A couple of babies are on the way & artwork too!

Two of our best friends are expecting little boys..... so of course I wanted to make them an original piece that is unique to each of them. However doing two little boy things at the same time, and trying to make them completely different, really forces you to dig for the creativity!

I really hope they like them as much as I do! I tend to become attached to artwork, especially for babies! And I hope these little boys grow into strong young men and realize how much they are loved even before they are born. I try to spend all the time I am working on artwork for babies in prayer for them, I pray that they feel God in all aspects of life and thank Him for each and every blessing!

Jackson David Kirkland

His stats will go on the bottom.

Since our trip to KY got canceled, all I had to go by was a picture, so I hope these colors match the nursery ok! She chose a beautiful cream, gray, and blue combo!

Baby TEW! (this is my favorite part!) 

Thatcher Barkley Tew.... I hope I left enough room to write the date, time, lbs, oz, and inches! 

Ok, this is another favorite part.... I like putting little details in places you wouldn't expect. (Even though I'm probably the only one that notices them!) But I love the stripes around the hidden edge, and they match Tatcher's bedskirt. I know he's a boy so it's natural to pick blue and green, but I still think his daddy picked the blue and white stripes for KY basketball, he loves him those C-A-T-S!

Poor Annabelle is just now getting a birth present, since she is now 5 months old! But I think it's good timing because Annabelle is Jackson's cousin, so when he's born and getting all the attention, she won't feel left out!
I'm so sorry for your delayed present, you know we love you down here in the 'sip!

My favorite verse for babies is written around the edges of Annabelle's sweet cross.
James 1:17: Every good and perfect gift is from above.
This sweet verse was given to me by a best friend in college, Lila, when I was making something for a baby cousin then, and I have loved it ever since! Thanks for always being a good Bible resource for me Lila, your faith as always been an inspiration to me!

These are something else I've been up to for a donation to the Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport. My SIL has to collect donations for the silent auction. I hope they like them and people bid a lot of $ for them (HA!) But still it's good to get my name out there.... you know I do personalized things! 

Thanks for looking today!

My favorite verse is around the side of this one and I tried to put all the colors in it so it will match any decor. As always, the red on the cross is a reminder of the blood shed for us and Him who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future."

I just love this song!!! And I was singing it the whole time I made these!  You just can't beat a good ole hymn!

I was singing Holy, Holy, Holy so much that I decided to write, "God in 3 persons, blessed Trinity" around the edges. Did you know this song was written from Isaiah 6? I love learning new scripture from an old song!

Have a wonderful day! And please contact me if you need something handmade for you or a loved one!!
PS: Tonight is the night hurricane Isaac is supposed to hit the MS gulf coast. I  have no idea who all reads this, but my heart is so heavy for those people right now! Please be in prayer for all of those in the path! We remember in times like these how Mighty our God can be!

20-21 months

I've been trying to "remember" my favorite things that Lydia does  these days..... but those of you that know me well, know that I do not remember anything very well. SO I started a list of some of the things she's been up to!

August 10, 2012
20 months old

These are a few of my favorite things.......

• Everything has to be somebody's..... Lydia's, Mama's, Daddy's, etc. For example if she sees my phone sitting around, she will pick it up and bring it to me, all while saying Mama's, or if the remote is laying around she will say what ever adult is in the room and give it to them and then promptly say, "Bubbles." If she wants to watch it bad enough, she will scream, "Bubbles, PLEASE!"
• Her favorite TV shows are Bubble Guppies, Dora, and Mickey Mouse.
• A few months ago I couldn't rock her to sleep for nap time anymore, so I started putting her in the bed and say night night and she goes to sleep! We still liked the snuggle time at night, so we were able to rock her to sleep at night time, until about a month ago and now we just put her in the bed! It's nice most nights not to have to spend hours getting her to sleep, but we do miss that snuggle time when she was tired and so sweet!
• She loves outside and loves water even more. She will look out the window and say, "outside." But it sounds like "southside" and inside sounds like "sinside."
• If you are trying to do something for her that she wants to do..... she will say Lydia's turn. 
• She's always known that the cross necklace I wear represents Jesus, so she will point to it and say, "Jesus." But recently I decided that wasn't good enough. So over the course of a few days, I taught her where he heart is and that Jesus lives in her heart. If you ask her where Jesus lives, she will point to her heart and say, "Lyida." Then point to our hearts and say our names. (SUPER sweet!)
• I just love her little voice, it's precious.
• She loves her carseat! It's a whole other world out there when she rides in the car! She instantly says, "horses" when we get in the car b/c there is an equestrian farm by our neighborhood and she loves to look at them. If we turn the opposite direction from the horses, she knows to say tractors. (They are building a new neighborhood that direction. So either way, she is happy!
• She loves to blow bubbles outside.
• If someone has been over to stay or eat, whatever they did or wherever they sat has to be theirs. She pointed to the chair beside hers for a week and said SuSu, after she came for a weekend!
• She loves stickers, and wants to wear one at all times.
• She enjoys reading and flipping through ALL her books!
• If her closet is left open, she will always pull out her cowboy boots and try to put them on. Even though they are too small, they were a gift last year.
• She knows how to work the ipad/iphone. She will click the home button and then slide the arrow and say games!
• When cheering on a team, she will throw her hands up in a touchdown motion and yell, "Rebels!" (Her Troxy taught her that, I hope we have some TD's to cheer for this year!) When Alan tried to teach her "who dat" and "go saints" a few weeks ago, she repeated it but yelled Rebels in the middle of it..... she's true to her team. Since we've watched two NFL games this season, she says saints when football is on. 
• Her hair goes into a cute ponytail and pigtails, however, I think she looks all grown up in them and it makes me want to cry, so we don't do it often.
• She knows please and thank you, but saves them for times when she really wants something.... little stinker!
• Every night at dinner, after wee say the blessing, she sweetly says AMEN. 
• She has called me, "Mom" on more than one occasion. - I don't know how I feel about this one or where she got it from, maybe she heard me call KK mom, if so I'm stopping now!!

Here's some pics because I know y'all love those more than my words.

This was my favorite summer time outfit! I love sailboats, and this little beauty was one of the many precious hand me downs from Stacie! It is a 12 month outfit, so this is the last time she can wear it. 12 mo bubbles are a little tight, but not dresses! She can still wear 9 mo dresses.

Tried to get a RT from Coach Freeze on #FlagshipFriday but he didn't respond.

Just picked out the boots!

Attempting to put the boots on.

Getting ready for school.... (We have to wake up an hour and a half early just get ready for preschool... oh my!

She doesn't like brushing her teeth... I don't know what else to do!

Projects

Projects, Projects, Projects..... I have been staying busy! I guess what everyone says: "Don't worry what to fill your days with" is true! I ask God daily to fill my day with His will..... and He can (if I'm listening.) You never know what the day will hold, but it's fun!

I have had an awesome time creating.... and making a little extra money on the side is nice too :) Some days, I have a very weird feeling that I do not contribute to the family income.... I know I'm raising our child, but it's weird not having a job and all. SO when I get even the smallest check in the mail, I tend to do a happy dance! Not all jobs are paying, but they are still fun!

This is was literally thrown together in one of Lyds 2 hour naps..... Sweet Finley decided he wanted to come about 2 weeks early! And since he came during the olympics, I made it to match team USA and now that I look at the pictures of it, the blue part sort of looks like a swimming pool, maybe he'll be a swimmer! Plus we are limited on sizes and colors b/c Fin has two older brothers. Boston's is blue background, Carter's is green, so Finley's had to be red! We love you Finley!! I pray you do lead a life worthy of the Lord!

This is Nativity Cathedral in Biloxi. It really is a beautiful church! Alan's brother and our sister in law got married here in 2009. And he asked me to do a painting of it for her birthday. I really hope she likes it! The inside of the church is really the prettiest part, but I didn't know how to paint all that, so I stuck to the outside. It's not a perfect match of the church, just my interpretation, so I hope they enjoy it for years to come! We love you both!

Up close detail.

This is an older painting that I did for our bedroom. A friend of mine came over for a party and wanted to buy it for her daughter. The daughter is getting married soon and this is the main verse in her wedding. How sweet is that?! I hope that it proudly hangs in her house as she remembers her love for Christ, her husband, and her family back in MS!

Close up detail and the verse Ecclesiastes 4:12

Not a very good pic from the phone.... but this was a friends dresser that we distressed for her kids room,  I hope they enjoy it! 

Empty Nest

I have this strong feeling to write for my therapy..... this house is strangely quiet again. For the first time ever, Lyds is at school and I am not! I know I should be cooking, cleaning, or preparing for my wonderful husband to come home. But I can't help but write and post the most precious pictures.

We decided after all summer at home, that Liddy needs something else in her day besides me! We signed her up for a MMO program, so far we love it! Everyone there is so sweet, the classrooms and even the hallway are painted perfectly for children and best of all, they will learn about Jesus!

Some days this summer, Lydia would sleep until 8 in the morning. So we got off to an early start this morning. I woke her up at 7, so we'd have time to eat breakfast and drink her milk before school. About 8, because I'm "that mom", we started taking pictures :) See below. I dropped her off at 8:30, Alan was able to meet us there, and at 8:40 we were on our way out. No tears from either of us (weird, huh?) Lydia  immediately took to playing and we told her bye a few times before she turned around and with her best effort, gave us a fake cry/whine.... but we continued to walk out and she was perfectly fine!

Here's this precious baby, that unfortunately is not a baby anymore!

This is our attempt of the picture in front of the door.... she saw the wagon and jumped right in!

Just running around and playing.

In the car.... she LOVES her carseat, and never wants to get out anymore. She will try to buckle her seatbelt back while screaming carseat, carseat.... Yesterday she actually had tears when I drug her out. 

Staying true to our Methodist roots!

I couldn't resist cropping this as if the sign was saying she is God's Masterpiece...... because she is!!!

It is supposed to rain today and it's VERY humid, but I  LOVE how it brings out her curls. 

I set her down in the room and she is instantly running around and trying to grab ALL the toys. Sorry this is blurry, but she wouldn't slow down.

Found a friend at the kitchen and finally stopped.

CURLS!!!!

The teacher did a great job on the door.... yes, she has 7, 15-24 month olds.... yikes!

Bye mom and dad! Not a care in the world!

It's been a while

For some reason, I think about updating the blog daily and I get real anxious ab it because I never know what to say or there's too much to say. But I've missed a WHOLE month and I'm procrastinating even more because I'm embarrassed......

A few weeks ago, my computer just refused to turn on. It has always run slow, but it's never done this. So I made an apt at the genius bar at the apple store and without any effort, the girl looks at it and says, "There's nothing we can do." I felt to betrayed! It seemed like she didn't even try hard! AND it was only 2.5 years old.... I thought Mac's weren't supposed to do that! She politely says, well at least you have everything on your backup hard drive, huh? And then I start freaking out..... I DID NOT have a back up.... so everything is gone. My pics of Lydia and Baylor, my files from design jobs, my programs, my fonts..... I got a new hard drive, but it had NOTHING on it. Super sad day. Very disappointed in Apple.

Anyway, going to try to pull pics from my phone and remember what we've done the last part of the summer!

First of all, Baylor was born!!! July 6th! But this has to be a whole other post!

Liddy's first movie in the car!! I found a Bubble Guppies at Wal Mart. She LOVED it! I think she got a little sleepy, but didn't fall asleep the whole way to Oxford.

Darcy and I went to meet Coach Freeze at the Ladies Forum.

Alan brought Lyds up there at the end and they got to meet Coach McGriff.

Finally got meet Coach.... he probably said this to everyone, but when I got done with my pic, he said, "So you went to Ole Miss, right?" and I said, "Of course." He said, "I thought so, you can just tell, you Ole Miss girls take pictures differently." Maybe I got too close to him?!?!?!

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At Volta!

We stayed at Sam's house so the parents could hang out after the kids went to bed. It was so much fun, kind of felt like a sleep over! Lydia loves Sam and Moe!

This became our morning time.... we were both sleepy but enjoying our milk and coffee together. She'll hit our cups together and say, "Cheers!" I love it!!!