i'll eat you up... i love you so...

he's my wild thing!

i bought this outfit from old navy
and 1/2 a yard of cream fleece from walmart

i took off the hood and the ears
i added a 3 inch piece of extra fabric to the
bottom of the hood and that extended to the front
on both sides for a chin strap then i put the
sticky velcro pieces on the ends of the extended pieces

i cut triangles from the wal-mart fleece and
joined ea. one to make cones which i then
attached on top of the hood where the
bear ears once were.
i just whip stitched around them.

to make a tail i'm going to cut out a
large triangle from the fleece and sew together
to make a large thin cone for a tail

this whole project cost me about $18.00 to make

entry #146

today i am thankful for...

1. finding my daughter a belle costume for 20$

2. finding the perfect little outfit to go with what i
made my nephew-to-be

3. having awesome kids to hang out with and
for experiencing more patience lately for the
times that it's not so awesome

4. sharing in my daughter's love for american girl
collections. my husband has been reading her my old
books and she is loving it

5. plain vanilla yogurt

entry #145

today i am blessed because....

1. after a rough night and morning, i got an extra hour of sleep
in because my son played in his crib for an hour! if you know him,
you understand why this is huge.

2. in reading birth books with olivia her only concern about the
whole thing is that the baby is being squished in there
right now and running out of room. so sweet!

3. my son says 'eeeewww' to anything dirty and it makes me
laugh. he's going nuts with these lady bugs.
he likes them if they're dead.

4. after 2 hours all together my husband made my back feel
better by patiently rubbing icy hot on it. he's seriously the best.
i don't know of any husband that would lovingly rub his wife's
back for as long as he does for me. thank you babe!

5. having a day to myself because the kids are going to grandma's
house and i get to visit with a friend and her
precious new baby. thank you mom!

entry #143 and #144

i have found grace in...

1. the beautiful day we are having today

2. the wonderful weekend we had with family and friends

3. my patient husband that takes care of me when i'm
expressing my pregnant discomfort

4. making it to where i am in this pregnancy without all
the issues i had with my other children

5. my love for writing. it helps me process my brain full of thoughts.

6. for being put into contact with such a wonderful midwife. i'm
loving this natural thing (so far). it just makes sense. why make
a big deal out of something so simple and natural?

7. planning out a family night for tonight with my hubby
while having our lunch chat with him. dinner and rock band!
(to our kids, that's a big deal as they are both future rockers)

8. all the little things i take for granted

9. laughing with my kids and being crazy

10. being connected with so many wonderful people that
all play a part in my life in some unique way

entry #142

1. my wonderful friend, hannah, for bringing over baby girl clothes
for us to use for Faye. we literally had nothing for a girl in this season.

2. craft night and conversation with some pretty awesome people
and sharing eachother's talents.

3. making my son's birthday invites ourselves with our own
printer and them turning out adorable! only spent 10 for stamps.
can't beat that!

4. my son's costume possibly working out. when i'm finished i'll post
a how to.

5. my dad fixing my door handle so i can now get out of the vehicle
without rolling my window down.

entry #141

the five things i'm grateful for today... and everyday....

our kids
our kids
our kids
our kids
our stinkin' cute kids...

modeling their new pj's....

they love their picture taken....

beauty...

momma's boy...

she's mastered the art of meditation...

and taught her brother...
he's got the humming down.


they are pretty cute and we're pretty blessed.
can't wait to see what faye looks like!

i'm pretty much expecting to see a
blonde-hair-blue-eyed beauty with a nutty personality
but you never know!

entry #140

About this time last year, looking at houses seemed only a dream that was impossible for us to reach. I saw this house online (well before this point last year) but never thought much of it. Then, one day, when I was praying about our future I felt the Lord saying to take another look at this house. So I did. I read the specs. Then I realized that this could quite possibly be the home we've wanted despite what the photos made it out to look. I showed Jess the online listing again and explained everything and he seemed more open to at least look at it.

We toyed with the idea of asking for a showing but knew we wouldn't be able to actually buy it for a few more months. Then, one night, Jess' brother's girlfriend (tiffany) mentioned that her mom worked for that particular realtor that held the listing. She got us in contact with her mom and we saw the house and immediately fell in love.

I started mapping out budgets and trying to see how or when we could afford a house. We decided it wasn't the right time and to focus on paying things off first and if the house was still there when we were ready then it'd be the right one.

It took what seemed like years to get to where we wanted to be (6mo to be exact) and believe it or not the house was still there! So we started to talk to banks and explore our borrowing options. We didn't find much that would work with our budget but I held out hope.

When the house was put on the market, about a year and a half before that, it was listed at
$125,000.00. When we were looking at it, it was listed at $121,000. Within a month the owner dropped it down to $119,800 then $114,500.00. It just kept looking better and better for us. But things weren't working out with the banks. We were discouraged.

We were close to trying out contract for deed (for i think $98,000.00) but didn't feel good about it but we knew we wanted the house. We were desperate. We found out at this point that we were pregnant with Faye. We were renting from my great-grandmother. The house we lived in was very nice but getting cramped with all our stuff and her stuff taking up most of the storage areas. We were blessed with the price of rent and the location to my husband's work but we just knew we needed a change and very soon.

Then something wonderful happened. We were told about FHA lending. We looked into and did all the paperwork. It took several weeks for us to even know a definite number we were approved for and when we found out, we were nervous because the owner was very stern about the $98k. But we held out faith knowing that if it was our house then everything would fall into place. We made a lower offer and she rejected it. That's all we could do at that point. So we waited 2 more weeks. We got a call from our realtor to see what was going on. We were waiting for more information from our lender.

It turns out that we were approved for 2k-3k in closing cost help. We already had the down-payment and closing cost money but were so appreciative of the extra help. So much so that we decided that we could offer $95k. So we did. She rejected and wanted $96,500. So we said we wouldn't ask for repair money and she finally agreed to our price of $95k! We were floored! She came down more then 10k from the most recent asking price within a month and a half. God is so good!

So when it all came together finally, our extra funds were applied to our loan and closing costs. At closing we paid $1,200.00 which almost $500 we got back 2 months later. (they over estimate)
And we had enough left to buy the appliances we needed and moving costs and paint. We were so so blessed!

It came to a loan for $93k at $735.00 a month and our homeowner's insurance only costing $45.00 per month. This is something we never dreamt possible. We never thought we'd be able to afford a mortgage. Turns out, when God's in it, ANYTHING is possible. I'm still in shock that we live here now. In this great big house with plenty of space. We love it here and it turns out to be the same price as living in our previously rented home. The electric bill and gas bills are less here then there.

The moral of my telling you this is - to not lose faith. God provides what we need, when we need it, even if it seems impossible. You can't get discouraged and stressed and give up. Stay focused with the mentality that you are going to be provided for regardless of what you really think you need. And if it is the right thing for you, all the details (big or small) will work out. And try not to put God on a timeline. It just makes it harder. It helps if you focus on what you do have and how you are blessed within that waiting period and just know that if it works out that you're life will be that more blessed.

Having faced this impossible feat and in going through this, I have learned more about God's love and provision and I have become extremely relaxed in Him. Whenever something happens I just have a peace that we will always be cared for. And I set no expectations for how. I just have faith.

I also must add, that when we take things into our own hands and make plans we get stressed out. When left to God you'll find a peace in your plans and they no longer just become your plans. It becomes the realization that God's plans for you will work out and may be better then you thought you could have. When working on your own, you short change yourself and are left with something you didn't actually want.

This is my entry for the day because we are blessed. And this story and our lives now and who i am now because of this experience, more then takes up 5 things for the day.