My Newest Adventure

DRAWING & CRAFTS
I recently saw a quote that said something like Crafting is therapy.  It has proven true for me.  It's a release of tension, a moment of calm when life is so busy with being crazy.  Ha!  What makes it even more worth-while is a crafting buddy! 

DRAWING
Mark has always enjoyed drawing so, when I decided to create the Arendalle castle for Violet's birthday party, I knew Mark would really like to draw Elsa's North Mountain Castle to complement it.  Over two weeks ago, as I was prepping for Violet's birthday party, I found some joy in drawing.  The funny thing is I'm not a big fan of drawing, especially on a large scale.  Yet, somehow I have found great pleasure in starting to draw more.

We definitely had a great time creating these two pieces.  Maybe Disney will hire us.  ;) 


CRAFTING
Now, my crafting buddy is my amazing sister, Jodi!   This lady can craft and make awesome things all day long.  Plus its a bonus that I get to tag along with her and craft as well.  I might be the annoying little sister but we have tons of fun together.  Recently, we discovered a new wood store in town that is full of many goodies!  Pre-cut wood that just needs some paint, bling & crafty sisters to make such cute things.  Here is a look at my latest project:

SIMPLICITY is my favorite!

The remaining blocks above are still waiting to be completed & I can't wait.  Simple crafting projects is where it's at for me.  Release. Calm. Fun. Easy. Bonding. 

This is just the beginning of many things to come.

 Look for more of our projects later.

~Lori

My Desire to Write

For some time, I have really wanted to get back to writing on my blog.  It has been a difficult task to do because so many other things compete for my time & attention.  I am starting this venture again because I know it is a tool in my toolbelt that needs to be brushed off & used.

For years now, I have wanted to write on different topics.  Maybe even get something published.  God has taken me down a certain path to understand how to appreciate this.  I very excitedly have followed & gone with the flow (some times much harder than others).  I am constantly flooded with different thoughts on many topics from day to day. 

My life is a mix of many exciting things: 
**Topics of passion:
Walking out my life for God's kingdom (Matthew 6:33)
My adoring husband & 2 precious kiddos
Life as a stay-at-home mom
Marriage
Parenting
Education
Health & fitness

**Hobbies/Interests
Couponing
Crafting
Writing 
Traveling
Drawing (newest)

My life is unique from yours.  We are all different.  We all have the opportunity to grow, learn & find our purpose.  I don't believe anyone is exempt from this.  So, if you choose to, I would love for you to follow me through this blog or send me a message through Facebook social media. 

Remember, we are able to grow, enjoy life more & push through even the toughest of circumstances.

Constructive dialog welcome.  =)

Grace,

Lori

Wanting to Blog

It has been one year since I last blogged.  Wow, that is not such a good record.  Oh well!  Suppose there are much worse things to be behind in in life.  This blog will be short in hopes that I can start to remember to blog just as a good habit to form...

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

What a great day!  (Minus the rainy weather.)  Our subdivision had its 1st annual Cookies with Santa today!  Milk, cookies, hot cider, warm fireplace, beautiful Christmas tree, wonderful people and, of course, Santa!...What else could make for a fun fall morning?!  The whole event turned out really well!  The decorations were gorgeous, the treats were yummy, and Violet had an absolute blast playing with all the older kids!  She thought the kids were soo much fun!  Ever since she could recognize kids (probably around 4 or 5 months old) she has watched them intently, studying every move.  Well, today with so many children running around, she was in playtime heaven!!  Haha!  She just made herself at home with them by waving to them, trying to follow and keep up with them.  I can definitely tell she won't have any problems making friends as she gets older.

Not Enough Time

So, here I am blogging for the first time in several days.  I'm not typically a "bloggy/journaly" type person but it's pretty neat to sit down and type.  Of course, when do I ever have time to write a blog?!  Good question.  Between being a full-time wife, mommy, and intervention specialist, its definitely challenging to balance it all.  But I often remind myself to take it day by day and to get done what I can...anything to take the pressure off is best.  It works pretty well for me.  The best part of all my daily roles is that it is building more character, experience and love for my family.  God won't give me more than I can handle.  HE has blessed Mark and me very very much.  We want to be the best stewards of what HE has given us presently and in the future.

Here it is a lovely Saturday afternoon and so much has been accomplished already but yet still so much to do before 3pm!!!!!  We are headed out in a couple hours to get our family Christmas pictures done.  So I'm stressing that in my ever challenging time-management skills, will I be able to pull of what I need to get done in the next couple hours.  Well, it boils down to priorities.  What is really important to get done before we leave and what can wait until tonight after Violet goes to bed?  The answer would probably be A LOT of tasks could wait.  But eating lunch, giving Violet a bath, and putting on makeup should be top priority.  So, I better gooooooooo otherwise my priority list will be shot. 

50 Free Holiday Cards!!!

Hey everyone!   This is an outstanding promotion Shutterfly has going!  I have to say Shutterfly has been amazing to go to for any of my "photo happy" needs!  They have helped me out with their incredible designs like Violet's 1st Birthday invitation, her 2 photo books and many pictures that I have ordered over the past year.  So, with no delay, I knew I would order Christmas cards from www.shutterfly.com because they will deliver what I love and want to share with our friends and family.  We had some family photos done recently which will appear on our card.  One thing I LOVE about the Shutterfly Christmas cards is that you can put multiple pictures...haha!  Sometimes as a woman I can be indecisive (NEWSFLASH) so I am able to share more than one picture with the card I have chosen!!  And their collection of Christmas Cards this year are super duper cool!  I think it has doubled from last years choices!!  Go Shutterfly!!!

So, what are you waiting for...check out www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards
and go have some fun!!!  And for any Blogger friends, if you haven't heard about this great deal, here's where you can check it out - http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Would love to know if you chose Shutterfly Christmas Cards for your Christmas card this year.  Send me a comment.  Thank you for giving this year, Shutterfly!!

Day 1 - Perfect day to start a Blog ;)

Well, of all days, this has to be the best story telling day to start a new blog.  So, today has been a perfect day to record Violet's many "milestones", if you will...
The day started off great!  Mark had to get going early in order to accomplish some errands before he went into work for the afternoon.  As he walked out the door at 7:45 this morning, I jumped out of bed to start my weekly laundry, take a shower and at least dry my hair all before getting Violet out of bed.  And yes, I did accomplish all of those things.  The last half of that time Violet had woken up but she played in her bed for probably 30 minutes before I went in to get her.  After I proceeded to get her out of bed, I thought I would be a good wife =) and make my husband breakfast before he went off to work.  We all had eggs, my homemade banana bread and grapes for breakfast!  Pretty healthy, I think!   Well to cut the rest of it short, Mark got out the door for work while I was getting ready to put Violet down for her late morning nap.  To my delightful surprise, my precious angel slept 3 1/2hrs!!!!!!!!!!!  WoW!!  Needless to say, I was able to get TONS OF THINGS done!
Let's fast-forward to "after naptime"...
2 funny yet typical baby moments happened today.  1 semi-funny, and the other crazy, can't believe this story happened at such an early age...
Story #1 - I was sitting here at the computer learning about being "coupon saavy" when all of a sudden I hear a soft "swish, swish, swish, swish..." sound coming from the back door.  I immediately identified what the sounds was.  So lo-and behold I was right...Violet had gotten ahold of the tissue box and had, ONE-BY-ONE, pulled out at least 20 tissues from our "cute, little" square tissue box.  Right away I jumped up and took it from her all the while thinking, "we can't waste even tissue, tissue is expense." Ok, so not really expensive but you know.  So back to the story...  I quickly picked up all the tissue and stuffed them back into the box as if to make a little hill out of the top.  (Side note: No I wasn't going to fold each one and neatly place them back in the box.  Who has time for that mess.)
That was my 1st story...
Now on to STORY #2  - Classic yet most disgusting child story.  I can finally record that today was the 1st time Violet has pooped in the bathtub.  I was just about to get her out when I looked away for 2 seconds only to look back and find "it" in the tub.  I totally freaked out.  Violet was just sitting there looking at it and about to grab it when I rushed to get some toliet paper and scoop it out of the tub.  Oh, can I say GROSS!  The whole time I'm thinking to myself,  "I can't believe this "story" has already happened.  I mean, doesn't this usually happen for the 1st time when a child is around the age of 2."  Well apparently not, haha!  Next time, I need to remember to put her on the potty before placing her in the tub.  She could have taken care of her business in the proper place, more than likely.  Oh, well!  Lesson learned!
All in all, its been a typical mommy day!  And I love it!!  Wouldn't change a thing about it!!