What's on Your Phone?

Night out with my husband. After dinner we watched the sun set and enjoyed a walk by the bay.


Sleepy kids on the way back from a trip to town.



My sister, Debi, got to visit Indiana with my Mom this summer and while I was very jealous, I was also very happy that she could have such fun times with the Rosserbury clan. I so appreciated the pictures posted on her blog & Lynne's blog as well as the pictures texted to me by Lynne & my Mom.

Early morning play time: Timothy (2), Carter (2), Larissa (14 months).


Larissa & Carter


Grandma Beth with Timothy & Shiloh (her sweet grandbabies)


Micah & Ivory playing outside on Ivory's 3rd birthday.


My little girl turns 3. Happy/Sad. She keeps asking me, "Mommy, am I still 3?"


Running some energy off at the park before visting Mamaw & Nana for Mamaw's birthday last Friday. We drove over to see them while Daddy & Grandaddy drove to Alabama to help Aunt Mel move in to her new place.


Ivory proudly displaying her "treasures" (sticks)!


Of course Micah had to find some of his own "treasures", as well.


Micah & Grandaddy fell asleep before church Sunday morning.



Micah reached over to hold my hand while driving back from lunch. *heart melt*


Riding home from lunch.

Micah woke up at 6am (usually wakes closer to 7:30) then had no morning nap. Fell asleep for about 10 minutes in the car. His little "power nap" then kept him from taking a normal 3-4 hour afternoon nap. Instead he cried, keeping sister awake, who then thought it'd be fun to "play scream" back and for through the walls. So much for nap time. All this company is just too exciting for sleep!

Our little energizer bunny standing in his crib playing rather then sleeping.

*crossing fingers* Maybe the children will take a normal nap together today...

Grandaddy & Nana Visit

Waiting for Grandaddy to arrive. Like my outfit from Timothy?

My kids are spoiled with 2 sets of grandparents who get down on the floor and play with them.

Ivory especially enjoyed being the big bad wolf and blowing Grandaddy's card houses down. Ivory, "I'm big, I'm bad! I'm big, I'm bad! That's what the big bad wolf say on Wonder Pets."

Love watching our kids interact with their grandaprents.

Sadly, Grandaddy had to leave Sunday after church so he could return for work on Monday. But, the kids were ecited to hear that Nana would be arriving Monday morning! While I know Grandaddy & Nana were sad to miss each other, we enjoyed seeing them however we could. Squeezed between their visits was a Sunday evening service with a business meeting...Cassie and I ducked out with the kiddos for that part of the service taking with us Ivory & Micah's friends Zeke & Caleb. I was pleased with how well Ivory shared her toys that night. She also sweetly offered her guests drinks & snacks.

Monday Nana arrived and Ivory quickly became addicted to Nana's cake making/decorating i-phone app. It is a pretty amazing app for all you i-phone owners out there.


Micah chilled with Mommy for a little watching Sesame Street songs (Elmo had four ducks is his favorite, he quacks for it) while Ivory hung with Nana.

Enjoyed my little man snuggles!

Gotta love us some technology.

Today we enjoyed more play time with Nana before she has to leave bright and early in the morning for her job. A big thank you to Nana for taking us all to lunch at Beef O' Brady's today! It's always a treat to go out to eat especially with family. So glad Nana & Grandaddy could come visit!

Fun with Grandaddy

We were excited to have a last minute visit with Grandaddy this past weekend!

The kids sure love their Grandaddy.

Everyday Happenings

It's amazing how entertaining a wet wipe can be. The kids "cleaned" all over the house.

Ivory was very thorough. She also helped me mop the floor after we had a very disgusting dirty diaper spill from little man. While I was cleaning up his diaper spill (I'll spare you the details, just trust me that it was large and messy) he managed to pour at least a gallon of water all over the bathroom floor. From one mess to the next...while Ivory and I made thank you notes he enjoyed throwing play dough all over the freshly mopped floor. Good thing he's so darn cute.



Micah enjoyed cleaning, too.

Ivory & Micah also "helped" cook lunch, sucking on frozen green beans in the process. Who knew they could be so delicious.

After lunch Ivory enjoyed some daddy time. Ivory, "Here daddy, wear this one. It's the boy bracelet."

Recent Projects

What's been keeping me busy...besides Ivory's pink & blue ice cream parlor party.

Resized an old sweater of my dad's. Love the length, color, and old-man-re-fashion look. Shortened the sleeves a little too much by accident, but it works for a 3/4 sleeve look.
Made this little hand clutch for Cassie's birthday. The flower is a removable pin for versatility.

Lots of silk flowers for various embelishments.

Or to be worn on headbands or in ponytails.

Future projects:

Can't plan for Christmas too soon with baby due to arrive somewhere around 8 weeks from now.

Made quite a few other projects...but can't post them. They're Christmas presents!

KSB

Crafting Fun

Ivory received lots of fun crafting supplies for her birthday and she's definitely putting them to good use.  She has crafted every day since her birthday!  She's made some cards with daddy & mommy for special people in her life.  The card below is a happy birthday card for Nana who's birthday was Monday.



Yesterday Melissa sweetly watched the kids so I could go to the doctor for a baby #3 check-up.  When I was getting ready Micah began crying knowing I was leaving.  I assured him we'd be together a little longer and I was taking him to Addie's house.  He got so excited at the mention of Addie's name.  As I walked up to the door to pick the kids up I could hear them giggling and laughing from outside.  When I entered the house Ivory immediately cries, "Can I stay?!"  Micah sweetly smiled and began yelling, "Mamamamama!" as he reached for me.  The kids had so much fun and apparently displayed hearty appetites eating lots of snacks and lunch by the time I picked them up.  Can I just say how nice it was to not have to come home and fight the lunch battle?  It's also nice to know I can leave the kids with someone who I know loves on them and where they'll have lots of fun.  For a few pics of their play time click here.  As we were leaving Addie began crying, as she does when all people leave (makes you feel like such special guests!) and Ivory was very concerned.  "Addie is crying!  She doesn't want me to leave.  I'm so sorry that she's crying.  When the paint dries (Sabian's been painting outside) we can go back and see Addie and play and I will bring her a card."  So, when we got home we made her a card thanking her for the fun birthday present and play time.  I love that Ivory is becoming more thoughtful and less selfish as she matures.

To house Ivory's art supplies I made a little princess craft bag inspired by this post (and this one).

I love how Susan used bias tape around the edges of hers, but I was attempting to keep it quick, simple and cheap, so I opted for simple zig-zagged edges.  Next time I may even try a decorative stitch on my machine.  If I were gifting it I would use bias tape.  I used an unopened shower curtain liner I had on hand for the plastic part, but it wasn't as sturdy as I thought.  We'll see how it holds up.  Next time I'll plan to use a sturdier shower curtain liner or actually purchase some simple vinyl from the fabric store.

Now I just need to make more, probably smaller, to house the rest of her colored pencil twistables & crayons, washable markers, foam stickers, and other misc crafting supplies.  Maybe while I'm at it I'll make some for the Micah's hot wheels, army men, and small pirates.

Dancing with Cinderella

Ivory walks into the living room from playing dress-up with Cassie approaches Daddy and says, "Want to dance with me Prince Charming?" (my heart = puddle) Daddy, of course, immediately swoops her up and begins dancing with her. As he begins dancing fast and fun she looks at him as she sweetly presses her cheek to his saying, "Sloooow." Too sweet.

Micah immediately begins dancing around, too. So, of course, Mommy has to swoop that little man up and dance with him. Although, he definitely favors the fast dancing. It wasn't long before all of us were breaking it down together.


I love these moments. They make the hard moments bearable. And believe me, we have plenty of those. I don't choose to record or photograph many of those moments. Not that I don't want to accurately portray our life, but it's a concious choice on my part to keep perspective. While I can't wish away the difficulties, I can choose not to focus on them. Some days I'm better at that then others. The moments captured above were one of those times that put life in perspective.

Pink & Blue Ice Cream Parlor Party

Invitations sent.

Decorations crafted.

Party favors prepared.

Birthday clothes sewn.

Out of town guests arrived (minus Nana & Grandaddy who couldn't come last minute because of sickness. We were so disappointed and pray they get well very soon!)

Micah & Uncle Matt having a stare contest.

Ivory excited to wake up next to Aunt Mel as soon as the sun rose.

Desserts baked.

Awning hung (no small feat--thanks Jason & Uncle Matt!) & balloons inflated (we were going to leave them all over the gym floor for the kids to play with, that is until they began popping at random all around us. Lesson learned, no last minute balloon purchases from Dollar General).

Cupcones & cake iced. Can I just say I've always been amazed by Aunt Mel's cake decorating skills, but was doubly impressed this weekend. I have to admit, when she told me she planned to ice them with Ivory I was a little disappointed thinking they might not look as beautiful but immediately realized the fun Ivory would have and how much that would mean to her. That obviously means so much more then perfectly iced cupcones. Well, not only did they have fun icing & decorating together--they came out looking as adorable as ever. Aunt Mel, you are truly a cake decorating marvel and a very patient, fun aunt. Oh, and the cake was just leftover batter that she last minute iced and decorated. This girl's got skills.

Tables set.

We had an *amazing* set-up/prep crew.

Popcorn popped & homemade ice cream churned (thanks MikeMike & Jason!).

Stephen stopped by Saturday so we snagged him for set-up help and invited him to join our little party. So glad he could make it last minute--he truly is a joyful servant.

The boys managed to stop for some pre-party fun...

Kids dressed and ready for the party...a feat in and of itself as they were woken from naps to go to the party. Ivory, excited about going to her party until Mom begins dressing her, "I don't WANT to wear this dress! It hurts! I don't want to wear those socks. They hurt! Don't want to eat nothing! Don't want NOTHING!" I knew the balloons, sugar, guests, presents, etc. would quickly distract so we pressed on. Needless to say, our getting dressed pictures didn't turn out super pleasant...

Time for the big entrance of the birthday girl down the hallway of balloons (great job Uncle Matt, Daddy & Aunt Mel!).

She entered her party with all the excitement, awe and wonder this Momma had hoped for.

So excited to *finally* be able to eat the candy she's been eyeing in jars on Mommy's dresser for weeks.

Micah found the whole affair nearly as exciting as his big sister did. Please disregard the crooked front haircut--have you ever tried cutting a 15 month old's hair? 15-months: seventh hair cut. 3-year-old Ivory? She's had two.

Ivory was extremely excited to be surrounded by so many of her favorite people. This girl has a lot of people she adores and we could have filled the gym with them, but for her sanity (she's not a big crowd person--like her mom) and ours we try to keep the parties small.

The ice cream was delish!

The kids were on such sugar highs they kept running into furniture and each other.

There were some salty food options such as salty blue popcorn, blue corn chips & pink queso dip, and then the slightly healthy chocolate covered strawberries.

Thanks Daddy & Uncle Matt for taking lots of pictures! Oh, and Debi, look closely at the white tablecloths--remember them? Discovered leftover tablecloths from my sister's wedding (nearly 6 years ago) and decided to put them to good use.

Once the party actually began I nearly crashed, in spite of the coffee & sugar! I know, perfect pregnancy diet. Don't worry it's not something habitual. =) Thanks to all the people who kept the party running smoothly and my children happy while I took a break and rested.

Daddy is so much fun!

We never can convince our guests that their presence is present enough. Ivory doesn't seem to mind, though...

She was THRILLED with every single gift. These people know what this 3-year-old girly girl likes. Melissa *made* her an adorable bag with her name & an ice cream cone on it. Ivory loves reading her name and she loves bags--winning combo.

These people know my girls loves coloring & crafting.

The birthday girl gave sweet hugs & thank yous for each gift. I was proud of the gratefulness she demonstrated. Boy is she growing up!


Funny story: Grandma takes Ivory shopping for her birthday. They're at our tiny Dollar General for an hour. When they arrive home Ivory runs in the door yelling, "I got CHAPSTICK!!!" This is no fancy sparkly princess chapstick, just an ordinary blue label tube of chapstick. Cracks me up. An HOUR and the chapstick is what she showed off first. Of course, she had other goodies like a rubber snake (which she sleeps with now, only a few months ago we battled snake nightmares. Guess she's emulating Batman and embracing her fears), princess ball cap, light up ball, juice boxes, and hair things. Grandma said pick three things. I guess that's three items in Grandma math. She had such a good time and apparently made friends with everyone in the store in the process, even striking up an argument with a man about the correct way to sign three. Brings back memories of going to lunch & shopping with my grandma for my birthday. Those were special times. It's fun watching my mom continue the tradition.

A big thank you to Melissa for keeping Micah & Addie entertained across the gym during present time. I loved glancing over periodically to see them so happily playing. Micah loves Addie & Melissa!

Not only are these people sweet enough to come out for our little girl's party, invest so much in her, and bring presents, they all stayed to help clean up, too. We were amazed and relieved by how quickly the clean-up went.

When we got home I had just enough energy to throw together some potato soup before crashing. The kids had short naps, a late bedtime, and exciting day. I sure was counting on a late morning rising...or at least one on time? Micah decided to wake up at 5AM. His screaming brought us to his room 30 minutes later. Woke up his sister. So much for sleeping in, attending church, joint naps for the kids, etc. Normal schedule completely crashed. Oh well, plans change. The weekend was fun and we managed to rest when we could. Overall, it was very fun and I'm feeling so blessed to have had three very special years with our joyful, precocius three-year-old Ivory Rae. Thank you, to the many people who've invested in our family over the year.s Most of all, thank you Lord for the good times and the bad times. Your presence & salvation is what we value more then any earthly blessing. I pray that very soon our little girl will come to realize how precious a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is. There's no better gift she could receive.