going the chapel & girl christmas - and lots of crafts

Wow friends it has been one amazing weekend ... full of surprises and a lot of quality time with friends. 

For the past 72 hours, we've entertained house guests, ate a lot of food, celebrated engagements, celebrated birthdays, celebrated work Christmas parties, and celebrated girl Christmas.

Not to mention that we stayed up until like 3:00 am like we're still in college. 

No pregnant lady should still be awake at 3:00 am - but it was so worth it.

The weekend started out with a little surprise! 

Our friend Andy popped the question ... and she said yes! 

We celebrated with a late night surprise engagement party!

Here we are huddled around her lovely rock :)

A couple other photos from the night

(Holly was telling little baby how much she loved him) 

Congrats Shannon and Andy :)

E and I are so excited that we were able to share in this amazing weekend with you. Marriage is an AMAZING blessing. I can't wait for you to experience it.

Shannon- 

I can't wait to help you plan your wedding! I can't wait to see you walk down the aisle ... you're going to be one lovely little bride! I might even cry a little. 

I can't believe that I'll have a little baby at your wedding! I really can't believe it. 

So many good things to come :)

 Now onto the crafts...

Last year I shared about our annual girl Christmas here. Since our Junior year of high school a few of my favorite ladies in the whole wide world have got together to exchange gifts. 

The group has changed a little over the years, and we've added a few, but four of us have been celebrating together for over 8 years. 

I love these ladies. They are amazing women. 

(Cory is so so pretty)

"Girl Christmas" is probably my favorite gift exchange of the entire year. I love it so much because for the past three years we've added a little stipulation - all the gifts have to be handmade. 

For the past two years we've committed to making one small craft for everyone - so I make 5 of the same small crafts. When you really get creative, it's amazing the creative and super useful things that you can make for $20 - $30.

Here are a few of this years creations ...

Little baby boy (who will have a name someday soon) also received a little handmade goodness

So much joy in one weekend.

Now it's going to be really hard to go back to work tomorrow!

I'll be back soon with this week's preggo update...

you are my sunshine

E and I painted this chalkboard above our dresser awhile, but the weather has been so crummy that I have not been able to get a good picture - until yesterday!

We simply painted the chalkboard right onto the wall, and added the molding as we frame.

Easy peasy. 

I know that I have shared before, but I'll tell ya again :) The "you are my sunshine" poster is in memory of my parents and grandpa/pap singing me and my siblings that song as babes.

On the bottom of the board I wrote the scripture from 1 Peter 3:15 -

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 

This verse is so so special to me! This is the verse that I had carved into the inside of E's wedding band. 

I could say so much about this short verse, but that is another post for another time.

I hung twine and attached photos and other memorabilia with miniture clothes pins. 

Family shot from out wedding and an oldie from h.s. graduation.

Vintage hankie, post card from E and I's honeymoon to Moorea, Tahiti {amazing}, and an old letter E left on my windshield one night while we were dating.

Another hankie and a little card that I put up to poke fun at E's hoarding nature.

Our wedding invitation that E made  and  list that I wrote for him during our first year of marriage. It's kind of blurry, but it's a list of things that I would like to do that weekend :)

Since the family was coming. we finally hung up some drapes. And, since the family was coming our bed was actually made for once. A perfect opportunity to snap a picture to share with you!

 

love notes

Love notes are one of my favorite things. This year I practiced my sewing skills on Eric's valentine. I thought that my crooked stitches would make you smile.

My sister also made a special Valentine this year. My sister, Lauren is the queen of homemade cards.  This year she made Pap a Valentine in hope of lifting his spirits. 

We had a little birthday party for my Grandma last night. This year was a little different, we celebrated in the hospital so that Pap could be included.

Last night, I snapped this picture when Pap started crying after reading his Valentine from Lauren. His faithful wife of over 50 years {also known as my Grandma} was there to comfort and encourage him.

This my friends, is true love.

i think ... i love ... you are ...

I must admit, I HATE greeting cards. Don't be mistaken, I love sweet notes and love letters. But, I cannot stand buying a card with someone else's words and then just signing my name. I think it is the biggest waste of $4.00 I have ever seen. I would much rather send and receive a piece of notebook paper with someone's own words and thoughts any day.

I think that part of my dislike for them has come from my mom. My mom LOVES greeting cards. As a child {and still today}she would make me read each one out loud on my birthday. I read them, but the whole time I am thinking ... you didn't even write this.

I know that people are trying to be sweet and the stolen words they chose are a representation of how they feel ... I get that ... and I think that the intention is sweet. But it's still silly to me.

When E and I got married I added up all of the cards we had received for showers and from the big day, and it was truly unbelievable how much money people spent on cards.

 

Ok, enough of my ramble ...

While I do not generally love greeting cards, I could totally go for a couple of these ...

They are truly perfect! There's the convenience of a card for the non-artsy type, but you can fill in your own thoughts and emotions. I have already messaged the seller and asked if she would like to make a little trade with Stella Bella Boutique.

She also is selling these adorable valentines. I love them as well. If you are more of the handmade valentine type, you could always use some of these phrases for inspiration.

Both products are created by Little Aviary. Enjoy!

heart

this sums things up pretty well

happy birthday hubs

It is only appropriate that this morning, I would honor my favorite person in the world.
Today, my amazing husband "E" celebrates 27 years of being alive. He is the most wonderful person I have ever met. E is the most considerate and supportive person in my life. He has been such a blessing to have beside me during difficult times and joyous ones as well. Like any other couple on this Earth, we have our things we like to battle out every now and then, but I can honestly say there is no one else I would rather live life with than him. I am beyond thankful for his faithfulness to me and the God we strive to serve together. I look forward to the day when God may bless up with a little baby that is part me and part him. That is amazing to me!

E, you are truly my favorite person in the world.

Tonight, we are going to escape from the teensitting business to get some quality time together at a restaurant here in town, Malones. I am very excited for the delicious food and even more, the time we will spend together.

In honor of E's birthday, I thought I would share a couple pictures of the two of us on our honeymoon.

E made me hike so far, that I became so exhausted, that we had to hitch hike back to our hotel with a carload of people who only spoke French!

Check out the lady in the background

This is not photoshopped, this is a real picture

And, a couple of the scenery, because I couldn't resist!