Uh-Oh!

I loved it!

The End.

A Birthday Scavenger Hunt

The Directions

"Follow the clues to find your presents"

 Present #1

Shoes and nail polish

 Present 2

A water gun

 Present #3

 Present #4

Dog toys. "What?!"

 Present #5

A dog purse. a.k.a. a bag to carry your dog in.

 Last Clue

 Present #6

The announcement, telling her that she'd have to wait just a little longer for Sunny to be old enough to leave his mom.

 The Reaction!

"Dad!!! Mom got me a puppy!!!!"

That was LAST Saturday...wait until you see what we did THIS Saturday!

The Mama Files: Am I Ready For This?

I took some pictures for a girl at our church last week. 

When her mom came up and asked me to do this I agreed simply because I thought it would give me some practice for the upcoming wedding I'm shooting. (in 2 days!!! Yipes!)

I have never EVER considered myself a photographer.

In college I took ONE photography class and that's the extent of my qualifications. 

I've been told by a few people I "have a good eye", but can I really charge people money for simply that?

I guess I can, because I am. 

I do love things about photography, like the instant gratification (thanks digital era).

And I can set up a shot (thanks artistic eye).

I just feel like such an amateur. 

But people don't seem to care.I have 3, possibly 4, more sessions scheduled at this minute.

I can't help but think to myself, "how is this happening? I'm not advertising, and I don't even consider photography  one of my talents. Why do people want me?"

Yet here I am being approached and for some reason not able to turn the opportunities down.

Maybe the whole reason is because I'm cheap. 

But my skills can only improve, right?

So is this the next road for me?

Because we all know I NEED another hobby! :-)

I guess bring on the "momography"! 

P.S. I did ace my photography class by the way! *insert, slight, own horn tooting here*

Painting...again.

I contemplated painting the girls room last week, but decided to wait until next week. 

Above is a sampling of the color pallet.

I'm itching to get working on it!

Stay tuned!

Eight Things About Our 8 Year Old

1. Loves animals...unless they smell.

2.  Likes the color yellow the best

3. Loves dresses, nail polish, & shoes

4. Adapts extremely well to her surroundings

5. Plays well with all ages

6. Pretends to be shy at first

7. Hates failure, even if it's a 98%

8. Loves her family

Happy Birthday to our favorite 8 year old!

This is how I feel about Leia turning 8!

Tutorial + Bonus!

Leia has been asking/praying for a Pug for over a year.

We've been watching classified ads and craiglist for a few months, with no luck.

But last week one of my brother's customers told him his pug was just about to give birth and Rich reserved one for us! The timing was perfect, the price was perfect, and hopefully "Sunny" will be perfect! 

Leia's birthday is Saturday, so with that in mind I give you my latest "project"/gift.

Suitcase to Pet Bed

Supplies:
Hard sided suitcase, 

                          Old bed pillow or cushion

                                              4 Bun Feet (the most expensive part)

Spray Paint

                       Regular Paint- for Buns

Drill

Wrench

Washers and Nuts

Step 1:

 Remove top from bottom.

*This works best if you take and drill through the brads that hold the hinge on and not try to muscle it off, which can possibly damage your suitcase a smidge. I may or may not have learned this the hard way. :-)

Step 2 (the fun part):

 Spray paint your suitcase to be the color you want.
Make sure to tape off with painters tape any hardware you don't want the base color.

*Side Note: Spray paint is my kind of paint. Dry to the touch in 15 minutes? Yes, please!

Step 3:

Paint the bun feet and then wait (and wait and wait while you contemplate why you didn't just use magical spray paint that dries super-duper quick) to dry completely.

*I varnished mine because I wanted them shiny, but you wouldn't have to.

Step 4:

Drill holes in the 4 corners of your suitcase the same size as the bolts in your Bun feet. 

If you're OCD feel free to measure to make sure it's all perfectly even. 

*I just eyeballed it, and it is slightly off. Gosh! I hope Sunny doesn't notice! :-)

Then screw on your washers and nuts.

Step 5:

Cover pillow with protective waterproof pillow case, then decorative fabric pillowcase and stuff into your suitcase.

And Voila!

Super cute!

Leia is at summer camp this week and doesn't know we found a pug (I'm pretty sure she suspects we're looking for one). So I'm hoping to have her gifts announce it to her, well as long as Gaius doesn't spill the beans first! :-) 

Cross your fingers!

Bonus:

The invitations for Leia's sleepover birthday party. 

Eleven

My favorite things from the last 11 years

1. Xavier

2. Getting to know my husband better

3. A tiny, little "gingerbread house"

4. Leia

5. Finding God again

6. A dog (sort of, sometimes) :-)

7. Gaius

8. Shoshannah

9. The Sears House

10. Being a mom to the 4 coolest, and fun kids on the planet

11. Getting to know my husband even better

12. Starting to piece together God's plan for my life

Wow, what a ride. 

I can't wait to see what's next!

**The chorus from One Republic's Good Life keeps running through my head today.

I think it's fitting.