Showered with Love!

Katie and Macy had their first shower this weekend from my Mom's family.  What a great turnout with so many wonderful gifts! She really received so many MUCH NEEDED items from the family and friends. So much pink, it was girlie-fabulous!

The fabulous name banner that AH made for her little sister!  It is incredibly cute and will be adorable hung over the crib.  Can you see that it spells Macy? :)



Cutie sleepers - one with a cat! :)  I haven't even seen all the adorable clothing she received. This girl should be the cutest dressed gal in the entire county! :)





















Diapers and wipes, a new mommy's best friend, right? A travel changing pad, passies, toys, all the things a baby girl could want!



Speaking of diapers.... this huge box will last how long? And a box of wipes that is just a large. Thank Heavens!

 Katie, AH, and Angela looking at the scrapbook I made, waiting for the arrival of one new niece! :)

The bedding, Bunny Meadow, a gift from mom.  It is so precious and gender neutral in case the cardiologist ultrasound technician wasn't right about this being a girl!!

It was a battle of the babies, since children are nothing new in our family.  EB made it with "Aunt Donna" and Sister Beth.  So glad they made it! And she is just a beautiful girl.

Ellie Jean, my cousin Jason and Ashleigh's baby girl, is too cute for words, too.  She just looks like a baby doll and is so good natured.  Always a smile!



























The boys weren't left out, either.  River and Rylan had plenty of ladies oooohhhhing and ahhhhhing over them!! This family is growing so quickly!

It's only fitting to close with a picture of the gorgeous cake.  So special. It isn't even my baby, but I feel so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family!  They really do go all out to help start new homes, new families and new babies off right!

So far to go.

I receive these emails every morning in my inbox from Girlfriends in God.  I really love waking up and checking my email on my phone to see what new bit of wisdom they help impart into my very thick skull.

Inevitably, the lesson is demonstrated to me later in the day, as I fall on my face with an epic FAIL.  Like anger.  The lesson was about harsh words, thinking before you speak, closely guarding your tongue. I read it and basically thought - yeah yeah yeah - read read read and off to work I go.  That afternoon. EPIC FAIL!

Over and over I'm shown how far I have to go, how much I have to grow. And that's ok. Because I sometimes think - Hey, I'm doing pretty good. I'm improving and then I get lazy. So when I need another shove to get me moving in the right direction, there is another reality check waiting for me. :)

I do hate that I'm such a rough cut of what I should be, but little by little I'm being whittled away at until one day I'll be a smoother shape that one can see the resemblance of Jesus in me. :)

Muffin Monday

Muffin and I had a lazy Sunday evening, as you can see here. Sometimes a little down time is needed!
Hope your week ahead is a good one!

Adorable Friendship!

A wonderful friend, one of the prayer peeps!, sent Katie the most beautiful hand-designed cards for Macy.  She is the owner of Leen Machine, which specializes is stationary products... mainly for brides.  I have a sneaking suspicion that she designed these cards with Macy in mind, since baby items aren't her norm. Which only makes them THAT much more special! How awesome is that!?!

The first one I saw was this - adorable retro baby buggy with Macy written right there on it.  I love the curved handle and the scallops across the top - she has a wonderful eye for detail.  I didn't tell you her name!  My friend, Paulene, the one and only, the amazing and wonderful and super special Paulene! 

The second - love this little clothes line with all pink clipped onto it. That's about right - pink pink pink! And her full name written on it, the cute monogrammed onesie... love it!!!! Adore it! She's so awesome.

I just had to share with you, too. I'm not sharing the note but that was the best part of all. Knowing people have Katie and Macy in their prayers on a regular basis, already loving this child and praying for her well-being!  It's beautiful. And this thoughtfulness was so touching. Thanks Paulene for being super special you!

Forlorn Muffin Monday

I'm not sure why but Muffin looks like she has the blues. Poor kitten. Maybe a special treat day is in order to help perk her up.

Hopefully, your Monday is feeling better than this!  ;)

I'm Tickled Pink! :)

Oh.... I have re-written this beginning so many times because honestly, I don't know where to start!  I'll just say this, Katie's pregnancy has been a wild roller coaster ride. And yesterday, not only did she get wonderful news, but the techs tossed in a ultrasound of the baby!  Which means... WE KNOW THE GENDER!  

Hopefully, the first week of July, we will be welcoming Macy Elizabeth into our family! We have so very much to be thankful for... Katie's health, Macy's health, and the family this girl will be being born into - Katie, Roger and AH! :)  So excited!

Now, time to SHOP!!! Woop woop! As Donna would say, pink dresses and monograms! 

Last night, my only pink wasn't from the baby, but from eggs!  Ellie Bellie dyed Easter Eggs last night and was just adorable.  Having her start it off by looking at the table full of egg dye containers and saying, "Giiiiiirl, we have made a mess mess mess!"  Oh my gosh, I don't know where she picked that up from, but it was HILARIOUS!  "Giiiiiirl, we have made a mess mess mess!" 

Let me tell you, Ellie was very serious about dying eggs. And she was concerned because there was no purple dye. For whatever reason, the kit didn't come with purple.  But, her resourceful Aunt Donna, who had purchased two packages - one for the containers and one for the stickers - took the remaining tablets and combined them into one cup. 

Now, I know what you are thinking... that was some ugly eggs. But actually, they turned a really cool burgundy color that was just surprising! Ellie called it brown pink and seemed happy with it. :) 

See the seriousness of dying a blue egg? She was all into this. Of course, until her fingers got dirty and then she was all about Aunt Donna dying eggs. Ha ha!

I like the one of her smiling. At one point she said, "I'm so excited and I can't keep it all in my body!" How precious is that? 

The Must Have Gift.

Don't you think this would be the perfect gift for my Niephew?  (We still don't know if it's a boy or a girl... therefore, it's a niewphew for now...)

I don't want to pay shipping, so I need to find this in a store somewhere. LOVE THIS!

Tailspin.

Sometimes all the plans you had made and expectations you had are totally blown out of the water with just a few words. Boom. Instant tailspin. It was one of those days yesterday.

I have this hymn in my head, "Take it to the Lord in prayer." Here are the lyrics and click here to hear the music.  Hyms are so comforting...

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.
So, despite being blown out of the water, I'm doing my best to lay these troubles down at the feet of God and let Him carry these burdens. Did I say that was easy for a control freak? No, it isn't easy. But I'm trying - He's there waiting on me to trust in Him.

Muffin Monday

It's that time again, time for a photo of the most loved kitten in the world.
She was not amused by the camera and would not pose for me. What a diva!

I don't know about you, but this moving the clock thing is annoying!  I feel like I've been hit by a truck -it took me forever to get to sleep. Why can't they leave time alone??? Sigh.

Hope you are adjusting better than I am and your week is smooth sailing all the way!

Do your research.

A co-worker and I discussed an emotional non-profit this morning that a club at her daughter's high school had decided to endorse.  It was one of those organizations that targets the younger generation with viral videos, slick marketing and trendy paraphernalia.  A handful of students jumped on it and away it went.

Until one student said - wait, what do we know about this group? Thankfully, someone decided to question. The daughter began to discuss it at home, where her mom taught her to research and learn more before jumping in with both feet.

The mom brought it to work, where I said - wait one skinny minute and let's do some investigating on their IRS 990 forms, other websites involving their name, etc.  Turns out, this group seems to be scamming money for an issue that was resolved four years ago, but most people don't realize it's over. The board and employees are mostly family members, which tosses up another red flag. There was enough negative vibes that I would shy away from it, and it seems the students are turning away, as well.

A great lesson was learned, however, for students who are at the age where they are being tapped to become involved in all types of organizations and causes.  DO THE RESEARCH FIRST.

If you need a tool that is great for digging into tax documents, which isn't a bad place to start, I recommend GuideStar. It's free to sign up to view tax documents for non-profits.  There are other things you can do there, too, read and leave reviews but I don't put a lot of merit into that type of discussion.  I would trust people I know more than those I have no idea what the motivation is behind their review.

Anyway, having been in the non-profit business for a few years myself, I know there are so many wonderful organizations out there who are wonderful financial stewards of "other people's money," investing in extremely worthwhile causes that are truly impacting lives in a very real way.  But you always have those who are shady and sketchy that give honest folks a bad name.  Make sure you know the difference.

Pressed Clovers

As promised, some photos from the Wedding Registry Book I'm sending to a friend's daughter.  I really like the black, white and gray look that seems very elegant.  I think her wedding will be oh-so-gorgeous... the bride is beautiful and this just seems like it fit! I hope so, at least!

I have another book you'll have to see for my sister-in-law's beach house, all beachy and flip flops, sunglasses and drinks with umbrellas!  Love it, it is so darn cute.  Adorable, actually.

Anyway, next on my list is my sister's registry book for the baby showers coming up this month! Whoo hoo! Can't wait! Hopefully, they will look into having another ultrasound pronto so I can quit calling this child "Ralphie" and give it a real name!

After her registry book, I hope to make up a few and actually sell them - online, in person, whatever, I don't care as long as I start selling! I'm determined to take that step and put these books out there for all to see (and criticize - UGH!) but hopefully someone else will see the love in them and want one of their very own. *sigh* I guess that would be my dream, to help others capture and record memories. ... cross your fingers for me!

Muffin Monday

Finished two more books this weekend! Very excited and will post pictures soon.

I have a guest for you this week, Miles, the goat!  Miles and his trainer, Kenzie, won several ribbons this past season! Way to go! They are a great duo. :)

Have a great week!