Teddy

There were so many people in Uganda that have touched my heart and I will never forget them. This is Teddy. She is a 9 year old beautiful shy little girl. she reminded me of my Belle the way she would hide her face when you were talking to her but then concentrate on every word you said. I knew instintly she was smart.
Teddy was born to a mother and father who both passed away of AIDs when she was younger. She was then placed in a foster home with a women that raised her as her own. two years ago Teddy's foster mother passed away from Malaria.
The thought of losing TWO mothers early in childhood chrushed me. I lost all control and started crying. I wanted so despertly to bring her home with me and try to give her a home she could feel safe and sucure in. A place where she doesn't have to worry about death and sickness. a place where she can play and laugh. I know thats not possible but what is possible is I can share her story and maybe someone out there reading it will be able to help Teddy.
you see Teddy is eligible for attenting St. Jerome Cove Center next year. There she will go to school to learn everything she needs to have a better life. she will live at the boarding center with other children her age, make friends and finally laugh and be a child for once in her life. She will also have all the medical attention at her finger tips to help her with her aids. Food and CLEAN water to prevent Malaria. the only thing standing in her way is money. She needs a sponser.
The commitment is $25 a month! That's less than dinner one night at a restaurant! If you are interested please visit Cove Centers website : http://www.covealliance.org/index.htm
you can put in a request for help Teddy or any other child on the waiting list.
I have seen first hand what Cove Center does with the money and it 100% helps these children grow into amazing people!

YOU GOT MAIL

I find it really sad that the post office is having hard times. In a way I feel like we could lose apart of history, if they close down. I know some people dread going to check the mail because it's just filled with bills and junk. but nothing beats that feeling when you see a genuine letter in the mail addressed with your name on it. you feel like a little kid wondering what's inside and even if there's no money your still happy that someone took the time to write you something and mail it.
I decided why not spend $0.44 on a stamp, make someone else feel special and help out the mail man at the same time?


Plus I got to make some cute Halloween cards!

The very next day i got phone calls saying thanks for the card! mission complete! before I go I wanted to show you another peak at what craft time really looks like in my house:


She's a great helper!

welcome mat

I love to window shop, mainly I love to find things at the store and realize 'i can make that!' I saw this river rock mat here and had that same feeling!
my dog jerky always like to sniff out what I'm doing. I did made him leave while I was using the hot glue gun.

looks simple right?! it is!

I have noticed everyone that comes to my house doesn't understand why there's a pile of rocks glued to my welcome mat and they all like to voice it but I just smile. because I like it and IT'S MY HOUSE!
(lol as a first time home owner I love saying that.)

Go knights!

raising two girls, my days are consumed in pink and lace. princesses and dress up. so when my uncle asked me to take pictures of his little league football team, I jumped at the chance to watch little boys tackle each other in the mud!

my uncle Jeremy always was the FUN uncle! He always played games and tricks on us growing up. so it was no surprise to me when he started coaching football to a bunch of kids he doesn't even know. (JP is his only child and isn't old enough yet to play) And it was a even bigger NO BRAINER that these kids look up to him and listen to every word he says. He's an awesome person!

I cant wait for the day when I have a little boy wearing a helmet too big for his head. I already know I will be the crazy mom in the stands cheering all decked out in face paint and a foam finger! but until then I will be the crazy mom drinking pretend tea with a pink feather boa wrapped around my neck.

My Birthday Celebration

The church that we got married at had a picnic at stricker's grove .
Every year it is on the weekend of my birthday so I love going there with the kids and riding all the rides I can. The next morning we drove over to Grandma's and dropped the girls off so mommy and daddy could have our own fun.........
I know very romantic lol but all I wanted for my birthday was to look for stuff for the house and not be distracted by two little girls not enjoying themselves.



I got some super cute ideas! then we were off to get my birthday present
I like tattoos that have meaning behind them. I feel like if I'm going to put something on my body that is permanent then I want it to be special to me. not a butterfly, flower, or star. I feel like a little piece of my heart is still in Uganda with those children at Cove Alliance. so to remember them this is what I got:
I had the greatest Birthday ever! and the best part was that I got to spend it with this goofy wonderful man:

why I want a big family!

Me and Brian plan on having 4 kids but I secretly am leaning towards 5 shhh......
A while ago my aunt asked me "why would you want that many kids?" the answer is why not!

growing up I was the oldest of 7 kids! I loved having a big family because there was always someone to play with, argue with, talk to or to bug. looking back at my childhood I realized my brothers were my best friends, even though they were gross boys that wouldn't play barbies with me. we know all the good and bad stories about each other.

my sisters are another proof that god answers prayers. Like any only girl in the family I begged god for a sister. I desperately wanted to hide the box cars and play station games and play dress up and paint nails. and in a blink of an eye I got my wish x3! we do have a big age gap but they are the only sisters I have and a number is not going to stop me from dancing, shopping, and finally playing barbies where no one gets killed!



This little one is the youngest of my dad's kids. He's crazy, but in a good way. He makes a great uncle to my girls :) (he cracks up every time I call him uncle) I don't get to see him or my two youngest sisters as much as I would like to. But I know they are my siblings and that never changes. My wish is that in the future I can make up lost time.

So the real answer to my aunts question about why I want so many kids is because I have learned that my friends change with every season of life but my brothers and sisters will always be there for me. Why would I not want that for my daughters.

a little behind

This past summer has been a very hectic and busy one. we were temporarily living at my mom's house until our house was ready and I went to Africa for 2 weeks. we didn't forget about Julia's Birthday back in June. we celebrated it in our own way at jump in.
We are just a little bit behind on taking her birthday pictures. My friend told me about a little park by her house that over looks the Ohio river. we drove down there together and I snapped away.

She wanted to do something different with her pictures this year so we picked out a cow girl hat. she got my sense of creativity somehow :)



I am amazed at just how beautful she is, inside and out. This past year The Julia has taught me that she is more and more like her dad every day. She has a heart so big and she cares about everyone she knows. Her sister is her pride and joy. she wears her 'I'm a big sister' button from the hospital all the time, and I catch her sneeking into Belle's room to kiss her good night one more time. She is the type of person I have always wanted to be. she's outgoing and funny. everyone falls in love with her within the first 5 minute of meeting her. I also learned that there's no tricking this one. she's smart and figures out every riddle, puzzle, game and white lie I tell her. That little mind is always working. But no matter how grown up she acts or tries to be, her dream is to become a Princess. it's a struggle every morning to make sure she doesn't go to school in her dress up dresses. I always say that being a step mom was a role I never even thought about growing up but it's become one of the greatest roles. I feel like God truly picked me to raise her and I want to make sure she gets the childhood she deserves!

how to entertain babies.....

When a baby cries you go threw the check list, Diaper cleaned? hungry? sick? cold? teeth?
But when everything is done and the baby is only crying harder what do you do? what what if their were three of them crying?! ..........
Well I have found that sitting outside and blowing bubbles always works!

JP and Korben love it outside!
blowing bubbles is cheap,easy, doesn't make a big mess and will keep them happy for about 45 minutes!

monday blues

I don't have the typical Monday Blues. I have the best job in the world and my weekends are spent at my other job so I welcome Mondays with open arms! but today I have been bla. I think it started when I looked out the window, I wanted to go to the park and take pictures but its raining :( I am the kind of person that tries to stay positive and look on the bright side of things. so when I was mopping the week old mess in my kitchen I stopped myself from complaining and tried to think about what kind of day the people back in Uganda were having. I saw first hand the messes the clean up and the hard labor they put into thing that we are fortunate enough to just press a button and go on. (like the dish washer, the laundry and stove.) This got me thinking also about the amazing lion we saw walking a crossed a path. the girl next to me whispered, "isn't that sad? he only has three legs and he's so skinny!" I shuck my head "isn't it amazing that even though he has been dealt a difficult life he is still walking!" So if your having Monday blues just know that there is someone out there that has it worse than you and they are still walking.

halloween DIY #5!

Before I show you the final DIY of the week I wanted to show you what craft time REALLY looks like in my house:
I have to take lost of breaks beacuse one is crying, one needs a diaper change, more juice, they get bored or just want to help with the sissors! (they dont actually help with the sissors they just want to!) even though sometimes my 30 min craft could take all day to finish how could I complain when I get to see 3 beautiful babies smiling and clapping for me when I do finally get it done.

OK now on to the craft!
I love my green door, it was one of the many things I had on my list for my dream house, I wanted a front door that stands out! I wanted to make a wreath to welcome everyone into our home.
all you need is a wire hanger, trash bags scissors and paper! I didn't have a wire hanger and with three babies to tote around I was not going to go to the store to buy one, so I used something circular shape I found in our basement.
cut strips of the trash bag out.
then tied the strips the the wire:
keep tying until completely full all away around. then fluffed the ends of the bag out.
I wanted it to look kind of like a ghost and also to hide the other wires in the middle so i cut out eyes and the word BOO! taped them to the wreath and hung on the door.
(Miss Belle loves to look out the screen door and yell at the dogs walking past.)

Halloween DIY #4

I stole this idea from Martha Stewart
It's super Easy!
I found outlines of mice on my handy dandy phone. Then traced and cut them out.
Next I used tape to add them to the front of the steps. Martha used black mice but I didn't have black paper so I used white and then to make them more spooky I added red eyes to each. I think the white looks better with my blue wall with white picture frames. and the grey thing on the banister is a giant spider my mom gave me last year for my birthday! do you see my rug hanging on the wall at the top? It's a present from Africa! I love seeing it every time I walk into the house. :)

halloween DIY #3

Bunting is huge right now! every craft site or craft store has bunting kits. This is my version.....well I should say Julia's version. I wrote out the letters and added some creepy dripping action to them.
Always tring to include some teaching into our everyday life, I snuck in a spelling lesson. "what letter comes next in HALLOWEEN?" after she picked out the right letter I let her have free range of the green glitter. she was so excited because mommy never lets her play with glitter!
after the glitter dried I sewed the papers together (yes you can sew paper!)
and hung it up.