iheartfaces - Best face of 2011

So, I've had lots of photos this year that have caused a stir but one in particular stands out in my mind.

This little man was helping announce the coming of his baby sister. Doesn't he look excited?!  ;)

Ha!

-kt

Head on over to I Heart Faces to see more great photos from 2011!

My Project 52

Hi all!

I have to admit (if I haven't already... which, I'm sure I have) that I love The Styleberry Blog. Shawna is pretty awesome and has encouraged me in many ways. From first stumbling upon her blog when I needed help getting started making my own baby food, to exploring the possibility of cloth diapers, to how to encourage my hubby, she keeps me interested with each new post.

One thing I loved following on her blog last year was her Project 52. She took a new photo each week to capture a picture of what motherhood meant to her that week. There were ups and downs throughout the year but now she has a whole collection of memories.

I was inspired.

I'm taking the challenge to do my own Project 52 this year and my theme is going to be Change.

A lot is changing for us this year... and this will be a great way to remember it all and how it felt to go through it.

So, on that note, here is my first week. I had a few things to choose from but settled on this:

 

The hubby and I putting together our support letters.

The hubby and I have entered a time of raising support. For those of you who don't know, raising support is something some full-time missionaries do. We are going to be full-time staff at a Christian Mountain Adventure camp in Southwestern Colorado. So, not only is this going to be a big change for us in that we're moving across the country, but we are going from being individuals who get paid like most people to being completely dependent on the generosity of those who feel called to join our support team.

(To learn more about my hubby's new job, click on the Camp Redcloud link that is at the top of this page)

This girl loves to plan. And, then to execute those plans.

But, this is out of my control. It's in God's hands now. He's the only One who can provide for our needs and get us to Colorado so my hubby can start doing the job that he is so excited to do: be the Equestrian Program Manager.

I know he was made for a job like this. Horses, mountains, ministry... he is so perfectly suited for this job.

So, now we wait. We wait in expectation for what God is going to do to help us be more dependent on Him and to get to the new jobs waiting for us in a new place.

Change is scary... but it's good.

For more info on Project 52, head on over to the Styleberry Blog!

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And, here's a bonus "change" for the family...

Since the little mister turned 2 last month, he switched from the nursery to the 2 year old class at church!

Here's me dropping off our big boy!

I can't even stand how fast these 2 years went!

ps: I didn't use this picture for my project this week because I didn't take it!

-kt

The Vintage Pearl is having a giveaway! I've had my eye on some of their goodies for a while but am waiting for the little miss before I put in my official wishlist with the hubby.  ;) 

Check it out here:  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=184601506

#2

Baby girl is getting bigger and bigger and while I'm not at the end of this pregnancy, I did want to get our picts done before I felt awkwardly huge. So, my sister came over and took some photos for us. Then, I did my favorite part: the editing. I think they turned out cute... What about you?

-kt

The Little Mister is 2!!!

I'm still a little in shock that I have a 2 year old. It's unreal. But, he is so much fun and we enjoy every single day with him. As I type, the hubby and the little mister are playing together while the Packer game is on. They are so much fun to watch!

Last night, we celebrated the life of the little mister by having friends and family over.  Here are some of my favorite moments:

His face was precious when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

He and Daddy blew out his candle.

He doesn't like cake so his candle was in a cookie. He LOVES those cookies!

He's starting to understand presents... Christmas should be fun!

He was too busy with all his new toys to take a photo with mom and dad.

To see the tutorial on how I did my hair, go to my cousin Kate's blog here: http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/2011/11/braided-bun.html

See? He only wants to play!

Papa Eddy and Nana

The treat table.

Even our chalkboard celebrated his birthday!

It was really such a great night. The LM has been going back and forth between all of this new toys today and we already watched his new copy of Toy Story. He is just such a sweet blessing to our lives. We took some extra time to pray for an extra special blessing for everyone who was able to make it out to celebrate him with us. We appreciate you all.

-kt

tree skirt

So, I'm totally addicted to Pinterest. Who isn't?! I've made a few things from there but this is my FAVORITE so far. You can find the original tutorial here:  Tree Skirt tutorial.  The only things I did differently are I bought a $5 tree skirt from Fleet Farm to use as the base and instead of hot gluing (I ALWAYS burn myself), I used my grandma's old sewing machine to sew it. Saved a ton of time and money (glue sticks are expensive!).

Here's my finished product!

Hope you like it! Now my tree is officially done!
-kt

Burlap Wreath Tutorial

So, mom and I had a craft day last time I was down by them. We decided to make burlap wreaths for our doors. We hopped online and found a BUNCH of different tutorials and adapted them to what we wanted to do... so, here's our version!

We started with styrofoam rings from Hobby Lobby (found in the little kid craft section... much cheaper than buying the wreath forms by the actual wreaths). Ours are about 11 1/2 inches in diameter from the outer edges. We ended up needing about 1 1/2 yards per wreath so make sure if you buy a bigger form, you get more burlap!

I'm going to be showing you how my mom made her's simply because with all the picture taking and indecisiveness on my part, I didn't finish... yet. And, she's a rock star and got her's done.

We started by cutting a long, thin (about 3 1/2 inches) strip of the burlap to wrap around the form so that if any of it showed after the wreath was done, it wouldn't be glaringly white.

Be sure to put it on an angle so you can wrap it around. Give it a dab of hot glue once you get all the way around to secure the end of the burlap.

 It should look something like this!

 My mom then cut squares out of her burlap that were about 4 in x 4 in... maybe a little bigger. Try a few sizes to see what you like before you cut them all.

 She then folded the squares in half and in half again. What we forgot to take a picture of is at this point she cut around the edges to round them.

 Then, she scrunched the folded square until she liked how it looked.

 Once she liked the look, she cut off the bottom so that she'd have a flat spot to glue to the form.

With a lot of hot glue sticks, several cups of tea, a good movie, and some trial and error, we got it all glued together!  She added a few flowers from the color burlap that I was using to give it a little something extra. You can find a tutorial for flowers like that here:  http://mysparkle.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-to-rolled-flowers.html

Sadie liked it too!

I'll be posting mine once I get it done... it's a little different from my mom's. It's more like loops instead of the ends sticking out. You'll see!

-kt

****UPDATE****

I finally got mine finished! Here are some quick picts to show you how I did mine and how it turned out. What do you think?

 

I added hot glue to the x and glued it to form "bubbles".

 

The "T" and the flowers are removable so I can use it for other seasons/holidays!

 

-kt