Christmas 2012

Klive's first Christmas was very nice.  He shared it with all of his grandparents, aunts and

uncles, and cousin.

Here he is in his sweet turtleneck, ready and dressed for the Christmas Eve candlelight

service at church.

Klive and Papaw.

Christmas morning... he's ready to dig in.

His awesome Texas Rangers piggy bank from Nana and Grandpa.

The ribbon was his favorite.

Klive and Nana.

Klive even was able to see his first snow on his first Christmas.  He wasn't sure what to think about that stuff.  I wish I had a good picture of his reaction.  It was so wonderful to have a white Christmas!

Feeling Crafty Again

I have to admit that it took many months after having Klive for me to feel crafty again.  Mainly it was the lack of sleep and energy.  Plus, when would I ever have time to do much of anything again!  Well, I am making time and definitely feeling creative again.  Here are a few of the things I have made over the last couple of months...

This was actually Brigitte's idea.  She was making stockings for her boys, so she thought I might want to join in.  Great idea!  These were made out of fleece and felt, so super easy.  I do plan to knit Klive a stocking, but obviously that hasn't happened yet.  I am hoping to start working on one for him soon to use next year.

I also made Klive's teachers at his daycare a little something.  This is a Cranberry Curd recipe that I got out of Cooking Light magazine.  I had already made a batch previously, so I knew it would taste good.  I attached a description and an ornament.

And here is a blanket that I made for Klive for Christmas.  I had actually been working on it before he was born, but didn't get it finished in time for his birth.  It's the same exact pattern that I made here for Brigitte's son.  I loved the pattern so much that I wanted to make it for Klive but in a dark gray.

And here is an earflap that I made for Klive for the winter.  I've made him two more in different styles, so I'll have to try to get pictures of him wearing those also.

More craftiness to come...



5 Months

I'm a little behind on Klive's 5 month pics.  Here he is in his stylish hat and vest. 

Okay, I couldn't resist putting this picture in.  This was taken about the time we needed to be leaving for church on a Sunday morning.  Look at the happy daddy and squirmy baby.  I just love the look on both of their faces.  This picture makes me laugh and smile.

Thanksgiving

We had a very blessed Thanksgiving this year.  For one, it was Klive's first Thanksgiving.  Also, we were able to be with almost all of our family. 

Klive with his cousin Macy.

He also was able to meet all of his Great Grandparents for the very first time.

Klive and Meemaw

Klive and Nanni

Klive and Poppa

Klive also was able to spend some time at both grandparents' houses and with almost all of his aunts and uncles.  It was his first time to travel and was a whirlwind trip, but we had a great time.  

SuperKlive

Our church had their annual "First Fest" the Saturday before Halloween.  I just couldn't miss the opportunity to dress Klive up in something cute. 

Return to Sunday Dinner: the Simple Delight of Family, Friends, and Food by Russell Cronkhite

One good recipe after another is what you will find in this cookbook. Cronkhite breaks each chapter into a menu of five to six recipes and starts each chapter with a short one page story. The concept of the cookbook is based on Sunday dinners and the joy that comes from family gathered around a table eating comforting food.
There are certain things I look for in a cookbook. One, are there pictures for a majority of the recipes? Two, are the recipes easy to read and follow? And three, and most importantly, is the food appealing and something I would want to cook and eat? This cookbook has all three. So far I have made the chicken and sausage gumbo and the sour cream-apple bundt cake. The recipes were well written and the finished product was truly excellent. I took the bundt cake to work and it was a hit. I like that this cookbook has a mix of traditional food and some slightly different recipes thrown in. I am planning to cook quite a few things out of it in the near future. The stories of the authors’ faith and food experiences were heartwarming and an added bonus. I would absolutely recommend this cookbook.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

3 Months

Klive turned three months almost two weeks ago.  He is getting so big.  Time is flying by.

He is cooing and babbling up a storm these days.  He also found his feet this week, so he has been fascinated with grabbing them.   

Introducing...

 

Klive

(picture by Melanie of http://dimplesanddumplinsphotography.com/)

 

Sorry for the very late blog, but obviously life has been a little busy.  Klive was born on his due date, July 5th.  And that was not planned.  I went into labor the afternoon before.  He weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long.  And as you can see he is gorgeous.  Sorry, proud momma blogging.  The picture above was taken when he was exactly one week old.  

 

 

 

I find myself taking entirely too many pictures on my phone instead of on the camera.  I need to stop doing that.  So as of yet, this is all I have.

 

 

This is the most recent picture of our new family.  It was taken when Klive was 7 weeks old.  I promise that I will be blogging more frequently with more pics of our sweet little boy.

Klive's Room

Klive's room is finally completely ready.  Let me say that I could not have finished this without a HUGE amount of help from Brigitte and Anna and my hubby.  After many showers and LOTS of stuff for Klive, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed with getting everything put in it's place.  I did manage to organize things into piles in the guest room, but I just simply couldn't get any further without help.  And I love to organize, but I just couldn't seem to get started.  Friends and hubby to the rescue!  They spent an entire Saturday afternoon helping me organize his drawers, his bath stuff, get off all the tags of his 0-3 month clothes, take sheets and changing pad covers out of packaging, hang up shelves and art, assemble the bouncer and play yard, and even make a cute pendant banner to put on the wall over his bed.  They even packed his diaper bag!  Wonderful I tell you!  I spent several days doing lots of laundry and putting everything away.  That was fun.

The hanging shelves and the lamp came from IKEA.  Bless you Anna and Brigitte for putting that lamp together!  Let's just say the assembly was a little frightening at first.  The lovely blue crocheted blanket hanging on the chair was made by my Aunt Nini, and the quilt with my fabric was made by my friend Veronica's mom.  It's so soft and sweet!

And this was my DIY project.  I sanded this nightstand that used to be beige and painted it the same gray that I used on two of the walls in his room.  I think it turned out very well. 

Check out the awesome bookshelves that Kevin made!  This is exactly what I wanted his bookshelves to look like, but finding something like this proved to be difficult.  Crate and Barrel actually sells shelves like these, but they are $20 each and only two feet long.  These shelves are four foot long.  The bookshelves really meant a lot to me because I love to read so much and I hope Klive does as well.

Sorry, some of these pics are grainy and dark.  The tree painting was made by my friend Gwen.  Isn't it awesome!  It looks just like the tree in my fabric!  And the fabulous rocking horse was given to Klive by Kevin's uncle.  Klive will just love it!

Above his crib is the banner that myself and the girls made out of some burlap, rope, and a little paint.  And check out the crib skirt that Veronica's mom made for me!  It should be a little straighter for the pic, but I had just messed around with the mattress so it got a little lopsided.  It is perfect though!  Also hanging off the crib is a sweet crocheted hooded blanket made by my mother-in-law.  Precious!

I haven't managed to put anything in the smaller frames yet, but I do have plans for them.  I purchased the center framed art with his name from sarah + abraham.  They have the cutest stuff!

I really love how everything turned out and I can't wait to see Klive in his new room.

34 Weeks

Here I am at 34 weeks.  No, I am not headed out for a night on the town.  I had just attended the beautiful wedding of a co-worker of mine.

Building Family Ties with Faith, Love & Laughter by Dave Stone

Who doesn’t want a close family that is built on a strong foundation that enjoys spending time together? Author Dave Stone’s book is full of ideas on how to achieve this with your family. He touches on mealtimes, servant hood, creating memories, and knowing your families mission; just to name a few.

I believe that anyone can put this book to practical use with their own families; you just have to make the effort. Stone references scripture throughout the book and encourages his readers to “take a lesson from Jesus.” And this book is not for the two parent family alone, but also addresses single parents. My favorite chapter was on “the hour of power” or sitting and eating together as a family. Stone gives you plenty of tips and ideas on how to have a great mealtime with your family and making this a place to build those family ties. And don’t worry, this was a very quick read but with great ideas that can easily be referenced again and again.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Thankful

I have already had two showers and I have a couple coming up.  We are so blessed and thankful by this outpouring of love and support by our friends, coworkers, and family.  With all the showers and pictures I will have, I will periodically be sharing a few.  Here are some from my Tyler shower several weeks ago at Tish's home...

First my beautiful hostesses... Veronica, Jaalla, and Tish.

Mike and Sonia bought Klive this precious tux!

I love this picture that Tish took of my MeeMaw.

My brother and niece... so sweet.

Here I am at 30 weeks.  Tish is a very good photographer and she took some very good maternity photos of me!  Thanks Tish!

Klive's Owl

I just can't resist stuffed animals.  They are probably my favorite thing to make.  They feel so satisfying when you finish, and they bring a smile to a child's face.  I have several knitting pattern books for stuffed animals but I feel like I need more.  I just can't get enough of them.

Here is an owl that I made for Klive.  It is out of the same pattern book as the dog (fox) that I made several weeks ago.

The color is off. In case you can't tell, he is pale blue with a white stripey belly.

29 Weeks

Although I am technically 30 weeks, here is a picture of me at 29 weeks that I am finally downloading. 

I'm feeling good.  The nursery is officially painted and we should hopefully be picking up the crib from the store this week or next, so nursery decorating time is almost underway.  My main craving right now is Icee's.  Coke flavored Icee's only.  I prefer Polar Bear; for you who know what I'm talking about can I get a shout out!  I will settle though for a Slurpee, and I often times have to.  There is a 7-11 just down the road from our house and it is often the most convenient when I just HAVE TO have one.  No need to worry, this is not an everyday habit of mine.  I am limiting myself to two a week.

Klive's Puppy

The colors in Klive's nursery are light blue and gray, but I don't really have a theme. I am basing his room decor on some fabric that I found and just adore. This pattern is called Windy Day. It is from the Backyard Baby collection by Patty Sloniger.

In fact, my friend's mother is making his bedding out of the fabric and I just can't wait to see it!

I wanted to knit a few stuffed animals for his room, so this is the first thing I have made for our little man.

Pretend this is a dog. This pattern was for a fox, but I tweaked a few things to try to make it look a little more like a dog. I think he's cute regardless. I got it out of the book And so to Bed... by Lucinda Guy.

More to come soon...

Eli's Blanket

My friend Gwen gave birth to a precious little boy last week. I made him a blanket and gave it to her at her baby shower. She has a pretty shade of green in her nursery, but I just couldn't find a yarn I liked that was quite the right color and fiber. I decided to go with white, so here's the blanket for little Eli.

Expect lots more knitting posts coming soon and some other craftiness. I gathered together all of my baby knitting books (I have around 8) and pulled some things that I just had to knit for my little man. I then had to spend lots of time online finding yarn substitutions that I liked. It was fun coming home to a huge box full of yarn. I am already almost done with two projects and will post those next week.

Called to Controversy by Ruth Rosen

Before reading this book, I knew very little about the Jews for Jesus movement, and even less about its founder Moishe Rosen. This book showed me the life of a man growing up in a Jewish home who eventually came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, followed the call to serve Him, and passionately served and founded an amazing ministry.

This book is more so about the man, Moishe Rosen, than it is about Jews for Jesus. That’s not to say that I did not gain more knowledge of Jews for Jesus from it. I absolutely know more now than I did. This book shows a man truly “running the race”. He was a family man, an evangelist, a leader for the faith. I also learned more about the life of a nonreligious Jewish family. I personally love biographies, especially about people who are living their life for Christ. The only reason I gave it four stars was because I expected to read a bit more about the Jews for Jesus ministry. All in all though, this book was uplifting and interesting.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://booksneeze®.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Kind of big news...

Yep, we're having a baby! It still sounds a little strange for me to say it. Don't get me wrong, we are both beyond thrilled. It's just such a happy, amazing and wonderful time. After 12 years of it just being the two of us, we will soon be a family of three. I used to wonder constantly, "Is there really a baby in there?" But now I feel the evidence of it. I feel the somersaults and whatever else the little one is doing in there. They started out as tickles and flutters, but now has started feeling more like kicks and jabs. It is plenty of proof that there is someone living in there and not just gas.

Here is my baby bump picture at 24 weeks, just a little over six months.

Next time I won't wear red up against a red background, but I think you can still tell enough from this picture.

We found out the gender on Valentines Day. The best Valentines Day of my life. We called parents and then friends to tell them the exciting news, but for work I wanted to do something special. I was going to make cupcakes colored with food coloring and covered in white frosting, but I decided to go with something a little different. I made cake bites dipped in chocolate so you couldn't see the inside. I meant to take a picture of one sliced open, but I totally forgot. So the big reveal was blue inside! We are having a boy! Thank you God for this new blessing that has come into our lives!

Surprised by Laughter: the Comic World of C. S. Lewis by Terry Lindvall

I knew that I had to read this book when it became available. I have great respect for C. S. Lewis and his writing. This is a book about the joy and laughter C. S. Lewis found in things and how he expressed these emotions in his writings. It also explores the works other writers who were influential to Lewis.

I have to admit that even though I have read Lewis’s Narnia books, I did not think of him as someone who is comical. I saw him only as a very serious, great intellectual Oxford professor; and he was. After reading this book, I must admit that I had not recognized something about him that is very important. He chose to find joy and comedy in things. I feel that I learned more of C. S. Lewis and his work by reading this book, and it also posed a challenge for me to find more joy in life. But I did find the book to be a little long. I think that there could have been a bit more editing to take out repeating points. All in all though it was a very thorough and interesting read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free
from the publisher through the BookSneeze® book review bloggers
program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have
expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements
and Testimonials in Advertising."