baby pinterest purchases

Before I was pregnant I used to day dream of having a baby while looking at the pinterest "kids" section.  I would repin all the cute little outfits, newborn photo ideas, nursery decorations, "what to pack sites", and much more!  

Once I found out we were having a baby girl, I had to order two things quick.  I had seen them several times and they both looked like items I would HAVE TO HAVE when Hannah arrives.  They are both here and I am pleased with both of them.  Both good ideas for a baby shower gift.

The first item is this Blooming Bath.  You can put it in your sink for the sponge baths with a newborn or just on the counter-top.  Also, you can put it in the bath tub for a soft spot for baby to sit.  I thought it would be good for traveling too, so you don't have to try and pack those hard plastic baby bath tubs.  To clean it you just pop it in the washer then dryer, or simply the dryer for about 10 minutes every other time.   I just saw too that they came out with an ivory colored one, I would have gotten that one but pink was the best option for me at the time :) Plus, it's just soo cute!  I can't wait to take pictures of little Hannah in this, haha.

The second item that I couldn't resist is the cute little Latchy Catchy, door cloth for babies door.  I ordered it off Etsy at Latchy Catchy in the grey and blue color scheme.  If your house is almost a 100 years old like mine, then your doors are bound to be loud and tricky to close and open with out making a ton of noise.  I'm really hoping that this item will help me to go in and check on sleeping Hannah without making too much noise.  I also think this would be a cute and inexpensive shower gift :) 

Oh pinterest, why do I have a feeling this is just the beginning?!  

What have you bought off pinterest that you love?

rejoice

"And the angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11  

Christmas this year was so wonderful!  

We spent a week out at the lake and had such a great time.  I love having such a big family, and it is only growing with all my cute nieces and nephew :)  Kids add so much joy to the season.  I loved watching them come down the stairs Christmas morning and seeing all the excitement!  Mr. Claus definitely didn't miss Marmie and Poppie's house this year ;)
This is a picture of the den after "Santa" had set everything up!

Cookies, milk, and a sweet note to Santa and the Tooth Fairy 

(Isabelle lost her tooth on Christmas Eve!)

Christmas Eve we had a fun fancy dinner and everyone dressed up.  It really made the night special and festive.

 The best part was a Christmas Tale that my Mom directed with all the grand kids.  They acted out Jesus' birth, with Mary and Joseph and a heavenly host of angels.  It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen.  Hearing those little darlings sing Christmas songs and read Scripture was so neat.  There wasn't a dry eye in the room :)

Another one of my favorite things is the matching pj's that my Mom gives everyone on Christmas Eve.  This year they were especially cute!  She got red and white stripe nighties for all the girls and the boys had red and white stripe long johns :) and red Lacoste t-shirts!  She found them at Hannah Andersson, such a fun shop, with really cute baby and kid clothes too!   The room was so cheerful and Christmasy, I loved it so much!  But most of all I just love sitting around and talking with family and loving on those precious kiddos!

Jesus' Birthday!

The little babies eating breakfast together.  It was so cute, they started to feed each other at one point :)

Happy Abigail :)

Making homemade cinnamon rolls, thanks to my Mother-in-Laws awesome recipe!

Marmie and some of her grandkids - oh how we love her!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too!

cheer

I love the view from my kitchen window right now.  All the leaves are changing colors and today is cold and rainy.  I have dinner in the crock pot and just made myself a cup of hot chocolate.  

This has been such a nice holiday season.  We spent Thanksgiving with Zach's family and it was very restful.  Actually, we were all sick with colds, so everyone just bundled up and laid low.  Just what we all needed!  I love being able to sit around and enjoy family, and that is just what we did. Of course while munching on delicious foods.  One day my Mother in law took all the girls to get a manicure and pedicure, it was like heaven!  I was in dyer need for one and soaked up every second :)  It was great girl time, for sure!  

We have two more weeks of school before Christmas break.  I am already in vacation mode, and I love it!  This week I plan on getting all of my shopping complete, gifts wrapped, and placed under the tree.  Shopping for Christmas gifts is one of my favorite things to do, it is so much fun to pick things out for other people.  My second favorite thing is watching them open up the gifts, such a joyful time, celebrating our sweet Saviors birthday.  I am feeling overwhelmed with Thanksgiving this season.  My family and friends are so supportive and loving.  I love celebrating baby Jesus' birthday with them :)

The next month or so I am really going to try to just live in each moment and soak up all the Christmas cheer!  Love sitting in our den with all the lights and green and red!

our stockings are hung my the chimney with care :)

nothing prettier than a sparking Christmas tree :)

"For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.:  Isaiah 11:1

heart

"Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends."

John 15:13

About a month ago one of my best friends got engaged and some of us girls were

oohing and aahing over her ring. This got us talking about the nice pieces of jewelry that we own. In college we all pretty much wore costume jewelry from J.Crew, Anthro, Franchescas, ect. Occasionally in college after Christmas break girls would come back with a nice bracelet or ring from their parents, usually from David Yurman. Which, I still love Yurman. And lately, it seems, a lot of people are starting to work for Stella and Dot an in-home trunk show jewelry boutique. Some of their stuff is really fun and pretty reasonable. I have been to a couple of their trunk shows and am always really tempted to spend lots of money, ha!

Anyways, long story short, somehow we started talking about gifts from our husbands. One of my friends mentioned how sweet it would be to get a heart piece of jewelry. The more I think about this the more I love the idea! Also, I have been seeing it everywhere. There really is something so sweet and kind about a heart. Here are some of the pieces I found...wrap your heart around these!

Tiffany's Open Heart Pendant necklace

Classic Tiffany Heart Locks bracelet...never got this even when it got really big after Reese Witherspoon wore the bracelet and matching necklace in the movie Sweet Home Alabama (great movie!) I still admire it.

Etsy special :)

Etsy special :)

Anthropologie heart

Yurman Cable Heart Chain

Yurman Cable Heart

precious baby girl

Happy Birthday baby Abby!

Congratulations to your sweet Mom and Dad who love you very much! Mary and Matt had their baby last night and it is a pretty baby girl. Mary did great and is doing well today :) This little one was ready to meet her parents and came about ten days early! We are so glad she did!

Abby Stults

August 23, 2011

6 pounds 10 ounces

What a wonderful gift from God. I can't wait to hold and love this little cutie!

talk about faith

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

I just read a really. good. book.

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo has touched my life. I was told by family and friends to pick it up and read it, how great it was, and how much it would influence your faith. Boy did it ever!

This story is about a little boy who is rushed into emergency surgery. During this surgery he states that he died for three minutes and went to Heaven. After a successful surgery (really a miracle) he begins to tell his parents all about his journey. He talks about the people he saw, meeting Jesus and Mary, and the beautiful colors.

One of my favorite parts is when Todd Burpo (the dad and pastor) ends up having to take Colton (his son who visited Heaven) with him to a funeral home to bless an old friend and his family before taking his last breaths on Earth. The family of the old man gathers and Burpo says a beautiful prayer, all while Colton stands quietly. Then as they are leaving Colton turns back to the old man laying in bed and whispers in his ear, "It's going to be okay. The first person you're going to see is Jesus!" This part really touched my heart because it was so sweet and kind. In Burpo's words he describes his son as being, "a tiny tour guide for a departing heavenly traveler". What an amazing thing to read! I'm sure that old man's heart filled with such joy and calmness.

I found this website and thought it would be a neat one to share. It gives a good glimpse of the book, gives some excerpts, and also shows an interview of the boy and his parents many years down the road. Even though this site is filled with lots of information about the book, I really want you to go buy it and read it! It influenced me so much and added so much faith to my life :)

There's a lot to look forward too!!!!

birthday boy

Happy Birthday Zach!

This weekend has been so great! We got to celebrate Zach's birthday at the lake. God knew he was making something special on May 30, 1985. It was so much fun and we all loved showering Zach on his special day. The weekend was filled with yummy meals, lots of fun in the sun, and a morning of golf at Colonial with the guys. I hope he felt very loved!

I love you so much babe! I know this year will be a great one for you :)

Gavin just knew that Zach would love a dinosaur cake! It was a great idea and went perfect with the homemade Heath Bar ice cream!

Gifts for the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday! Love you!

happy easter

Easter weekend has been so much fun! It was such a great time together. We spent a lot of time just sitting around talking and loving on the little kids/babies, well at least the girls did. The boys on the other hand, were active the entire weekend; playing sports, snorkeling for Poppie's lost sunglasses at the lake (which were found by Mr. Brack himself!), trying to fish a new rope through a flag pole (which Zach attempted by climbing the 20 ft. high pole like a monkey! I was so scared, really!). Needless to say, they didn't miss a beat. But we all had so much fun!

Just enjoying the patio!

Getting into trouble ;)

It was really hot on Saturday and we were able to lay out and play in the pool, die eggs, and have an Easter egg hunt!

My beautiful sisters

Easter Egg Hunt! Adorable!

I love my family so much. When I get to the lake, I pretty much shut out all outside distractions. Ha, I never look at my phone, never check my email, and you basically have to drag me out the door to go somewhere else. I know why I love it so much out there and it's because of my family. Everyone is so close! We can sit around late at night just talking and enjoying conversation. I hope that, someday, our kids are this close too!

Mary and little Olivia. Doesn't Mary look beautiful! She is having her own little baby in 5 months! She is glowing and the cutest! We are so excited!

Loving on some cute babies :)

I love this song and feel like it explains Easter perfectly. Singing these words just make me smile and feel so blessed. He is Risen indeed!! It called "He is Mighty to Save" by Hillsong. Here are little parts that I love...

Savior, He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save

Forever, author of Salvation

He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine Your light and let the whole world see, we're singing

For the glory of the risen King, Jesus!

What an amazing thing to celebrate! Our Savior has Risen! I want to try and remember this and pray about this in thanksgiving more this year, instead of just this weekend, once a year! What a gift, I can't even begin to explain its majesty!

rejoice and be glad

"So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad

all our days."

Psalm 90:12-14

I am writing about this today, really as a reminder for myself, but I hope it touches you too. This morning our Pastor reminded us that we should be living each day to the fullest and in good spirits. He asked us these questions; How would you pray if this was your last time to converse with Jesus in this sweet way? What would you do with your spouse if this was your last time together? How would you handle tasks at work if this was your last time to use those talents? Love more, pray more, rejoice more each day to the fullest in all that you do. In Psalm 90, Job says that our days are numbered. As sad and weird as it is to think about that, it is so true and amazing at the same time.

On a day to day basis I get stressed and bogged down by pressures and strains of the world. Watching the news, gossip, vanity, and wantings are all influencing my days with negativity. This morning was such a good reminder for me to remember that these things are not feeding my heart and allowing me to be a light for Christ, they are holding me back. Letting go and focusing on God's love and purpose for us (to show that love to others) is what will fill my days with joy and fulfillment.

I love how in verse 14 Jobe says, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love." and I will go on to pray that this love will guide me throughout my day so that I will surround myself with positive forces, do tasks with a kinder heart, and find joy in sharing this love. So this week instead of counting down the days until Friday, or looking at my watch for 3 0'clock to come I hope to stop and live in these minutes/hours/ and days that are gifts from God.

I hope that everyone has a beautiful week and is enjoying the Spring weather :)!

gifts galore!

Every year when March springs, I know I need to get organized and start some shopping! Two of my sisters, two of me nieces, and a couple of my sweet friends have birthdays in March and April! Which I love, because who doesn't like a good party with a yummy cake! I have had a lot of cake this month :) Plus I get to celebrate these special people!

I warned Zach towards the end of February that there would be some charges coming up. "How much we talking here?" is always his response. Once he knows what to expect and if I don't tell him after the fact, he is really sweet about it. So sweet, I just need to do my part and let him know when I will be purchasing about ten birthday gifts in a month, ha! I love gift shopping. I don't know if it's a good thing, but I always use the approach, "Do I love this?", if yes then I get it! Ha! Hopefully my friends and family will love it too!

I always end up driving around town in search for the cutest finds. However, after circling around and finding mediocre gifts I always go back to the same place for perfect finds. Tallulah Belle. The cutest little boutique/gift store in Lakewood. One, I love it because it is so close to home and two because it has a wide variety. Tallulah Belle sales jewelry made by local venders. Their clothes are always super cute and different from everything else out there. The rest of the store is filled with picture frames, vases, pillows, candels, nighties, shoes, makeup, ect. They even have a little section for men, I get Zach's shaving cream there, ha!

Plus, right next door is the cutest little boutique called Bebe Grand. Both of these shops do a great job of getting the newest cutest things. They have toys, blankets, shoes, clothes, and all the "Mommy-to-Be" necessities. I love going in and finding something sweet and soft for our little nieces and nephews!

I just had to brag on these little shops. The customer service is wonderful as well! Plus they gift wrap and it always looks so cute! If you haven't stopped in, you need to, trust me you'll love it!

(All pictures from Tallulah Belle and Bebe Grand)