Whee!! and other musings....

Yesterday the girls, Bear and I went to the park here in our neighborhood. It was Lily's first time on the swings and she had such a fun time! I'm not sure why in the world I haven't swung her before?!?! She's kinda swung in my lap with me, but yesterday was the full-on, wind in her face swinging. She LOVED it!!

Today we're having a chill day. I've been crafting for Cora and doing some scrapbooking. Brandon and Camille have been cleaning (all day) his car. Bless him. His car was so completely and totally dirty that it took the better part of the day - LOL! Camille has enjoyed spending some one-on-one time with him, though, and didn't seem to mind that a little work was involved!

Here's a quick pic of Lil at the park - - love that RED hair!!

Get out there and GO SHOPPING!!

I have been blogging lately about Cora Paige, the precious little girl who recently lost her battle with cancer. I have been so moved by her story and by her parents' faith and have joined the etsy community to craft for Cora!! Even Camille has gotten involved!!

I've already sold several things and I just listed a few more! I am so excited to be crafting and donating to this awesome cause & can't wait to see how much money is raised for Cora's Playground - a memorial to that sweet little baby!

Here are some things we've made & you can check me out at http://thiscraftychick.etsy.com.

Oh I Could Totally Do That

Yes, I've said it many times. In the midst of awesome craftiness, with the effort to save money, because I take off more than I can chew.....I seem to have the belief that I can do anything ;) Rather than buy a handmade something (candle, soap, earrings, canvas painting, whatever) or a pricey something (custom curtains, personalized outfits for the girls, high-end stuff), I usually just marvel to myself how completely capable I am of doing that myself.

I do kinda love that about me. (Note to self: Could that same optimism please make its way over to the losing weight areas of my psyche?!?!)

Well, yesterday, I just had to chuckle at myself. Brandon has been cutting his hair in a buzz-cut or whatever you call it. Just a No. 2 blade on the shaver all over. I kinda wanted him to have like messy-boy hair. I'm certain this is what Paul Mitchell calls it. Messy boy hair. He had been growing it out a bit and finally got on me to do something with his hair this weekend.

So.....a few YouTube videos later. Yes, YouTube. I watched some hairstyling tutorials! Oh the internet is a marvelous thing! Anyway, I managed to cut his hair into what I think is a pretty darn good style. It was pretty stress-free. If I absolutely wrecked his head, we could always just shave it all off as he had been doing, and no harm. So, I got to play barbershop with him, and my Valentine is looking pretty good! Proof? You want pics? Yeah, I didn't take any of those unfortunately. (bad blogger)

Happy Sunday! Enjoy your sweet families and Praise God for the many blessings in your lives. I am grieving today with the McClenahans. Sweet Cora went to heaven one week ago today. Pray for this precious family.

The Party Girl

Camille has been spreading the love all around and has had two Valentine parties in the last two days. The weird thing is - - she went by herself to both of these parties! Sadly, I have no pictures of all the shin-digs (although Kate & Cheri should have those coming). Since Baby Lil's been sick, Camille rode along with friends to both the ToT Town bash and the Valentine Party at the Thompsons'. I know she had a great time!!

It was a wee bit strange though, sending my gal off to have fun on her own. I missed getting to see her enjoy herself. But, I must admit...it was lovely to spend the afternoon having some very rare time alone.

I've been blogging about Baby Cora and how her story moved me. I cannot get that precious child nor her grieving parents out of my mind. There is a group of Etsy-ians pulling together to craft for Cora - - donating their proceeds to Cora's Playground.

Click here to check out current offerings on Etsy - - but check back come Monday when most gals will begin their sales.



I am hoping to take part in this effort and make some things this weekend to help raise some money for this awesome cause!

Precious Lil

Our sweet baby has not been feeling like herself the last two days. She's had a low-grade fever and runny nose. I think her fever was breaking tonight, so I'm praying that the Lord is healing her little body. I sure do hate it when she isn't feeling well. I'm so anxious that her ear infection might be returning. It's likely teething, but it's just so hard when you don't know for sure.

Bless her, she still smiles and tries to be happy even when she doesn't feel well. My goodness how I love that little one.

I have been so moved by Cora's story and the loss that her parents are experiencing. It makes me cherish Lily and Camille all the more. They are precious gifts and I praise God that he has entrusted them to us.

My Heart Just Aches

I've been visiting several home decor blogs recently and getting lots of inspiration. Tonight I hopped onto Thrifty Decor Chick and read her post about a little girl who died today.

I followed the link to The Macs. Their precious Cora, a lovely girl not quite a year old, went to Heaven today after a brief, but fierce battle with cancer. Just two weeks ago they were oblivious to the challenges that lay ahead and were happily living their lives with their sweet baby. Two weeks.

I have cried so much tonight thinking about this family. In the last two weeks I have celebrated my daughter's birthday, spent time with my mom, picked up a new craft, watched my youngest scoot around the house....we've just been living life. All the while, these folks have had their lives turned upside down, dealt with the most vicious of diseases, and have no doubt cried rivers.

Oh, my heart aches. I will be praying for this young couple and hope that you will join me. They are strong in their faith and love the Lord with all their hearts. I pray that He would continue to uplift them and give them peace. I pray that the Lord would use this situation to His glory.

Hug your little ones a little tighter, and praise God for the amazing gift we have been given.

Too Long, My Friends....Too Long

I can't believe this much time has passed already since I've last blogged. I meant to do better. I wanted to blog, really. I'm sure I've had something intelligible to say in the last three weeks, but alas....I've been too busy (er, lazy) to do any blogging.

Enough in the mud - - let's recap:

The Lilster

*Lily had her 6 month checkup - - she was 19.6 lbs and 28.5 inches. Yes, that was almost a month ago, she's surely grown since then

* Our little chubba chunk eats NON-STOP. She has been happily devouring any solid food we've thrown her way, and we can hardly get it in her mouth fast enough.

* So far she's had: rice cereal, oatmeal, barley, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, pears, apples, mangos, hawaiian delight (pineapple & banana), bananas, avocado, biter biscuits, banana fruit puffs. The only thing she hasn't liked thus far are the fruit puffs. They kinda stick to her lips and she's not having that.

* She has two teeth. Is sitting pretty well on her own, and is starting to scoot around on the floor. She'll push with her toes and get herself around - - it's not long, folks! I've got to finish babyproofing!!

* This past Friday, I left Lily in the nursery for the first time at MOPS. It was the first time I'd left her with anyone but Brandon. Sigh. She did exceptionally well, though. (of course ;)

The Monkey

* Our little one turned 5 last week. Oh, my. I hardly know where the time has gone

* We had a perfectly awesome Winter Wonderland party for her! It was so much fun, and although I went a little over-the-top, as I'm known to often do, it was a blast. Camille had such a great time that she's already requesting we do another Winter Wonderland party when she turns six! Well, atleast we'd save money on decorations, right? ;)

* I am just loving being at home with my girls and wouldn't trade it for anything. I have so cherished working with Camille with preschool stuff, and it's awesome to see how much she's learning. I can't believe the questions she asks - - she's so incredibly curious about the world around her, and I love being able to share in that fascination.

* Camille is also on a mission to get her Nana to move to Texas it would seem! We had such a great visit with Mom when she came for Camille's birthday, and we've missed her now that she's back home!! Oh, living far away is so difficult :(

Other stuff

* I've been having some fun crafting lately - some Valentine goodies (the plaque was featured on The Daily Digi - woo hoo!).

* Mom taught me to crochet while she was here, and I've really picked that up. I think I'm getting addicted! I've already made two scarves (well, they were little baby-doll scarves), and I'm working on a third - this time a people-scarf.

That's all I got for now - - I feel a project coming on!