a worthless wish list

My birthday is coming up.

Its later on this week.
So I put together a little wish list
just to steer my husband in the right direction. :)

Last week my car broke down.

The transmission to be more specific.
Which is pretty much the most
expensive thing you can repair on a vehicle.
$3100 to be exact.
{correction: $3500...just got the bill}

So my birthday plans...?
Out the window.
But I couldn't quite part with what I think
is a beautiful little birthday collection.
So I decided to share it with you. :)
And I reserve the right to be jealous
if you show up with any of these items. ;)

{click the image for the link}

I adore Jane Austen & I adore these movies.
It's time to add them to my collection.
Especially since Netflix doesn't have them as "watch instantly".
And the grand finale...
Something that I feel will forever be on my list...
And will only continue to get further out of reach...

We are studying the "Sermon on the Mount"
at church and this Sunday's message
was about letting God's light shine through you.
I made a promise on our little connect cards.
"I will let God's light shine through me by:"
having a good attitude when nothing is going my way
and by trusting God to provide.
Cause He always does.
Always.

penelope the peanut

Most of you have probably heard about the arrival

of this little peanut.
I finally got a chance to meet her last week
and brought her {ok, her mama} some goodies. :)

Here's a new "happy camper" tee
I made for Jett for the camping weekend.
Remember that photo link I promised?
I've got it right HERE.
You'll be missing out BIG time
if you don't check out these crazy photos. :)
Please ignore the HUGE photo
of me with no makeup and my major elvis lip showing.
Not cute.
(Just to clarify, the photographer is amazing,
camping just doesn't look good on me. ;) )

father's day...white trash style

Sooo...
I agreed to go camping
for father's day this past weekend.
I know.
I'm a saint right? ;)

After all the stress of packing,
and not forgetting something crucial to our survival
we get to the campsite and start settling in.

And like 5 minutes later
3 beautiful deer start grazing next to us.
Like, RIGHT next to us.
They were like 20 feet away!
I know, I live in Kansas so I see deer all the time,
but never so close!

Here's Jetty thinking they're "doggies". :)
(Have I mentioned his obsession with dogs/animals?
No? Oh jeez, that's a blog post in itself.)

Jaymin chillin' with his cousin Sierra,
notice the pools of sweat.

So, we settle into our little tent for the evening,
AND then it happens...
Hurricane Katrina.
Gale Force Winds.
Blinding lighting from Zeus himself.
Misery in a tent.
4 hours later...
(4 am)
Our beds are soaked,
we're wide awake,
the storm finally quiets...
Jett wakes up.
For the day.
4:30 am we load up and go home.
Get home a little after 5,
sleep until about 8,
head back to the campsite around 10.
And its a beautiful day...

We go to the lake,
play in the baby pool,
drink some cold beer,
and make hot dogs & smores.

And look as white trash as possible...

Night 2.
A repeat of the first night.
This time we pile into Jeff's parent's 5th wheel
with no shame.

So we survived.
Our first camping trip.
With both children.
In a tent.
Even though we didn't sleep in it either night.
Oh well.

I'm dying to see the photos my friend Allyson took.
She said they were hilarious.
Lots of WT-ness going on there.
I'll make sure to share the link when they're up on her blog. :)

Camping alone should have been my husband's

father's day gift but I went the extra mile
and had a new stereo installed in his 1990 Honda Accord
...ohhhh yeaahhh...
cause that's how I roll. ;)
It was an absolute nightmare to orchestrate
being that I had to hijack my husband's car from work
for the installation.
It was this whole big surprise and I was so proud of myself
cause I paid for it with money I had worked for (no family money)
...and then my husband reads my text messages...
"what are you having installed?"
and pretty much figures it out.
Yeah, he's freaking nosey.
Anyway, I sorta pulled it off and the important thing
is that he was really excited, right?
Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself. :)
So father's day is over and I did my duty.

Now its my turn... ;)

a wedding order

My nieces were in a wedding last weekend
and my sister-in-law asked me to do their headbands
plus one for the bride's baby niece.

Just thought I'd share. :)

Do you think they look like sisters?
Sierra looks like her daddy & Hayley looks like her mama.

Happy Weekend!
We're off to camp...
In the rain...
With the bugs...
And a 1 1/2 year old...
Should be fun. ;)

Kind of a weird post, but just go with it.

So, I put together a little scrapbook for Jemma.
I had all these little things from her life that I was afraid I was going to lose.
And the blue medical filing folder just wasn't cuttin' it.
And not only that,
but I was ready to close this chapter.
Both literally & figuratively.

I've mentioned before how therapeutic
it has been for me to write about her
and putting together this book was as well.
I cried here & there while cutting & gluing
but they were cleansing tears
releasing me in a way from the chains of grief.

I love having it now.
And look at it often.
I feel good about where I'm at in my journey
and even better about where she's at in hers. :)

It's very simple.
I wanted to make the memory of her special
but I didn't want to go overboard
with the scrapbooking craziness.

I obviously didn't have much to include
but I feel as though I did her short life justice
& made it a little more tangible.
A feeling that I have been so afraid of losing.
(Did that REALLY happen to me?
Was I REALLY pregnant?
Did I REALLY have a baby girl?)
This confirms it, whenever I doubt. :)

Her first photos - 8 weeks & 10 weeks

Her famous prints.
Which, I might add, are pinned up on the bulletin board
in my sister's bible class.
They were discussing abortion when I lost her.
My sister asked for a copy
to show how human they really are at this stage.
Looks like her little life may already be making an impact
on someone else's.
Let's hope...

Her hospital bracelet that would've fit around her entire body. :)

The pile of cards we received
overflowing with love & encouragement.

I also have one of the only maternity photos taken of me
and her last sonogram photos in there as well.
Both seemed a little too private to share for some reason.
I know. I'm weird.
But so is grief.
Just go with it. ;)

working on something special...

{with this girl}

childhood is calling...

So,
my dad built this treehouse.
It only took him like 7 years
but its pretty much perfection
(cause that's how he does things)
and is a mini version of my parents' house,
specifically their screened in porch/sunroom {aka. gloriousness}.
Anyway,
he finally finished it a couple of weeks ago
and the memory making has already begun...

This is what its all about.
Every grandparent has to have a place like this...
We used to play in the upstairs bedrooms
at my grandma & grandpa's house.
Each room was a different color (blue, red, orange)
and each door locked, including the door at the top of the stairs
and we all had our own set of keys.
We had a BLAST playing "apartments".
And if you were REALLY cool
(like my big brothers who liked to lock me out)
you got to play in the attic.
Yeah...no idea what it was like in there.
My grandparents moved to a smaller house when I was a teenager
and I never got to see that dang attic.
We would also go camping with them a lot in their RV.
We'd play cards & eat frozen grapes
and thought it was the best thing ever.

Someday, my kids will reminisce about this treehouse...

For now,
we're just squeezing every drop of fun out of summer.

yo-yo obsessed

{Tutorial}