Big Boy Bed

 

We now have one week of Big Boy Bed under our belts!

I found this bed for Easton on Craigslist a few months back.

I decided to paint and distress it rather than leaving it the natural wood.

 

Please pardon the mess of a garage.

The process is really quite simple.

I sanded down the original finish off of the bed.

I applied 2 coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey.

I distressed the corners and some of the raised pieces of wood.

And sealed it with a clear coat of wax.

 

Our first attempt to put the bed together FAILED when the wood rails that came with the bed broke.

 

Last Monday on a whim we got the new bed put together and set up.

Easton was amped up with excitement.

Come bedtime he was singing a different tune though.

I laid down with him and we talked about what a big boy he was.

How proud we were of him.

That his new sister would need his baby bed for a little while.

That mommy had painted it and daddy had put it all together.

That we'd get some new fun stuff for his room very soon.

 

He told me a few times he wanted his baby bed.

He didn't like this big bed.

He wanted me to put his other bed back together.

 

But, we talked a little more, I said his prayers, I laid with him a minute and I kissed him goodnight.

I never heard a peep from him after that.

He slept like a log and we woke him up Tuesday morning with praise and kisses!

{first night in the big boy bed}

 

Each night has gotten better.

Some nights we read books.

Some nights I lay in there a minute before prayers.

Some nights Lance and I both lay with him.

Some nights we go upstairs first then I just tuck him in and say his prayers.

All of these ways and he's done just fine.

{temporary covers & pillows- not that he cares!}

 

Sunday I went in to check on him during his nap and he was cacooned in his sheet.

Cozy as can be in his new bed.

I did get a new quilt & sham set for him last week.

Kelly Green & Navy are the colors for his new room.

 

We have some furniture moving around to do. Hanging up a water color cow print, a pallet with the US map painted on it, deer skulls (YES! I DID!!) and curtains, but once it's all put together, I'll post some pix.  It's super cute in my head.  I hope it turns out as cute!

 

I'm calling it "Farm Chic" as was my inspiration on Pinterest!

 

I can't wait to have it finished!

 

Happy Monday!

Hope you're having a fabulous week!

 

 

 

Kids Shorts- Momma Made It!

We're back from vacation, rested and tanned.

The laundry is ALMOST DONE and the beach toys are put up.

Until I can get to the 1400 pictures on my camera I thought I'd show off these little shorts I made for Easton before we left for the beach.

 

I purchased the Kids Shorts Pattern from MADE the day it went on sale but had yet to bust it out.

I went through my fabric stash and found a yard of nautical fabric from Hawthorne Threads.

I already had elastic on hand and thread too of course.

I had printed my pattern and cut it out just as instructed in the tutorial.

After cutting my fabric, I got to sewing and within an hour & a half (at most), Easton had a new pair of shorts.

 

I almost woke him up to try them on but I decided against it.

 

The next morning I tried them on him and they fit him perfectly!

 

I used the size 3 pattern, even though his normal shorts are more of a 2T. 

This size 3 takes out some room in the tush for potty trained kiddos and I knew he didn't need that excess back there, so I went with the 3. 

They worked like a charm!

 

He approves, don't you think???



If you've never been to Dana's site, you MUST go check her out!

She has lots of free tutorials as well as patterns for sale.

Dana oozes creativity!

She's one of my favorite DIY, sewing blogs! 

 

I have used several of Dana's patterns and have never had any difficulty.

{{I consider myself a beginner sewer}}

I have made the Beach Robe, the Summer Vacation Dress, and the Kids Pants. 

Her patterns and tutorials are easy to read and loaded with pictures.

For visual people like myself, I love the picture aspect of her tutorials & patterns.

 

I can't wait to get some more boy fabric and sew Easton some more shorts!

 

Hope on over to see Dana!

Buy a pattern while you're there!

 

It's a....

 

 

To say I am shocked would be an understatment.

I think I've felt all along that it was a girl, but never really accepted it.

I am carrying so similar to Easton.  Low and out front.  No real symptoms at all.

Her heart rate has remained consistent of what Easton's measured.

So I guess all the wives tales are really just that...tales.

 

But.  It's a girl!

 

As I lay there on the bed, Lance sitting at the foot of the bed and Easton standing on a step stool watching the ultrasound tech's every move, I was certain she would say it was a boy.

 

She started with the head and worked towards the feet, saving the NEWS for last.

 

At first glance at our baby, Lance said 'that's a little girl head'.

 

We continue down through the anatomy and sure enough, he was right.

She couldn't get a good picture for 'proof' but it was indeed a girl.

 

Lance was all smiles.

 

It took some time for it to soak in with Easton.

He looked at me, eye to eye when I told him that she just said it was a sister and said

"no, I wanted a brother."

We'd called her Levi for weeks now...yet suddenly, she wasn't a Levi afterall.

The tears ran down my face quicker than I could help.

I had visions of 2 little shaved heads riding around in the Gator, playing baseball, fishing.

 

But HE had better plans for our family.

 

Now, one of each.

A BOY AND a GIRL!

A little sister for Easton to look after.  To take care of.  To protect.

I always wanted a big brother my whole life, and now this little girl will have what I always wanted.

And he's gonna do a fabulous job at being her big brother.

 

I can't wait to see what these next few weeks hold for us.

Picking her name.

Deciding on nursery decor.

Letting it sink in that I can finally shop from the cute girl section at Target.

 

Stats for the memory book:

My BP: 102/66

Her heart rate: 148

 

There were a few things they wanted to monitor, but all things that they expect to correct themselves or show differently on the next ultrasound.  So, in 2 weeks, we'll see her again.

Hoping for a sweet little profile picture to see who she looks like!

 

Vacation is just around the corner!

So much excitement going on over here!

 

 

 

 

 

 



July 4th Celebration!!!

If we were ever closer to needing to build an ark, I don't think I remeber a time. 

 

It has rained for days! 

I so wanted a long SUNNY Holiday Weekend but we didn't get that! 

 

We had a fun celebration with the Mitchell/Landers side of the family despite the rain!   

Shirt made by me.  Tutorial here or here. 

Alex manned the grill all afternoon IN THE RAIN.

Their house is PERFECT for entertaining!

It should be in magazines!

Here's most of the gang.

This is obviously my mom's side of the family minus a few.

And.  My boys!  LOVE those two!

 

...and a little late night firework action of our own at home.

Our neighbors all around shot fireworks for about a week.

Next year, we'll save our money and just watch their show!

They had some huge fireworks!

 

 

Hope you all had a fabulous 4th!

Differences. Heaven. Teaching Moments.

We ended up at O'Charleys last night for dinner.  This was a treat, being that it's the end of the month and the spreadsheet is shot- AGAIN.  However, after a failed attempt at Salmon Patty Burgers on the grill by me and a frustrated husband working for an hour to get the gas line hooked up on the range only to be unsuccessful, and a toddler that had eaten his fair share of pretzel sticks, dinner had to be had. 

We sat down, ordered our food, noticed it was Free Pie Wednesday (THANK YOU JESUS FOR CARAMEL PIE!!) and we ate our dinner.  I don't know if it was out of starvation, or just ease of sitting down to eat a prepared meal that I didn't have to prepare or clean up, but it was divine. 

About halfway through our meal a man and lady came in to have dinner.  The man was in a motorized wheel chair.  It was the type that was leaned back, he had a joystick type thing to operate it.  His legs were thin.  He wore a blue Goodwill Apron.  It appeared to be his mother with him.  Easton of course noticed the mans differences right away.

Always quick to ask questions, he started asking us about this man and why he was in that chair.  We tried to explain to him that his legs didn't work like ours worked and that his chair was what helped him get around.  He wanted to know what happened.  And why.  And how.  And all of the questions a tender 3 year old heart could think of.  He let it all soak in a minute, then the questions started again. 

We eventually convinced him that we could talk about it later because we would not want to hurt this mans feelings if he felt like we were talking about him.  That worked.  We finished our dinner and enjoyed our pie.

Finally back at home, way later than the normal bedtime, we sat down for prayers in his rocker.  I was about to start and he said 'we didn't talk about that man that's legs didn't work'.

And the questions began again.

I explained as best I could once again, that God makes us all a bit different.  Some with blonde hair, some with brown.  Some tall, some short.  Some with legs that work and some that need a wheelchair to help get them around.  I explained that even though he was different from us, he was ok and that he was still having a good time at dinner with his mother.  That he was still a happy person. 

Easton kept asking why this man wasn't in Heaven.  I tried my best to explain to him that we are all alive and it's not our time to go to Heaven; that man was alive just like me and him were and it's just not our time.  I explained that when we die we go to Heaven, but when we get there we are alive again.  I told him we will all die one day and we will go to Heaven.  He quickly said 'not me, just old people die.'

His wheels were turning.  His heart showing through those twinkling brown eyes.  So tenderly taking everything in asking the questions he wasn't sure about and stopping me where he needed more clarification.

He must have accepted my answers because I was able to finish our prayers and lay him down with our normal 'good nights', 'sleep goods' and 'I love you's'.  But I know his little mind was still racing.  He thinks things through.  He's so tender.  He's so gentle with other peoples feelings.  He's just about perfect, if I do say so myself. 

But now I wonder.  How do you explain Heaven? How do I explain that Jesus is in Heaven, but he also lives in our hearts.  That He's what allows us to do the right things, to make the right choices, to love others.  How do you explain death and Heaven with a smile on your face, yet not wanting him to feel like he's missing out on that now. Often times he'll say 'I wanna go to Heaven mommy' and the tears form in my eyes. Heaven is a wonderful place, one we all want to go to, I just don't want him to go now. But how do I boldly, yet clearly explain that to him? Is there a book on how to teach a 3 year old about Heaven? Even about differences? Because for whatever reason, he felt that this man needed to be in Heaven. Have I told him to much? To little? To many details? 

This is such a precious age.  A trying age at times, but such a teachable age.  I want to make sure I'm doing this right.    I want him to KNOW Jesus, and Heaven, and accept others differences without even seeing them as different and to always have a heart for others.  I cannot believe this child is mine.  What a gift.  Lord, help me make the most of this gift- and to never take my position as his mother fore granted. 

Father's Day: AdventureWorks: Kingston Springs, TN: Zip Lining

This year for Father's Day we had decided on painting pottery and lunch.

While that's a great idea, and one we all enjoy doing, I kept thinking of doing something different.

I heard a commercial on the radio for a zip lining place and went on the hunt for the BEST one in Middle Tennessee. 

After a little poll on Facebook I decided upon AdventureWorks in Kingston Springs, TN.

 

We kept it a surprise from my dad. Mailing him a little cheesy poem that basically said wear outdoor clothes and we'll pick you up at 11:30 on Sunday, that was the only information we gave him.

We picked him up and headed to grab a bite of lunch before our day of adventure.

We let him take a few guesses as to what he thought our day of adventure would be.

First guess- Fishing. 

Second guess- GoKarts

Third Guess- ZipLining!

 

Come to find out he'd typed up a Bucket List on his phone and pulled it out to show us.

#1 on his list was 'zip lining a canopy with my girls'

I never knew it! 

Ali had gone right along with my idea saying he'd love to do that but I never dreamed it was on his bucket list...

especially not #1.

Score for us!

 

We ate our lunch and traveled about 30 miles west, enjoying the sunshine and each others company along the way.

Once off the interstate, you wind down long beautiful scenic highways.

It follows the Harpeth River all the way up, passing several different canoe rentals and campground sites.

 

Now, being that I was 16 weeks pregnant, I could not zip.

However, I still had so much fun! 

And I'm thankful for the opportunity to follow along so closely with them!

 

Michael was our "Zip Captain".

Think- Robin Williams here folks.

Full of energy.  Full of encouragement.  Full of life.  Love for people and his job.

If you go to AdventureWorks, ask for Michael!

He gave us the rundown on the equipment and safety and we were off on our tour.

 

I was able to follow along for Zips #1-3 and I joined back with them at #6-9.

#4 & 5 were only accessable for those on a zip line.

 

My dad is somewhat fearful of heights so I wasn't sure how this would go over.

But he did every zip as did a 6 year old boy who was in our group.

I'm certain the encouragement and entertainment from Michael is what sent them both down the zips.

If there were others in our group that were fearful, you never knew it.

I felt so encouraged by Michael and I wasn't even on the course.

However, he looked after me just as much he did the ones that were zip lining.

It was a hot day and he told us all numerous times to get water,

 making special mention to me 'momma' to get some water.

He was truly such a light to be around!

There were zips of varying heights and lengths, up to 450 feet long and 85 feet high. 

Even a tandem zip, as pictured above.

 

I am so thankful that we did this for my dad. 

We had a great time!

This would be a great activity for families, work groups, youth groups, etc.

Like I said the youngest in our group was 6 years old and he did every zip that the adults did.

 

We call these pictures above the Our Father who art in Heaven Series...

I'm pretty sure he was quoting the Lords Prayer or maybe even saying a few choice words to me for booking this.  Joking! 

They make me laugh every time I look at them!

Such fun memories of this Father's Day!

 

 

If you have the opportunity to go to AdventureWorks I highly recommend you doing so!
You will not be disappointed!

I cannot speak highly enough of Micheal and his positive attitude.

I want to be THAT kind of person.

I want people to be around me and the happiness be infectious.

That's how he was.  On fire for life!  Amazing!

 

SO, AdventureWorks, you did good!

We thank you for a wonderful Father's Day memory!

I look forward to going back after I have this baby and doing some zipping myself!

Maybe even take Easton this next time! 

 

Happy Father's Day Papa! 

I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

 

Here's a few links for AdventureWorks in case you missed them:

Facebook

Email: info@adventureworks.com

Phone: (615) 297-2250

Physical Address:
1300 Narrows Rd. Kingston Springs, TN 37082

 

 

 

 

 

First movement:: 16 weeks

Last night I was laying in the bath I felt what felt like a knee or elbow slide across my belly right under my belly button.  I thought surely it was nothing and kept scrolling through my IG feed, as I lay there.  Suddenly I felt it again.

I forgot what those first little movements feel like.  It felt like a hip or a knee or maybe even an elbow stretching from one side to the other.  Just a little bit of a tight feeling but not a fast kick like I remember Easton.  As I lay in bed last night I continued to feel those movements the next few minutes.  Such a treasure to have this little one growing inside of me. 

The time is already going by so quickly.  As I try to savor these last months just the 3 of us, it seems to go even faster than before, if that's at all possible.  Life is so busy.  There are so many things that require our attention in the afternoons.  The days all run together. 

But I pray that these next 24 weeks will go by very slow and that we can savor this time together just the 3 of us before this new little one joins our family.