poor girl for so long... apparently it turns out she has a bladder infection. We had her tested last Thursday (along with tests for me too, my tests were OK except for low sugar levels, so my doctor gave me strict orders to have snacks... yes... snacks...). So, that would explain why she is so inconsolable lately... we can't solve her problem by the normal ways. I already gave her some of her antibiotics yesterday and today, so we'll see if it improves soon. Poor girl. Hopefully things will improve quickly as my stress levels have been rising throughout the day with trying to console my little girl and wondering why she won't nap when she is so obviously tired (when the cry is more yawn than cry when they are calming down, it's obvious).

I think I'm ready for a nap. I did exercise today, and I got some of my craftwork done... mainly cutting the pieces for a gift (or two) I'm making. I want to have those two gifts finished by my birthday so I can start work on a few others.

Sorry I haven't been doing the confession mondays or thankful thursdays lately... I've been busy and it's been difficult to get on. Our little girl is finally sleeping in her crib. She has had maybe an hour of sleep since she woke up at 9:45 this morning, and I finally got her to nap again at around 5pm...

Oh... in more news, next week sunday we are dedicating her to God in our church. I'm singing with my aunt and sis for that special evening service as well. It will be an interesting day... I'm looking forward to it. I always loved baby dedication services (smile).

Funny how all my posts revolve around our little bundle... actually, I guess life is now revolving around that little bundle. They don't say a baby changes your life for nothing!

Photo Cuteness

Here are some cute pics me and my aunt took yesturday. I think lil Marin is super cute...

I want to do more photo shoots of her... each month! I'll have to do something on my birthday when she'll be 2 months, and around Christmas at 3 months for sure... we'll see what I come up with then. Till then, enjoy! :)

It's been awhile

Yeah... I haven't posted in quite some time. Life has been busy lately.... Marin has her fussy time during the afternoon... the time I usually spend online, so lately I've been busy doing as much stuff as I need to during the naps she finally has. She sleeps well at night (6 hours now... so glad) which makes me feel so blessed.

My sister had a shower for me on Wednesday here at my house. It was incredible. The decorating her and my sis-in-law did was gorgeous, and they got a really nice cake too (one that had rolled fondant! I've never had a cake with rolled fondant! It was great). They even had favors... baby bottle candy and those candy necklaces. I took pics.

This cake is beautiful

Poor Marin... got hungry just as everything was starting.

The rocker in this pic is a family heirloom on dear hubby's side. His great grandpa's.

The poor cake... but boy did it taste good

Anyway, that's a few pics. It's amazing the things Marin got. I love the clothes, and my sis-in-law got her a little pink bible! It's sooo cute! Has a family tree inside that I should fill out. Never had mine filled out when I was little.

The other day I took my pics that I printed out, (including the baby announcements... a bit late, I know... should have printed them when I finished them but I didn't), and put them in the frames I've had here waiting for them. They look gorgeous. Now to put them up on the walls. Once I've done that I can check off another of my 101 in 1001. :) I also did a bunch of catching up on paperwork. Yippee! Now I want to go play some video games.

How many of you did something for halloween? We didn't. I had worship team practice in the evening and a farm meeting during the day. Otherwise... just did work and stuff. I washed all the new babyclothes and put them away. Lots of stuff from 3-6 months. I was told to make sure that I wash everything as it may shrink and fit her earlier. Such cute outfits... I cant wait to see her in them! :)

Anyway, that's all I'll post for now. I'm sleepy yet again. Sigh. :)

Spread the Love

Willow from Apron Strings and Angst awarded me with this cute little butterfly award! Awww!! Thanks so much, Willow! So now, without further adieu, I will spread the love to my fellow bloggers!!

The Fruits of the Spirit

The Farmer Files

Feels Like Home

Bring the Rain

Tales from a Cafe Chick

Small Inspirations

One Step Forward

Cinderella Moments

Pearls and Peridots

Mommy Confessions

There are three rules!

First, link back to the person who sent you the award.

Second, choose 10 people to give the award to.

Third, contact each of them and tell them about it! :)

That's all there is to it! Aren't awards great? :) Spread the love!

Sleep... where art thou?

Ok, I know everyone talks about how we lose sleep when having a baby, but I always thought that was more due to the baby waking all the time during the night and keeping you awake. Marin is great... she'll sleep through the night if I let her, but I wake her once a night to eat (usually she's already waking and sucking on her fists at that point, but I dont think she's cried at night at all the last couple of weeks).

My sleeplessness is MY issue.

I keep thinking I'm feeding her, dreaming I'm feeding her, thinking she's in bed with me and I wake and worry because she's not there. I'm half asleep most of the night and not sure what happened to her, or hubby, or me... it's crazy. I wake every hour to check the time, and it takes a good half hour to usually fall asleep, and then when she needs to feed in the morning I'm so exhausted I can hardly raise myself to feed her. Sigh. I'm wondering if I should set an alarm clock and just wake with it to feed her, and then sleep with the alarm reset again. Sigh. 2-3 am and 6am are good... seems to be when she wants to wake anyway... with the previous feeding at 10... or 11. They say it's ok to let them sleep through the night at 6 weeks, so in 2 weeks I'll be putting her in her crib in the other room instead of having her in the bassinet, so I don't worry about whether she is hungry and I'm not hearing her... (smile).

It's amazing how our minds focus so much on the new little one once they are in the world. I cannot imagine life without her now!

So... perhaps I'll take a nap with hubby now...

Thankful Thursday

For more Thankful Thursday posts, visit Grace Alone.

"After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
1Thessalonians 4:17

I am thankful for the promises of God. He never fails us, He is always with us, He will not give us anything we cannot handle with Him, we are His and He will forever love us and nothing we can do will seperate us from His love... the list goes on. Search Google for biblical promises of God, and the list is huge. However, I think the best promise is the one above... we will be with the Lord forever!

If we've accepted Christ as Saviour of our lives, we are promised an eternal home in heaven. Now I don't know about you, but that is huge in my life. So many I know have gone before... they are with our Father, and someday I will join them. That is His promise to me. And I will be rejoined with those I love and will be able to dance and rejoice with them in the holiness and loveliness of our heavenly Father!

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Phillipians 1:21

Let us take that verse to heart and live our lives in thankfullness for Christ, the one who gave us life to begin with, and to remember that our home is not here on this earth, but in heaven.

A friend of mine posted this song on her blog yesturday in honor of all the babies we have lost, to remember them. I cried. I love this song, and I post it here for all of you to see.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:4

Praise be to God for his Glory, Love, Holiness, and Promises... ones we know He will always keep!

October 15

So, I found out that today is the National Day of Remembrance for infant and pregnancy loss. I don't know how many of you have lost a child of your own, or if you perhaps know someone who has.

I lost our first little one at 14 weeks pregnant at the end of September last year. We found out the baby had died shortly after my husband's 29th birthday. I had made him a card talking about how his wish of having a baby before his 30th birthday would come true. Both of us agreed to 'hide' that card shortly after finding out. We both felt so dead. Neither of us was angry at God, we knew there must have been a reason. This day last year I cried. Today, I'm crying as I'm writing this. I loved that little life inside of me as I love my little girl who has already been out in the world for 3 1/2 weeks. God has blessed us richly. That card? It still applies... Marin was born days before her father's 30th birthday.

I wish to share a dream with you that I had shortly after finding out that our little one had died last year. God gave me a dream of a little green eyed, curly reddish-brown haired girl all dressed in white, dancing in a sea of daisies with Jesus. She smiled at me. I woke up crying. God is taking care of her for me in heaven where I'll see her someday.

So, since this is a day to remember these little ones, let's take some time think of them as they perfect their dance with our Heavenly Father.

#55: Finish Baby Room

Ok, this actually was finished on the 19th of September, but havin Marin the following day kept me from posting it.

So, here are a number of pics of the room.

I did clouds on the ceiling... was difficult at first as the clouds took a lot of work.

I love dragonflies, so I painted some on the crib as well.

Here are the wall panels and the new changetable

Here are the curtains I made from an old sheet...

I should probably post new pics of the decorating that has since been done... now that we have a changepad and a nice diaper caddy for the changetable, along with the foot and handprints on the fabric panels using the ladybug pins I've had for years. I want to put up some artwork too. Since we had a girl, I want to add fairies on ladybugs and dragonflies in some artwork for the wall next to the crib. That will be awhile though... perhaps my Christmas gift to Marin (smile).

Confession Monday

Today's confession: I'm a mean mommy.

Yup... mean. My little Marin has the cutest cry, and I just can't help but laugh at her when she does. Isn't that mean? I still take care of her, sure, but her cry is just too cute and funny, the way she screws up her little face and the sounds she makes when she's really sleepy... her little mouth does the funniest little things, and she looks at me with those big blue eyes of hers, and I cannot help but giggle. Although, I have to say, it is nice when she is no longer crying, as her face is super cute when she smiles and makes little faces. Those eyes... I just cannot resist my little Marin!

I think she's gonna have her daddy wrapped around her little finger! ;)

Thankful Thursday

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Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 100

Currently I have this song in my head:

Lord, You are more precious than silver.

Lord, You are more costly than gold.

Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds,

And nothing I desire compares to You.

I love this song. It reminds me of Bible camp and sunday school. Childhood. There's just something about childhood that brings back so many wonderful feelings. I have wonderful parents that enriched our childhood with time spent doing things together, taking us to church, sunday school, Awana, sharing Bible stories, showing us the love of our Father through themselves... I am thankful for that. I want to instill this same love of the Father in my little girl as she grows up. I want to do things with her that don't necessarily break the bank as our family didn't have a lot of extra money, but things that are memorable and show our love of her and of God. You don't need money to have fun and create great memories. My family proved that time and time again. I am thankful for my family... not just the immediate family, but our extended family as well. They made my life memorable in so many good ways.

I am thankful for the time my husband has spent with me this week. We had another wedding this weekend, and I am thankful that we were able to go. It was lovely, the bride was beautiful, and you could see the groom was thrilled to pieces! Hubby and I also had fun with Marin... nothing overly special necessarily, just spending time with her. She makes the cutest faces. I can't resist her. We gave her her first 'water bath' this week, and intend on making it a daily routine before bed. She sleeps well afterward. Sponge baths just aren't as nice for her (can you say... COLD). We found a temperature she likes now too. And we also did hand and foot prints and put them in frames. Now I need to mount them. They are so cute... I think she'll be thrilled to see them when she is older.

I am thankful for my ACC friends around the world. ACC is a website, animal crossing community, which is a site for those of us who play the video game animal crossing. The DS version allowed you to visit other towns, and there are a group of women I'm a part of that love to chat with each other. They were all so happy for me being pregnant again that they sent us gifts and cards. One card in particular they sent from one to the other, till everyone signed it. They also put the stamps and address labels from each of them into a bag to 'prove' it had made it's rounds around the world. That is so super sweet, and it really made my day! I've recieved many gifts from them as well. The group gifts were the hand/foot print set, and a 1 year picture frame (take a pic each month to put in) that is absolutely gorgeous. I also recieved some baby clothes. Marin is one lucky little girl. I am so thankful for my ACC friends and the love they have shown me and my family!

So, what are you thankful for this week? :) It's amazing how much we have to thank our heavenly Father for!

Just for fun

I did a few 'dessert personality' tests, and I thought they were super cute. So, I'm sharing them with you!

You Are Apple Pie

You're the perfect combo of comforting and traditional. You prefer things the way you've always known them. You'll admit that you're old fashioned, and you don't see anything wrong with that. Your tastes and preferences are classic. And classic never goes out of style. Those who like you crave security. People can rely on you to be true to yourself - and true to them. You're loyal, trustworthy, and comfortable in your own skin. And because of these qualities, you've definitely earned a lot of respect.

What Kind of Pie Are You?

Your Ice Cream Personality:

You like to think of yourself as a fairly modest person. And it's true that you don't talk yourself up... but you're also pretty happy with who you are. You are incredibly cautious. You rather miss out on something than make a mistake. No one would ever call you wild... but they would call you responsible. You are a very open minded, liberal, and flexible person. You love many things. You tend to have tastes that range from down home to cosmopolitan. You tend to have a one track mind. You prefer not to multitask. You are a serious and contemplative person. You definitely do your own thing in life.

The Ice Cream Personality Test

Mmmm... apple pie and ice cream... who needs the personality bits, I just want to eat them (smile).

Baby Video

I couldn't resist, so here's a little video of Marin.

Baby M

Here are some pics for all to enjoy of our little bundle of joy. I just think she's the cutest... but I may be a little biased... (wink)

Here is M, a few days old in her crib.

A foot pic... I couldn't resist.

And here she is wearing my baby dress from my keepsakes. She's one week old here.

And now for today's photos. During M's 'wake time'. She certainly is alert for 12 days old.

"Give me the camera and nobody gets hurt"

Lol... I just love this pic.

That's all for now. I made the baby announcements already, so I just need to get them printed off soon. I will post one of them once they are printed and given out to most everyone. It's only fair... (smile).