Advent again..crafty post

Tonight I am repainting my scratch off advent calendar.  My kids had so much fun with the scratch off part and we are ready to do it all again, starting Saturday!

Jewelry frame

I made this frame for my jewelry.  I found a bargain frame at Salvation army, removed the picture, spray painted it brown and using a staple gun attached chicken wire to the back.  I love having my earrings and a few necklaces displayed. 

 

Have you made anything lately?

 



In the mail- Thriving Family

This past weekend we received our free Thriving Family December issue from Focus on the Family.  Included inside was an Advent activity calendar and I am excited to read through it with our family.  Each day has a scripture to read and a short activity/discussion point.  You can visit ThrivingFamily.com/Advent and download a digital version. 
The challenge for December is to stay focused on the reason we celebrate Christmas and not lose your mind!

La La visits

My mom was here last weekend for a visit and we crammed as much as possible into one weekend.  She brought clothes and gifts for the kids.  Griffin loves his new puzzle and Sydney has been working on her princess book every free moment.

We visited the Natural Science Museum

Meerkat show



 

huge turtle "bone crusher" believed to have been born in 1918

 

gibbon

 

mom surrounded by kids (human and animal)

 

Sydney by the tigers

 

With grammie playing her Ipad- a major hit with both kids!

Happy Thanksgiving

Griffin 2010

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

good morning

Today is your day, get out there and believe in yourself.  Give the world your best and you might get something amazing back. 

Recipe

This soup for butternut squash soup is amazing and so easy.  I left out the marjoram leaves and I used 4 ounces of the Neufchatel (1/3 less fat) and it was so yummy.  Sydney loved it and was upset the next night when she found out I had taken the leftovers to work for my lunch.  Butternut squash is very nutritious and full of vitamins, especially vitamin A!  I am making this while my mom is in town and I am doubling the batch.  It is delicious with a nice crusty bread. 

siblings

Sydney sitting on stool reading to Griffin while he soaks in the tub.  Our kids love each other so much and they always (well almost always) want to be together.  It makes me smile (and run downstairs to grab my camera).

New look

It was time for a kitchen change up. Our kitchen has been yellow since we painted when we moved in 7 years ago. We wanted to change the color to an apple green and so we did it! The color is actually called Japanese Fern by Behr .

 

I bought this frame at Salvation army for 3.99, took out the back, spray painted it white, sanded the edges a bit and sprayed it was an acrylic topcoat.  Then I used a staple gun and attached chicken wire to the back.

 

We bought two new sets of dishes at Ikea, so we have a matching set of 12.

Plus these sweet little bowls, perfect for ice cream.

Our kitchen looks and feels brand new.

Sydney and Max

Bill and I met Scott and Nicole during our childbirth class. When we arrived at the hospital to have Sydney we ran into Scott and Nicole on the L&D floor and found out Max had been born the day before Sydney. We have kept in touch ever since.

This past weekend at Max's party, it is so fun to see them both grow.

These kids are both awesome and so very blessed and LOVED!

boys and toys

Griffin was so happy to play with his excavator and pile of sand

my boy and I- I love him so much sometimes my hurts feels it will burst

what a cute face

 

Hello Monday and Happy Birthday

Hooray for Monday and for our little girls 6th birthday!

Wow it really is crazy how time flies.  I can still remember being pregnant with Sydney and all the anticipation we felt waiting for the arrival of our first child. 

 

a walk through the previous birthdays

1

2

3

4

5

missing right now-stuck on a flash drive

 

6

 

 

We are looking forward to this week

•  a special birthday with our girl
• check ups for both kids at my office, I cannot wait to see where they are on the growth charts
• my mom arrives on Friday so we have  a weekend full of fun planned
• of course I have the usual laundry and grocery shopping, plus preparing a few yummy treats while my mom is with us

what do you have planned for this week?

Griffin playing basketball

Thanks Grammie and Grandpa for the new basketball net!

Halloween Party

I made these little witches hats for my office- a striped shortcake fudge cookie, a little frosting on a Hersey's kiss to make it stick and then decorate with frosting, yummy and adorable

Karla and I- class party moms

I was the cat and the hat -everyone at my office dressed up

Sydney with the owl she made

we used a brown paper bag, crepe paper, white cupcake liners, wiggly eyes and card stock- orange for the beak

We let the kids decorate sugar cookies with orange frosting and yummy toppings

Mrs Fearnside reading a Halloween book to the class

We had a fun party and we are already planning the Christmas party!

crafts

I was inspired to make a few crafts- first this give thanks banner.  I used burlap that I bought by the yard at Hobby Lobby, card stock and letters that I traced with stencils and cut.  I used a glue gun and attached the burlap squares to twine and hung it across our mantel. 

For my H sign I painted a canvas black, cut burlap and scrapbook paper.  I painted a wooden H and bought an embellishment. 

Trip to Mtns/Orchard

This year we wanted to visit our favorite orchard and spend a little time checking out the area so we left on a Saturday afternoon. We stayed in Flat Rock but headed to a nearby town, Hendersonville for dinner.

Griffin eating spaghetti

the restaurant was called Mezzaluna and it was yummy!

while we were eating dinner we saw a horse drawn carriage go by several times and the kids asked to go for a ride

this is Sydney with Peter

family pic- if only Griffin had been looking at the camera

it was fun, a first for all of us riding on a carriage

 

Sydney and Bill

Juliet was our driver and she was very sweet, we rode up and down the main street in Hendersonville

the town had all kinds of neat shops, it would be great to visit without the kids so we could browse

donuts and a movie back at the hotel

We got up and had breakfast at the hotel, checked out and headed to the orchard.  It was a chilly 5o some degrees, we all layered up and Sydney added Bill's extra jacket.

we were told most of the apples were picked but we could go out and see  what we could find

(last year we went earlier in October and there were still plenty to pick)

a bit of climbing was involved but we did find some Granny Smiths

Griffin, Charlie, Sydney and Sam (the Parker's went with us)

Sky Top Orchard 2012!

Bill and I on the hayride

the view is amazing on top of the mountain

I just thought this rooster was beautiful

bamboo forest

 

Sydney and Griffin (who would not cooperate)

look how much the kids have grown, remember last year

We had a wonderful time, and now I have 30 lbs of apples to use!  If you have never been to the western part of North Carolina, you need to plan a trip.  The area where we stayed was close to Asheville, Waynesville, Chimney Rock, Brevard and Lake Lure!  We would love to go to the area for a week and just check out all the shops, restaurants and attractions.