Birdy in the Window...

Kaitlyn and I found this project over at OhDeeDoh.

If you've never checked out this website then you should. They always have cute ideas for decorating your kiddo's room.



We both fell in love with the birdies in the window so it became our first project that will go in her new redecorated room. And here is how we made ours....



I found an old window. I originally planned to repaint it, but I ended up liking the weathered, crackled paint. I used regular acrylic paints and painted branches on the window panes. (You like my new lime green kitchen walls?? I'll be posting pictures of our house projects very soon!)

Then I cut out some birds for Kaitlyn to trace onto our pretty paper.

Then we just cut them out and used a little scotch tape on the backs to stick them on. I don't know how long the tape will work, but it looks good for now!

And here it is! It was a fun and easy project and I can't wait to see it on Kaitlyn's

soon-to-be-painted-turquoise walls!

P.S. I posted a couple of camera strap covers in my Etsy shop. I will be posting more this weekend :)

Humbled....

A few weeks ago, a letter came from St. Jude's asking for a donation and it was addressed to Kaitlyn. Jeff and I thought it would be a good time for us to talk to her about giving to others. She knows lots about St. Judes because of Jake's story. We talked to her about making a small donation, but that we would leave it up to her. She said that she would like to hang on to the letter and think about.

Let me just tell you a little bit about Kaitlyn. This child SAVES her money. She hangs on to every single cent she is given. Any money she has earned, any birthday money, any report card money...it all gets tucked away in her dresser drawer. The only time it comes out is when she decides to count it. She's never had a particular thing she's saving for, she just saves.

Several weeks had gone by and she had mentioned the letter a couple of times, but she kept saying she needed to think about it. We always told her that was fine because I wanted her to choose to give, not be pressured of forced.

Last week she walked into the living room where Jeff and I were sitting and handed me an envelope. It was the St. Jude envelope and it was full of cash. $100 to be exact. The envelope also had a note that she had written (that I can't believe I didn't take a picture of) that said "I love St. Jude. I think children should live. Love, Kaitlyn".

I was blown away. I couldn't believe that she was willing to give $100 of her own money. It means so much to me that she had it on her heart all these weeks and she decided to give so generously.

It made me stop and take a long hard look at my priorities. I just thought that I was the one teaching her a lesson in giving, but it turned out she taught me.

I'm so incredibly thankful that God brought me this beautiful little girl. I'm not sure how my life existed before her.

Gabbi Girl....

Looky who came to work with me! Gabbi Girl got to come to Ruston yesterday! One of our parents at work, Kimie (aka Aunt Kimie) called Melanie and demanded that she send a child to Ruston, so I picked her up and off we went. She is absolutely precious and was so much fun! Thank you Mel for sharing your kiddo for a day :)

We documented our day so we could share.....enjoy!

Sew...here's what I've been up to...

I've (somewhat) learned to use my sewing machine! I still have LOTS to learn (Lindsay!), but I'm getting more comfortable with it and I'm actually SEWING!

I made some onesies for a sis-in-law to give as a gift at a baby shower...

Baby's name will be Haleigh, so of course we had to have a couple of "h" onesies...But I think my favorite is the birdy :)

And I actually sewed my very first shirt...from a pattern! I got the pattern over at Sew Sensible. Ok, so it took me about 3 hours, but I'm pretty proud of it! And it looks absolutely adorable on Kaitlyn. I think I'll be making another one for little Miss Ellie Sue's birthday. Mel, any fabric requests??
I've also been making lots of camera straps! Breanna, which one do you want? I will be dropping one in the mail tomorrow :)

Other big news....Jeff and I bought a house! We actually bought the house that we were already renting. I've had a whole year to think about all the things I'd like to do if we ever owned it....and now we do! We've been making frequent trips to Lowe's this week. I have SO many projects I want to do, so there will be lots to blog about! I just hope this home improvement stuff doesn't interfere with my sewing time.

**Disclaimer...I'm very aware that tonight's pictures are horrible...I'm just too lazy to take better ones :)

The Shake!

Ok, so sharing pictures a week late is better than never, right?!

We got to Jake's Jamboree bright and early (and it was already about 100 degrees)! I had lots of work to do inside, but I snuck away for a few minutes to take some pictures.

Kaitlyn hung out with Mrs. Ramsay at her table where she was making Believe necklaces. Kaitlyn adores Mrs. Ramsay :)

MMPT (Melanie Massey Physical Therapy) sponsored Jake's Jamboree this year, so we all rocked these shirts and represented!

I went back inside and got back to work, but Kaitlyn wasn't coming back inside until she tracked down Mrs. Melanie to paint her face. So she and Jeff were on a mission...and they succeeded! She came inside to show off her peace sign. She adores Mrs. Melanie, too....so much, that 's she's pretty sure she'll be a physical therapist when she grows up.

I didn't get to take nearly as many pictures as I wanted to, but between Mel and Lindsay, I think they covered the picture taking! Speaking of Lindsay, there she is! She was hard at work answering phones for the telethon. I think she just might be the sweetest, most bubbly person I've ever met! I can't wait to get her back in LA on a less crazy weekend so we can sit & sew! The telethon was a huge success this year! I'm always so amazed at the community support. They really rally around this event every year!

There is about a 9 hour gap in my pictures at this point. But I wish I would've taken pictures of all the busy little bees that flutter around all day to make this event happen!

By now, it was time for the event to start. Our friends Ramsay and Lee showed up and it only took me a second to realize that Jeff and Lee were.......OMG they were wearing matching shirts! It took some persuasion to get them in a picture together since they were "accidentally" matching, but they finally cooperated. Needless to say, they didn't sit by each other the entire night.

There was a huge crowd! I never heard a final number, but I would dare to say the biggest crowd yet.

This is always an emotional night, especially once Don, Staci, Veronicia & Mel get up to speak. They talked about the families that have been helped through the JOR Foundation. The work they do is truly amazing.

Mel talked about a family that was told they only have 2 more weeks with their child. She also talked about a family that was at St. Jude when they were there with Jake. The family had a terminally ill child and couldn't even afford a camera. That really hit home with me because pictures have always been so important to me. I think it was at this point that Lindsay and I looked at each other across the table and gave each other the, "Here we go, we're about to cry" look.

Like I said, it's a very emotional night, but it's also a very fun night! The band started and the mood lightened up!

There were just a few of the MMPT girls (and Keif) that were there to support!

Everyone had such a great time! (Shout out, Toni!)

This was the last picture I snapped before my battery went dead...if you didn't get to make it to The Shake, I think Heather had enough fun for you :)

I'm already looking forward to next year!

I've been a bad, bad blogger....

I have no excuses other than I've just been a bad blogger. But I have lots to share now that I've crawled out of the hole that I obviously fell into....

Tonight, I'll start with Kaitlyn's birthday! Can you believe she's 8 years old?! It's like all of the sudden she looks like a "big girl". Jeff and I were looking back at pictures from our wedding and she looked so small. I really need to slow down and soak up every second...

She decided that she wanted a party with a candy buffet, ice cream sundaes, and a slip n' slide. And of course, she got exactly what she wanted!

We had SO much candy! As a matter of fact, we STILL have so much candy!

We made a whole day of it and grilled for everyone. We set up tables outside and there's no way we'd ask our guests to eat at tables without centerpieces! Kailtyn had a blast helping put these together.

We also wrapped up paper lanterns to look like huge candies!

The wax lips were great for picture taking! The kids LOVED them!

Kaitlyn couldn't wait to get in the water. The kids played for hours. She said that this was officially the best party she's ever had. I'm just glad it only comes once a year :)

I'll be posting some Shake 4 Jake pictures tomorrow night!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to the best mama in the whole world.

I love you bunches :)