WHOA

Wow.

Holy buckets....

I have 3 kids. I've actually had 3 kids for almost 5 months now. And I'm just now getting to a blog post. Sorry 'bout that.

Karrigan has fit into the family like she has never missed a day. She's ALWAYS happy, even when really tired and hungry. Always giving up a smile or two.

Gray absolutely adores her and Nevaeh likes to help take care of her. Peanut doesn't really care and well.... I'm excited about this.... SHE'S A MOMMA'S GIRL!

Nevaeh nor Gray ever really clung to mommy. Even now, Gray wants daddy constantly... and Nevaeh is her independent self, like always.

I was peeking through my tabs and reminiscing about past crafts and little kiddos. It truly is amazing how time flies.

It being so close to V-day, I wanted to re-share a post when I first started this... a valentines day craft that even a 2 year old can do!

Clicke HERE for the craft.

Let's look back on the first few weeks of life with Karrigan.... I can't believe she's rolling over and talking and, ok, gotta stop or I'm going to cry.

the final nursery!

I think this is my favorite so far. It's simple and not a lot is up on the walls because we don't know the gender, but it's my most-liked of all 3 I have done.

And this is why..... because of these little pieces of artwork!!

PS: Take the poll! Girl or Boy.... what do you think????

The kiddos helped me paint these! 

Here is the full room

 My cloth diaper organizer! 

Whoa!!! 5 years, CRAZY!!!!

5 YEARS!  Can you believe it?!?!?

5 YEARS! 

It has been 5 years, tomorrow (May 17), since I walked down the aisle trying to stifle my tears and snotty nose to the man God blessed me with.

Yes, that is one of the moments I do remember of that day. I started to cry when I watched my dear sisters and brothers (bridesmaids and groomsmen) walk down the aisle. When it was my turn, my nose had clearly started to run. I tried everything I could to not WIPE snot off my face while a million eyes watched me.

But then I looked up at Jason and the beautiful day and scene God had blessed us with and I didn't care.

5 years and 3 kiddos later (yes, the baby in my stomach is and will always be my child even if God wants him/her with him before their time on earth) I am more in love with my husband than ever. He is one sexy man!  :)  Hey, I'm not afraid to say it!

Oh, don't worry, we have totally had our rough patches, we ARE NOT perfect... but we have grown through them. We have grown in our individual faiths, our one faith, and closer together.

Looking back on 5 years Jason and I have never actually had a fight. We argue, but both of us want to respect the other, so we stop even before our voices rise or harsh tones start. Then, we both apologize, almost at the exact moment, we look each other in the eye and apologize. We also forgive each other.

Also, one thing I truly appreciate about Jason is his joking attitude with me. He jokes with me and I joke back. We poke fun at each other and laugh. Just ask some of our friends, we joke a lot! But I think that's what keeps our marriage fun and I really pray when we are in our 90's we are still poking fun and joking with each other. Can you imagine that?!? I can, and I smile and laugh at us.

I am, also, so very thankful for his PATIENCE with me. I'm not so easy to live with... I can barely live with myself. God gave Jason so much patience, and I thank God every day for that.

Thank you Jason for everything and the last 5 years. I love you so very much. I appreciate your hard working character... you truly work hard as unto the Lord and not men. But your joking attitude really keeps my heart light... even though sometimes I do not appreciate it in the moment. You make me smile even in my worst moments. Thank you! 

I can not wait to see where God takes us together and I'm excited about our future. I can't wait to encourage you through your coaching moments and follow you to where you want to go next in life. 5 years isn't so long in the scheme of a lifetime... but a lifetime with you will only seem like 5 years!!  (you like that don't you? It's like a line in a movie...)  

A crown of thorns

I have not posted in a very long while, but I could not pass up posting about my favorite holiday: EASTER!!

The love I feel from God every day is overwhelming, and during Easter time I am reminded how much I am loved by Jesus' death on the cross.

No man could say while dying a brutal death, "Forgive them father, for they not know what they do," except Jesus. He had a love for people and a grace for their sins that resulted with him WILLING to die for you... for me.

But we don't want to forget what happens next. Something that brings a smile to my face every time... HE CAME BACK. He came back and lived. He was not a ghost, or an angel; he was human again. The JOY that his friends must have felt!


I bought resurrection eggs for this year and they have been such a blessing in our routine. Learning about Jesus and his week before resurrecting from the dead.

Today we learned about the Crown of Thorns. Here's what we did!

I had them feel the points and how sharp they were, and how hurt Jesus must have been. This was a great way for them to see and feel what it could have been like. Nevaeh was pretty sad for Jesus when she felt how sharp just the tooth picks were. 

A not so secret message

I little look into our Valentines Day!!

Daddy and Gray went to pick up milk and brought Nevaeh and I flowers! 

 I took a white crayon, wrote a little message and they painted (watercolor) over it to reveal what it said! 

"God loves you"

 Through out the week we looked at different verses about love, and how God sees love. 

acne be gone!!

Hundreds.

How much I have probably spent on facial wash. I've gotten everything under the sun. It's hard not to buy face wash hoping it will work, saying to myself 'Maybe THIS time I will have the face that's on the bottle.' And I'm sure facial wash is a billion, zillion dollar market, fooling women/teens/mom's like me. I admit it... I was fooled...

Acne free.

Black head minimizer.

For oily faces. 

Cream.

Scrub.

Gel.

EVERYTHING!

I've never really had bad skin, but I have those pimples that you can see for days, and they are white heads. The gross-looking kind. And yes *groan* I do pop them, so there are red dots on my face for a week. 

BUT... I can tell you now, I have found an inexpensive, simple, homemade face wash and face moisturizer that WORKS!   

I started making/using this face wash near Thanksgiving time and I have had clear, soft, and less red looking skin ever since!!! I will not go back to other face washes, I love it and I hope I can convince you of this!!! 

Within a couple days my skin started to clear up and become smoother, and if I don't use it for a couple days, I can tell the difference. 

So here it is, are you ready? I don't think you are as ready as you should be. IT'S AMAZING!! If you would like to read about how and why these ingredients work, here is the link: face wash ingredients.

Face Wash: 

1 Tablespoon Honey

Water (enough to make it not sticky)

1-2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1-2 teaspoons Powdered Oats (any kind)

Moisturizer:

Coconut Oil

The article doesn't give you any certain amounts. So this is purely what works for me, you may need to experiment what works for you.

Make only enough to last 1 or 2 weeks, because natural things do go bad and mold will start to grow. I keep mine in a little glass jar, use my razor to mix it up, and gently scrub in the shower. Use it everyday. 

But the best part is the moisturizer. Just coconut oil. I buy this anyways for baking, so I put some in a little plastic container and keep it in a drawer in the bathroom. It feels oily in the beginning, but your skin will soak it up and it feels amazing after!

So there is my amazing secret I have been keeping for a couple months. THIS FASH WASH IS THE BEST!! 

Enjoy!

Dinosaur bones!

RAAAAAWWWWRRRRR

Grayson had a blast!!!!!!!!!! Nevaeh did too, but she wasn't as interested.

Sue the T-rex! She is not as old as they say  ;) 

 Both kids enjoy puzzles so very much. We make it an activity for 15-20 minutes a day, and they never get tired. Gray found a dino puzzle and that's basically what all he wanted to do! 

We truly enjoy going to places like the SCI Center and zoo, and we were so very blessed to get a zoo/sci center family pass for Christmas! The kids are already asking to go again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. We are going to be having so much fun there this next year! Woo hoo! 

ADDED BONUS!!

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

 Thanks Mrs. Traci for helping us out with decorations! 

The lighting is bad, but this is describes Gray to a 'T' when eating his cake. 

 Playing with goop!

 So very blessed!

 After the party, Gray never let go of these two balloons. They were his companions for quite a while!

This is just impressive! I was in the other room and I walk in to this! Nevaeh and Gray may have some architectural talent. Except, Nevaeh said it was her ship. Whatever floats your boat, honey!  (oh, definitely pun intended :)   )

I can't wait any longer....

I am having a hard time waiting to share this... I am just so excited!!!!

What do you think it is? No, not a new recipe, kid project or mama project. It's actually the reason I have taken a month hiatus from the blog and the other reason why I have been pretty under the weather this week.

Yes, I think you've guessed it. But here is some more proof for you just in case!

Nevaeh decided to draw our family as snow men the day after our 8 WEEK ULTRA SOUND!!!!

She is so excited to have another sibling, and Gray keeps huggings things and saying, "awww, baby." 

 Yep, Little gummy-bear Karaidos is due Sept, 3 2013!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I am just about 9 weeks and I wanted to wait another week to let the world know, but I just couldn't!

We are so very excited to add a third to the family! Nevaeh was so sure there were two in there as well. A part of me wanted twins, but then the other part was praying there wasn't!! But Nevaeh's predictions were not correct. She now is sure it's a girl, but we won't know until his/her birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to try and hold out to find out, but I may cave... we shall see! 

A homemade gift

Oh, it has been so long since my hands did a little sewing project! It felt so good to haul out the sewing machine and work on a little project for Gray. Though, it did take me a good month to motivate myself. I have to be in the right kinda mood to haul that heavy dead weight of a machine out.

Grayson, like any boy, loves cars. And you know what that means for Christmas, TONS of cars and trucks! I think Gray is experiencing a little slice of heaven right now with all the wonderful gifts he received.

Also, we are somewhat of a busy family. Jason is head coach of a basketball team, so that means games twice a week. I try to take our kids to every game I can, not only to support their daddy, but to get them use to that kind of atmosphere. Jason takes them to practice sometimes, on top of me taking them to practice to visit daddy. Weeks get loooong and gruesome if we don't get to see the most special man in their lives.

That being said, we have an on-the-go backpack full of activities to keep them occupied. Nick-nacks from stickers, to clothes pins and even the IPAD (that thing is wonderful at basketball games!).

So I made this adorable little car caddy for Grayson. Now he can enjoy his cars anywhere!

This is the simplest version of a car caddy you can find. I didn't want to do all kinds of frills, mainly because Grayson is kinda destructive with things. Not meaning to be of course, but I think it's a boy thing. 

So, anywho's, I took some felt and made this bad boy. I put pockets below for the cars and the felt pieces. The roads and homes can also be packed away and are not sewed straight on. I like my kids to have an imagination and make their own road ways. 

 a pocket for the car.

 Felt fun!!

 There they are, all nice and snug, ready to be played with. 

Just fold in half, roll up, and there's your car caddy!

 How fun!!! 

CHRISTMAS!

Having some fun at Uncle Shawn and Aunt Angie's for Christmas!

 Our annual horrible looking christmas morning pic... 

 My grandma makes scrap-books every year for us. I love them!!

A random pic of Calli thrown in! I would say she is part of the kids' Christmas presents.