family friday

on friday we headed east to the city and out for a family day.
jake and i thought ben would like a day out with just mom and dad before sister arrives.
we did have just a couple of errands to run before getting to the "fun" stuff,
but ben didn't seem to mind too much...

especially once he found a mirror and entertained himself (and others) by dancing
while jake was trying on jeans.

after our two shopping stops at the mall we headed out for lunch.
ben's favorite place to go - wendy's.
chicken nuggets, fries and a frosty.
and after a quick bite we were off to another of ben's favorite places...
botanica.

we just had his birthday there in september, and he's been there one other time since with nanna.
but he just loves it - and so do jake and i.
all the fountains were turned off and the "kitchen was closed" (in the children's garden) -
two of ben's favorite things - but we still had a lovely time.
the weather was cool, but comfortable - a perfect fall day.

 

pretty soon it will be time for their big Christmas light display -
illuminations.
it's magical and i can't think of a better way to get in the spirit of the season.
if you live anywhere within driving distance - GO!

a few things

can't believe how quickly this week has gone!

here are a few pictures of what's been happening...

ben's favorite show lately - little einsteins.

so we made the printable characters and rocket.
fun and free!

he thinks they're pretty cool!

welcome goodies for two families with new babies.

muffins, bib sets with baby spoons, and a little something for the older sibling.
it felt wonderful to
sew!

fun to make and even more fun to deliver!

can't believe we're going to have one of those little people in our home any day now.

so exciting!!!

trying to do as much as possible - including a few little touches,
before baby arrives

 this quilt was jake's as a baby.
LOVE IT!
i stitched ribbon tabs along the top for hanging.

one of ben's favorite books at grandma's house arrived in the mail as the book of the month he receives through a program sponsored by one of our local banks.
it's fun to have a copy of it at our house now.

and some serious sorting and organizing that's been taking place to add a little
pink.

and speaking of organizing...
we've been busy trying to make better use of the space we have in our basement.
i don't have before pictures (truthfully - i would be embarrassed to show you what it used to look like!),
but here is the after.

we have now created a more open space for all to enjoy.
more room for play, room for sewing, and even extra room for guests.
it's a definite improvement!

today was spent in the city - just having some time together.
i'll post more about our fun day out later this weekend.

happy friday!

thankful

wow!  didn't mean to take quite this long of a break from posting.
but that's how things have gone lately...
the days are flying by and my computer time has become less and less as we hurry around getting ready for baby.

this last weekend was so nice though -
we had a three day weekend at home.
just the three of us.

and on sunday afternoon we went to the park for some family pictures.
i was incredibly thankful that on short notice we were able to have some lovely photos taken.
i really didn't think we had the time (or even the budget) to do so before our baby arrived,
but thanks to referral from a friend we were able to schedule a session with a local photographer -
and we were so happy with the results!

 

she's also a mom and a local resident in our small town.
she was able to squeeze us into her full schedule.
she was great to work with - even brought elmo!
and she quickly got our photos to us.
ben has been calling her "my new friend".
thank you so much stacie!
here's a quick sampling of some my favorites...

have a wonderful week!
i hope to share more of "what" we've been up to lately very soon.

middle of the week

today was cold, cloudy and wet - we had both rain and snow.
and i'm not sure if it was the weather,
usually i LOVE this kind of a day,
or what - but i just felt - BLAH!
nothing seemed to come together very well.
and my productivity from monday and tuesday came to a dead stop.

so in an attempt to comfort myself this evening i made one of my most favorite chocolate treats.

hot fudge pudding cake

warm, yummy, chocolate comfort - even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
this is super easy to make - and requires only a handful of ingredients.

and i shouldn't forget to mention that i did have a very fun surprise last night-
i won a giveaway!
on one of my favorite blogs take heart!
it was for six patterns from this wonderful etsy shop.
and i'm super excited!!!

i hope to expand my sewing into quilting and fell in love with these fun and modern designs.
i figure i'll have lots of free time on my hands this winter...
right? just me, an active three year old and a new baby in the house all day.  :)
joking aside - i do hope to dust off the sewing machine,
and find time for some fabric and thread over the cold months.
we'll see how it falls together...

for now i'm off to get a bowl of chocolate pudding cake with ice cream, put my feet up
and watch a little tv.
good night.

boo!

happy halloween!

from your favorite little ghost

a little piece of my heart

quite a while ago a posted a picture of a hand stitched project i was working on...
well, i've finally finished it.

and the meaning behind is one quite dear to my heart.
almost exactly a year ago we were expecting to welcome a new baby into our lives.
but that didn't happen.
it broke my heart.

but as time and prayer seem to do - i have healed.
and we are now ready to welcome our baby girl into our family in just a few weeks.
that said - i will never completely forget having the miscarriage, and i don't think i want to -
i want to keep a special place in my heart for the little one we've yet to meet.

that led me to stitching the crabapple.
it was spring time when everything happened, and our crabapple looked amazing.
it's directly out the view of  our kitchen window,
and i can remember looking out and seeing the beautiful pale pink and white blooms.
as the kansas wind blew, it was like it was snowing.
this gave me a sense of peace.

as time passed, i knew i wanted to make something that would allow me to remember without dwelling.
that's what this project was all about.
each lazy daisy, and each french knot were stitched with love.

hope you are having a lovely weekend.

i want to remember

today was just a normal day for us, but at the same time it was one of those days that everything seemed to fall together and be the way i had always pictured things when i thought about being a mom and a wife.

(well, if you forget about the wasted trip to walmart to try to get tires - but that doesn't count right now!)

there was story time...

our second time at the "big kid" one that ben goes to by himself.

(i've still been staying in the library, but he's on his own - for 45 minutes!)

and there was the brisk fall weather...

that we enjoyed by having afternoon snacks outside,

and then playing in the leaves.

to finish our evening we had pizza,

and then popcorn while we watched the charlie brown shows on tv.
ben cracked up several times when he saw charlie brown's ghost costume and said,
"he cut too many holes!"

definitely a day to remember.