What I Wore

Well I have to admit there wasn't anything exciting about my wardrobe this week.

I kind of feel like I'm stuck in a rut

wearing the same ol' stuff over and over again.

Luckily my friend just hooked me up with some of her old maternity clothes and I've been doing a little clothing shopping for Christmas so you should be seeing some new outfits soon.

In the meantime you and I will have to deal with what's already in my closet.

Maybe I'll be able to get creative and put some different outfits together than I'm used to.

Yes, that will be my challenge for this next week.

This could be interesting.

Anyways, here is last week's outfits

(minus the couple days of bed rest I spent in my jammies).

sweater top: Nordstroms

tank underneath: Target

skinny jeans: Levis

brown flats: Payless

embellished tank: Express

cardigan/wrap thing: Macy's

maternity jeans (these are my favorite!): H&M (recent)

back flats: Payless

I just realized some of my pictures are horrible quality. I blame it on the bad lighting in the only room with a full length mirror in our house. Anyways, here's a better pic of the top half of that outfit (and my cute family).

sweater: Banana Republic

jeans: H&M maternity

boots: Emu's

necklace: H&M

brown jacket: Macy's

scroll down for rest of outfit...

green long sleeve top: Nordsrtoms

skinny jeans: Levis

boots: Emu's

Princess Birthday Party Details

Mackenzie's 3rd birthday party ended up being a blast!
It was pink, glittery and girly just like Mackenzie.

(If you missed the invitations I made for the party check them out here)

The big 3 year old birthday girl!

striking some kind of princess pose

and doing lots of twirls
because princesses always twirl.

The party decor was simple.
I made this pendant banner with all the girly fabric scraps I had.

I just cut the pendant shape out of my fabric scraps with pinking shears and then hot glued them to a piece of ribbon.
Oh and I added a little iron on interfacing to the back of the fabric to make them a bit sturdier before I cut them out.

I also cut star shapes out of some scrapbook paper and then taped them to pieces of yarn I hung from the patio cover.

I always think kid birthday parties go more smoothly with a bit of structure so I had a craft and a game for the kids to play.

For the craft I premade some felt wands and then had the kids decorate the back with glue and glitter.

The older kids were able to put the glue on themselves while some of the mom's helped the younger ones.

Then each child brought their glued wand over to a box where my aunt sprinkled the glitter on.

Super easy!

For the game I decided to do a modified version of pin the tail on the donkey.

I called it "Pin the jewel on the crown".

Before the party I cut different shapes (star, heart, diamond, circle, etc.) out of some colored foam sheets I had got at the dollar store a while back. Then I wrote each child's name on a different shape.

Instead of blindfolding the kids and trying to get them to put the shape in a particular spot I just let each kid decorate the crown by putting their shape wherever they wanted.

Surprisingly they were all really into it and waited their turn to get their special shape and stick it on the crown.

After the craft and game and some time free playing we had lunch.

I made (earlier that morning) PB&J sandwiches for the kids and then cut them out with a heart shaped cookie cutter.

For the adults I made turkey and cheese croissant sandwiches with all the fixings on the side.

I also had chips and dip, veggies with ranch, a huge fruit salad, goldfish, and more.

My mom handled getting the very girly princess cake.

(I think she got it at Albertsons.)

Mackenzie has been waiting all year for everyone to sing happy birthday to her so she was ecstatic when the time finally came.

And she loved opening all her gifts!

And of course hanging out with all of her good friends.

She had a blast at her party!

Shop Update- Necktie bibs

It seems like every year I have one hot ticket item.

Something that I sell way more of than anything else.

This year it was the new and improved version of my necktie bibs.

I added what was left from all of my boutiques to the shop.

They are going fast so be sure to snatch one quick!

sold out

Good news!

We went to the doctor today

and after another ultrasound

the doctor confirmed that the baby is absolutely perfect!

They could still see the bleed that happened on Friday

but it has shrunk considerably and is healing well.

Also...they told me that I don't have to be on bed rest!!

I just have to take things really easy (no lifting, exercise, etc.).

But NO BED REST!

And a perfectly healthy baby!

What more could we have asked for?

Praise the Lord!!

Thank you for all your prayers and support!

They mean so much to me!

A Very Scary Day

Friday started out super fun

then quickly turned into one of the scariest days of my life.

Friday was Mackenzie's 3rd birthday.

We woke up and had pumpkin pancakes at the birthday girl's request.

As soon as everyone was fed and dressed, we headed over to my parents house to get ready for Mackenzie's birthday party.

She had been looking forward to her party for months and it was just as perfect as we could have hoped for.

Mackenzie had a blast hanging out with her friends, eating yummy food, playing games, and of course opening all her new gifts.

After the party I put the kids down for a nap and my mom and I decided to head to the mall to do some quick Christmas shopping while we were kid free (my dad stayed home with the kids. Don't worry we didn't leave them home alone).

As soon as we had arrived at the mall, I felt something wet.

I went to the bathroom to check things out.

By the time I got to the bathroom I knew something was really wrong.

My pants were soaked in blood.

I knew I needed to go to the hospital ASAP.

A few ladies in the bathroom heard me telling Aaron (on the phone) what was going on.

They were all freaking out.

So was I.

Next thing I knew the mall security was in the bathroom with me.

Then came the fire truck and firemen.

Everyone was checking my vitals and asking a zillion questions.

I kept telling them I felt fine, that I just needed to go to the hospital to check on the baby.

My mom finally was able to take me to the ER

(which was luckily right next door to the mall).

Aaron was already there waiting for us.

I was still gushing blood.

A lot of blood.

I was scared.

I didn't know what was happening but I knew it wasn't good.

I was finally taken back and checked.

The doctor said my cervix was open but things in there looked pretty good.

Next I got an ultrasound.

Initially I couldn't even look at the screen.

I was terrified that I would see a lifeless little baby.

But praise God there was a heartbeat!

And the baby was moving!

The ultrasound tech couldn't tell us any details so

we waited for the radiologist to read the results.

In the meantime I started having painful cramping and bad lower back pain.

It felt like I was going into labor.

Once we got back to the ER (still waiting for results)

I told the nurse and doctor about the contractions.

I told them I was scared I was going into labor and that I needed a shot of something to make the contractions stop.

The doctor was uncomfortable.

He said he didn't know how to tell us this,

but there was nothing he could give me or do.

He was fearful my water had already broke and that I was going into labor.

And if that was the case,

since I was only 4 months pregnant the baby wouldn't be able to survive.

I totally lost it.

I couldn't help the tears.

The doctor was really sweet.

He told me not to lose hope.

That we still had to see what the ultrasound said.

At times like this (and every second in between)

I'm so thankful to know the Lord.

I don't know what Aaron or I would have done without Him.

It was a horribly scary situation but we both had comfort knowing that our baby was in the sweet hands of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

That nothing would happen to it, that was out of Christ's control or perfect plan.

So we prayed and prayed and prayed.

And we had our friends and family praying.

Praying for a miracle that our baby would be ok and trusting God with whatever was going to happen.

A while later the doctor came back with the ultrasound results.

They couldn't tell for sure what was going on but thought it was one of two things.

Either I had a large hemorrhage near my placenta and the placenta was detaching from my uterus (which was really bad news and would be fatal for the baby)

or I just had the large hemorrhage near my placenta but things were still attached.

So we went back for another ultrasound

this time with the tech and the radiologist.

They had a really hard time telling but they concluded that the placenta was ok and that it was just the hemorrhage.

They also said the baby looked absolutely perfect!

Praise the Lord!

This was the best possible news we could have received (given the situation)!

After a long time at the hospital I was able to go home on full bed rest.

I go back to the doctor on Monday for another ultrasound and to get more news

but for now we are so overwhelmed by God's grace and goodness!

We are so thankful that our little baby is alive and healthy!

I'll keep you guys updated on things as we hear more.

Thanks for all your support and love and prayers!

*P.S. I just realized I still haven't given an update on Mackenzie's thumb as promised. She is doing great! It still has a lot of healing left to do and needs to be kept all bandaged up for a while but she is back to her normal self. Thanks for all the support for her too! Hopefully we won't have any more medical emergencies for a long time!

Happy Birthday Mackenzie!

Happy Birthday baby girl!

I can't believe you are 3 years old already!

I love the woman God is growing and shaping you to be.

You bring such joy and happiness to our family.

Daddy, Wesley and I love you so much!

You are our silly little girl.

You love to make up funny songs and are always saying things that make us laugh.

You have such a kind heart and caring spirit.

You love to make people happy and have a way about making people smile.

You love to be cuddled and kissed and we love to kiss and cuddle you.

Family hugs are your favorite.

You take your role as a big sissy very seriously.

You love your baby brother more than anything and are always looking out for him.

Breakfast is your favorite meal.

Especially pumpkin pancakes.

You love your baby dolls and anything Princess.

You are a total girly girl.

You are very smart and articulate.

And you are crazy good with directions. You always know where we are (even when Mommy doesn't).

You are kind of clumsy.

You are brave.

You are our special baby girl!

We love you Mackenzie Grace!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

A Natural Christmas- Birch Wood Wreath

My friend Cyndi is a crafty genius.

She headed the Christmas decorating for our church this year.

The "theme" was natural, organic looking decorations.

None of the typical red and green stuff.

Lots of birch, burlap, silk, snow, etc. instead.

I can't wait to show you all of the different things we (she) came up with!

First, a birch wood wreath!

Enjoy!

a wreath made from pieces of birch tree

topped off with a burlap and silk bow and some pine needles.

Oh and little glittery branches tucked into the rings of wood for some bling (can you see them?).

Since it might have taken Cyndi all year (or at least all month) to make all the decorations herself, she threw a crafting party at her house.

A bunch of people from the church came to help make all the decorations.

We drank apple cider, ate yummy goodies and listened to Christmas music while we talked and laughed and got our craft on.

It was a blast!

I took pictures of each of the different projects as they were being assembled to share with all of you.

Your welcome :)

To make the wreath:

1. Beg some gardeners to give you the birch trees (or any tree really) they just cut.

2. Have your hubby cut the small branches into rounds. (About 1/2-3/4 inch thick)

3. Lay the rounds into a circle shape as see above. Using an electric drill, screw the pieces together from the back.

4. Once your wreath is assembled, add a bow and decorate or embellish as you like!

view of the wreath from the back so you can see how the pieces are assembled and screwed together.

And there you have it.

A unique and beautiful Christmas wreath!

*After I took the pictures Cyndi decided to add a little snow to the wreaths to spice them up a bit more. I'll try to get an updated picture to show you.