Can I Get a Smile?

Garrett has been smiling at me but not on camera yet. Here is us trying to capture it.

Play Hut

We had some great friends give us a princess play hut a while ago. I have to keep it put up and just break it out every now and then because our wild man (i.e. Braedon) will unintentionally destroy it. I broke it out the other day and it was the best thing in the world for about an hour. Here are some cute pics.



I had hoped that maybe it could stay out and be Kaley's "space" because lately Braedon seems to have been wanting his own space and has adopted this corner behind the living room chair.

Decorated Boxes

I saw this cute little craft from Publix Preschool Pals. I got all excited about Braedon being able to keep some of his smaller, favorite toys in it. He made it but hasn't touched it yet. It was fun to make and there is always hoping that he will use it one of these days. Kaley couldn't really make her own so I glued the sides on for her expecting her to want to decorate it with stickers. She didn't want to decorate it or keep any of her small things in it either.


An arrow was the doodad in Lil K a few weeks ago and he is still infatuated with arrows. So, we used his arrow craft that he made that Sunday and glued it on the side of the box. I think it looks pretty neat.

Jug-O-Lantern

This is a cute little halloween craft I saw at Publix Preschool Pals. It was fun but very messy. We drew the faces together and I cut them out. Then I turned Braedon and Kaley loose with paint and they used LOTS of it. Pumpkins are usually orange but Braedon made his blue, pink, purple, brown, and every other color of paint we had. I had a little more control over Kaley's paint options so her's turned out mostly orange. It was fun but then the paint started chipping off of the jugs and leaving a mess on the floor so they had to go bye bye pretty soon after we were finished looking at the finished product.



Once we put the flashlight inside the jug and put it in our dark bathroom it actually looked a little creepy, which wasn't really what I was going for. There is another reason they went bye bye.

I'm It

Over the past few days I have felt somewhat overwhelmed with the number of times Braedon says "um, mommy" during any given day. I think about it a lot because well I am being constantly reminded of it. In thinking about it today I realized that all he really wants is to share something with me. He is excited about showing or telling me whatever it is. I also was reminded that this age and season of life is oh so temporary and one day he may not want to share many things with me. Right now, I am IT to him and I want to relish in that fact, appreciate it, and enjoy it instead of be resentful or overwhelmed by it. The same goes for Garrett and Kaley too. They are all so young that I am the center of their world right now. What a neat privilege that God has given me to be called mommy.

Thank God for Grandparents

We were so blessed to have all three biological grandparents in town during the first month of Garrett's life.
First, my mom was here for three weeks (dad was here for a week of that).

Then, Andrew's mom (aka Mom2) was here for a week.


Then, Andrew's dad was here for almost a week.



The kids were blessed to be able to spend special time with their grandparents and we were tremendously blessed to have extra hands. Grandparents, Thank you for your visit and all your help. We love you!

Super Simple Carrot & Raisin Salad

I love me some carrot and raisin salad. I have made several different recipes with the best tasting being a recipe from Food Network that contained drained yogurt, orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest, lemon zest, carrots, and raisins (maybe a few other things...I am going off memory). But really, who has time for all of that? I also love the carrot and raisin salad from Chic-Fil-A but I don't get out much these days. So, I am happy that I discovered something new the other day. We have been eating plain vanilla yogurt with raisins for a snack for a while...nothing new. We had some carrots grated for a greens salad...nothing new. As I reached into the fridge for the yogurt I saw the grated carrots sitting right next to it. Lightbulb...and here we have super simple carrot and raisin salad. Just mix yogurt (not drained, straight from the tub), grated carrots, and raisins. It tastes great, is fresh, and doesn't get much easier than that.

The Fair

We visited our local state fair a couple of weeks ago. Braedon did not wish to ride any of the rides. Here we are waiting on one to start so he could watch.
So, the highlight of the trip was the blow up slide,



feeding the elephants,


and eating snow cones (wish I would have gotten a pic of that).

Garrett is 2 Months

Here is the 2 month picture with the bear. Praise God that Garrett is gaining weight so well. He is still tiny but he gained 3 pound in 5 weeks and is up to 9lbs 4 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. I can't help but be a proud breastfeeding mama and so thankful that we are nursing successfully!

Kaley wanted to be in on the picture too!

Making Home a Haven Challenge-Wk 1

Visit Women Living Well to learn more about the challenge.

I have had a big heart for wanting to bless my husband and my children by making our home a haven for some time now. I would say at least a couple of years. Although quite is not a word I would use to describe our home, it is very loving, warm, and peaceful (most of the time). That said, I am still always looking for new ways to make our home an even more pleasant place to be. That is why when I saw this challenge I had to jump all over it. Even though I haven't participated in any in my blogging life I love the idea of challenges because it serves as accountability to complete something that I am passionate about. Making our home a haven is something I am passionate about.
Week 1 of the challenge is to light a candle each day and whenever the glimmer catches my eye pray for my home. This is huge because not only does the house feel more warm because of the soft candle light and the fall scent, my home is being prayed for very often. It is only day 1 of week 1 and I love this challenge so far. :-)