what has been happening...

we celebrated Emma at 10 months old.

she is full of life, energy and a spirit for exploring. it is challenging to get her to sit still long enough to take a photo. there is always something more exciting she needs to get to. she started walking. after those first steps it didn't take long for her to realize that walking was going to get her where she wanted to go a lot faster than crawling. not to mention there is a whole new world up off the floor. it's a whole new world for both of us. i hear some moms say that they had a favorite stage, like crawling or when they weren't mobile. but i have to say, i have truly loved every stage. as we entered this new stage i got those feelings of excitement all over again thinking of how her personality will shine through differently than the time before.

we celebrated Emma at 11 months old.



she has this walking thing down. when she falls, she stands right back up. she absolutely loves being chased and makes us laugh at how quick those little legs can move. she is attempting to climb now. she knows how to climb upstairs but not down. she has climbed into one of her toys and managed to climb back out. everyday she amazes me. i am so excited to celebrate her first year of life. she brings us so much joy. we are so grateful God has chosen us to be her parents.

"For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done."
Psalm 92:4

i'm back

i took some time off from the blogging/pinterest/facebook world for a while. life has been happening all too fast lately and i felt the need to just be. it was time well spent, although it didn't seem to go by any slower. Emma will one in one week. ONE! my tiny, little baby is growing up. decorations are almost made, the house isn't clean at all, i haven't started on the menu and about 99% of the guests are coming. i hope this first birthday is everything she ever dreamed of.

this and that Thursday

i love pinterest. here are some of my favorites this week.

get this free printable from the handmade home

get that dress on clearance from JCrew

get this dress tutorial from Smashed Peas and Carrots

making stepping stones with baby footprints. got that idea from Make Baby Stuff

my new ride

well, my little, red, Honda Civic coupe, finally sold. this is what i got instead:

it's a 2011 Honda Civic Pilot EX-L

I LOVE IT!

i debated sharing or not. i feel like a spoiled brat. new house, new car, beautiful baby girl, amazing husband. life is good.

weekend wrap up

this weekend was extraordinarily nice. when Tim got home on Friday morning we headed to Valhalla for breakfast. we spent the rest of our Friday lounging around the house. i did some laundry while Tim and E napped. then i watched Hot Tub Time Machine... by myself, while Tim and E still napped. while watching the movie, our house was SO hot! our AC runs all day and the house never cools beyond 83 degrees. YUCK! we had someone come out to service it earlier that week and he told us that the unit was brand new and it probably didn't cool down in our house because of the great big windows we have everywhere that don't have any window coverings. not even blinds. duh...                               

the window on the top faces the east and the window on the bottom faces the south.

they let in A LOT of light. which is great and i love how open and beautiful it is. until it's 104 outside and i'm sweating inside my house while the AC is on.

Friday evening, we met up at a local restaurant with some close friends for a gender party. we were excited to get out of the house and the heat. but, our group was seated in front of the windows that face the west and we were once again sweating like pigs. so gross. after the party, we went to visit our niece, Karissa, and love on her. she is recovering great and acting like herself again. we went home and slept terrible all night. at 2am, i began looking online at sun shades and anything we could do to protect our house. Saturday morning came and we went straight to Lowe's (after breakfast at Valhalla). we bought 2 exterior sun shades for the windows that face the west (our bedrooms!) and thermal-lined energy-efficient curtains for the 2 windows in the living room. i spent the rest of Saturday ironing 8 panels of curtains. yes 8, those windows are huge, while Tim hung the outdoor sun shades and curtain rods. it didn't make too much of a difference that evening. but Sunday, oh Sunday. i set the AC at 79 before we left for the day. we went to church and then to Ayden's, our nephew, birthday party. we got home about 3 and our house was 79 and the AC was off! it felt great in our house and it felt even better to hear the AC kick off every now and then and give our electric bill a break.

   

(please excuse our disgustingly large TV-which is going to by mounted above the fireplace-that my husband refuses to get rid of because he has a secret love affair with xbox live. and football)

i know, they are so plain and boring. i would have loved some like these. or maybe these. or i even thought about making some out of this fabric. but, these are too expensive/don't have thermal lining/would take me too long to make. so, for now, it's practical and boring.



the cat is also enjoying the cooler wall. see her there?

the part i loved most about this weekend was how much time Tim and i spent working on our home together. we spent our weekend doing things i've waited and dreamed of doing ever since i was a little girl. i love our life.



new life

our house had 4 rose bushes that looked pretty pitiful. i wasn't sure of my capability to try and save them. i've never even planted anything. i've always loved the idea of having a garden and looked forward to it once we had a house of our own. we now have the house, and i now have my opportunity. i did some research and trimmed and watered these rose bushes like crazy and they are coming back to life. i am so proud of myself and my new found green thumb.

life is so fragile

i received a phone call tonight that made my heart sink. Tim called me from work to tell me that our niece, Karissa, had drown. she is alive. she is in the hospital staying overnight. Karissa just celebrated her first birthday on June 2. my brother and sister-in-law were in their doughboy pool cleaning and had Karissa in a floating device in the middle of the pool. when they didn't hear any noise, they turned around to see her floating face down. i had goosebumps, i was sick to my stomach, i was shaking. i don't ever want to know what that moment must have felt like. my sister-in-law immediately began to give Karissa CPR while her husband called 911. Kristy resesitated Karissa! what a miracle. praise God she knew CPR. i immediately went into Emma's room sobbing and knelt beside her crib and just prayed for Karissa and for Emma. such tiny little bodies. so fragile and gentle. how quick Karissa's life was almost taken. i will surely being watching E even more closely, holding her even more tightly and thanking God even more often for this precious life He has trusted Tim and i to take care of.

we love you, Karissa