huzzah, friday (on a saturday)!

I turn around for a minute and the silliest things always happen... Soul puts the ipod in her shirt because that is how she sees me walking around the house, then Brave puts minty foot lotion all over Soul's arms, or Brave and True douse Soul in baby powder all over her body. It doesn't always seem silly at the time, but I guess it isn't so bad that I have time to take a picture!

Friday night was lovely because the girls are at the grandparents and Ben and I had the house to ourselves. Love it! Today we will be relaxing, getting a few things done, going on a date, and maybe adding in some lovin'!

This week's learned and links...

- Soul can say, "Scuse, peas", means "Be excused please?" and "Wa wat", means "Wanna watch" because she wants to watch some book read alouds on the computer.

- The girls love homeschool and are really excited about learning.

- True and Brave are so forgiving to put up with my frustrations when I am not being the best mama.

- Soul is feisty and tries to fight her older sisters.

- We are quite close a to name, at least we got one on the table.

- I need to work on being more encouraging to Ben like in Ephesians 5:22-33.

- Check out my newest living room ideabook on houzz. Would love all those things, definitely out of my budget though!

- I really can't wait for fall to come!

Enjoy some rest this weekend!

huzzah, friday!

Sometimes some apple pie and ice cream are necessary to get through the day! School starts next week for us and we are ready as we'll ever be. I have two weeks worth of lesson plans mapped out, projects, and activities ready, so here we go...

This week's learned and links...

- Soulie now says little short phrases like, "Papi, there you!" and "I poo poo!"

- True is filling her older sister role well. She is definitely bossy!

- Brave has been more sensitive lately and I need to be more intentional in giving her more love touches.

- I can get quite obsessive about the strangest things. Now, it's ankle boots.

- The girls' closets are way too full. I need to purge yet again.

- Nighttime brings out the pregnancy waddle.

- This verse is hard to apply. In all things, I must count it all joy! Even when things are super frustrating. Lord, help me!

What was going on in your life and heart this week?

huzzah, friday!

Another week gone. Crazy! That means another week closer to baby. We are so excited. We actually thought we had a baby name this week (at least closer to one), but then we aren't sure again. The girls and I prayed together for some things this morning and one of them was for a baby name. God will answer that prayer in his due time.

Tomorrow will be fun as these two creative gals are way too kind and loving and are throwing me a baby shower, though I insisted they didn't need to. I am excited though cause when these two get their heads together (and throw in some other amazing heads) it always turns out amazing. Have you seen the last one they threw me? Yeah. Told you, amazing.

This week's learned and links...

- Dressing this ginormous belly is getting really hard.

- My BFF is raising money for her classroom library. You can help out here (even a buck helps!), and the great thing is Lakeshore will match it if she reaches 300 buckaroos! Come on and give to a classroom in need!

- If you can, you should go to this sale. So many pretties! I have already taken a peek (and maybe bought a couple things)...

- Being at a teaching/homeschool conference made me miss being in the classroom, but I still would much rather be home.

- Ben and I really want to work on life on life with others and not be so us family consumed. We are kinda slow moving people though, but we pray God will direct us.

- It is important to create a vision statement to aid in our direction as a homeschooling family. Currently a work in progress...

- This thought haunted me from last week's message... What things excite me? Am I as eager and excited to plan and do good works to bless our neighbors as the thing(s) that really excite me? The answer is no. I honestly get more excited about family time, shoes, vintage pretties, and shopping in general. Oh man...

What things have you been learning lately?

huzzah, friday (on a saturday)!

This girl is plain silly. We are really treasuring these last few weeks of her being baby until baby baby gets here. She is very much a baby to us (and will always be, as will the other big girls), but once the littlest one comes, suddenly she will seem all grown up!

Let's just say the last three days have been busy, busy.

Learned and links...

- We watched my baby sister dance in Disneyland's Soundsational Parade for the first time and I was crying like a big baby as I watched her. I was so proud!

- Soulie loves the carousel. It's her favorite ride!

- Brave loves being the birthday princess.

- True doesn't like the idea of an unbirthday.

- Loud dogs barking make camping in the backyard difficult.

- This sermon reminded me that I am so not levelheaded. Oh man, oh man...

- Rachel's new shop, The Stash, has lots of pretties!

- Twitter isn't so bad. That's right, follow me on twitter here. I caved (thanks Heather!).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. After gathering with our church family, we will definitely be resting on the sabbath after the busy week we had!

huzzah, friday!

I think my Soulie really makes this picture. She is a heart melter. There is more where this came from, but you will have to come back later to see the rest of the pictures for this week's "Vintage Here, Vintage There" featuring some special pretties from Tea.

Friday... yippee! This week was kind of a lazy one. Lazy weeks are good, but sometimes bad, especially when I didn't get much further down my to-do list.

Learned and links...

- Thanks to the workshop, I am once again in love with my 50mm prime lens.

- I spend way too much time loving the things of this world. Finding your joy in material goods is so fleeting.

- My children really thrive on routine. Last week they were really off due to VBS and this week they were shipped back into shape.

- This post written by my BFF is so honest and hard, but full of God's grace.

I have my part of the love story written, but it is taking Ben forever and a day to get his part down, so if you are waiting, I promise it is coming. It's Ben's fault, but good thing he's hot cause I can't stay too mad at him.

See you later today for "VH, VT"...

* photo courtesy of Jennifer Young.

fridays

Soulie was done eating her watermelon and she was trying her darn hardest to drink up the watermelon juice.

Oh... we love her!!!

We have a busy weekend coming up. My friend Nina, who was one of two of my maids of honor, is finally getting married on Sunday. As of Thursday night, we have been busy with wedding stuff. Also, tomorrow (7/9) Ben and I will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary, but due to all the wedding stuff we are not doing anything to celebrate until next weekend. Add to that our regular list of things to do and we are filled to the max!

Links and lessons learned...

- Soulie might be allergic to cantaloupe.

- I have a new love affair with vintage tooled leather handbags like this.

- These urban outfitters wooden shoes, which I loved so much for one week, are cheap and broke and need to go back to the store. Boo! I will now keep dreaming of some good ones like these. Too bad they are way out of my price range.

- Lovin' HypnoBirthing so far and so does Ben as it makes him fall asleep every time.

- My friend Helen just got engaged and her fiance went a poppin' the question in the most adorable way! Read the story here.

- I need to depend on God more in regards to being patient with my girls. If you ever look at me and think "Wow, this lady has got it all together." I really don't. I yell, get frustrated, and then get frustrated with myself that I yelled and got so frustrated. I am not always proud of the way I handle things. Fighting frustration and loving the girls for God's glory is not easy. Thank God his mercies are new every morning! Seriously.

Tomorrow I will have bunch of good giveaways from my lovely sponsors. Make sure to check them out. Have a fun weekend as ours will undoubtedly be a busy one!

fridays

I am so tired today, but it was all worth it as I had lots of fun last night!

Imagine... eight bloggers together and eight home baked cakes, what do you get?! A sugar overload and a ton of pictures! That's right we had ourselves a Cake Party! Once I get a few projects done, my house back in working order, and maybe sew myself a dress, I (and the others) will for sure be sharing some pictures.

Ben is working from home today and I have things to do, the girls are next to me watching She-Ra and we will most definitely be enjoying this long July 4th weekend. Food, food, and more food is definitely in store for us these next few days.

Links and learns this week...

- Soul now knows how to navigate up and down the stairs. We still watch her closely though.

- Soul's new words... sister, shoes (yes, really!) and True.

- Our friends, Melody and Taylor (he also pens a witty blog here), have made the cutest save-the-date video. Seriously adorable! You must watch it!

- One of my fave etsy shop and sponsors has just opened up a brand new etsy shop for the wee ones. Visit Little Ms. Tips now!

The list is a bit short this week cause my brain is still a bit sleepy. Well, stateside or not, enjoy this happy weekend friends!!!

p.s. next week I will be having some good giveaways from all my newest sponsors... check them all out!

friday hurray!

More flowers picked from the garden. I really hate cutting them because I don't like seeing it flower-less outside, but I know that cutting will help more growing and that is a good thing. Plus, I like seeing flowers inside, so that makes it all the better!

It is Father's Day on Sunday and we honestly have nothing figured out quite yet! That is what today is for. Ben doesn't want me to make a big deal out of it, and honestly, it will be pretty low key this year. But by golly! He is a great father and deserves to have a great day enjoying his role, so we will definitely be doing something to celebrate! We love our Papi a whole lot and want to make sure he knows!!!

This week was a whirlwind. Seriously. But here is what I learned:

- Double dates with the BFF via video chat is fun, but in person would be better! Now, just gotta make that happen. Can you believe we have never been on a double date together before?!!

- Hulu comes in handy when I need to put away laundry. The girls are getting to know the cartoons of the 80's.

- Too many oreos make me feel sick.

- Third trimester tiredness is starting to hit.

- Lack of time resting in God (and reading His Word) really makes me feel tired.

- I am in love with sewing again.

- Check out my newest ideabook on Houzz. It is all about modern finds for little kids' spaces. It is fun doing pretend shopping for my kids' rooms!

Life is so busy. I know this week I wasn't as intentional with my time with the girls, but there was just so much to do. Really, how does one ever catch up?!! I wish I could clone myself. One to do all the house managing/project stuff and one to just focus on the girls. Man oh man. Being a mom and wife is hard work. It sounds (and may look dreamy) and I do really love the job a whole lot, but it really sure ain't easy!

Enjoy your weekend friends cause I sure will (and will be wishing it lasts just a wee bit longer)!

huzzah, friday!

Today was a good day. Went to the doctor, then hurried home to pick up my girls and baby sister (she slept over) and went thrifting. Oh yeah! Came home with a few goodies, which may or may not include more maxi skirts, some vintage dresses (for when my waistline comes back or for my future shop if I ever find more time), a vintage dress for the girls, and a new collection of teeny vintage frames. I have been re-arranging the family room and Ben suggested more family pictures (we really don't have many around the house), so I was determined to find some vintage frames that would fit what I had in mind. I am excited about those finds most!

Learned and (a need) this week...

- God uses friends to help us follow his particular nudging in our hearts (thanks Danni!) even though it is something we don't want to do.

- It is important to be intentional in teaching your children. If you aren't, the time will pass you by and you will regret you didn't use the time God gave you wisely.

- You all are so supportive (though I already knew that) and I appreciate you having my back with this yucky situation (it seems the fraudulent post has been removed sans an apology).

- I have two favorite colors... turquoise (different shades of it) and kelly green. I really gravitate to those colors a lot.

- Brave tends to mumble when reciting poems back. It is really funny!

- Having a sister who cleans your bathrooms in exchange for etsy goodies is a pretty good deal!

- I really need a yellow/mustard dress for a wedding that I am in (we all get to choose our own dress). Nothing seems to be going well with this baby bump of mine! Any suggestions anyone? I ordered some from modcloth, but none of them work at all. Argh! Help someone!

Ben is on his way home and we have to figure out our Friday night plans. So happy the weekend is here... huzzah!!!

friday

This weekend will be spent in the garden. I will have to give you a tiny tour as soon as we get everything cleaned up. Almost all of our tomato plants are in (we have 32 varieties this year) and I just need to make a run to the nursery to get a couple more plants to put in. I am hoping these things will get done tomorrow, but we will see. In my mind things go fast, but in reality, when dealing with three little girls at the same time you are trying to get things done, everything takes a bit longer.

I met with our education specialist for the coming school year today and I am nervous and excited! There will be so much learning going on for everyone in our house. I am excited to see how True (and Brave) progress this year. True is the one officially in kindergarten, but Brave is so close in age that I will be teaching her the same thing as well. And if she doesn't quite get it, well, she will get it again next year! We have actually already started some schooling already, so that when baby comes, which is in a little over 3 short months, we can take some time off to adjust to that new change.

I officially cancelled our cable today as we have decided for sure to not get a television. Those things are expensive and it is an expense we currently can't do, so we are more than happy to go without one. For us, money is better spent elsewhere. Ben and I do have a couple shows we do like to watch, but those can all be caught on Hulu, and we did find we can watch food network shows online too, so all is and will be well.

Plus, after all your comments of how some of you do without a television made me think we can really do without one and it helps we weren't tv people anyways. I think it is just weird to think we don't have one and though we had one, it wasn't used often and was more just a comfort thing. One time waster out the house is always a good thing. And I already have made use of that little cove where the television was and it is now decorated and more useful for interactive family things. Can't wait to share that with you soon.

New things this week...

- Sometimes being the oldest isn't fun and neither is fighting with your sibling(s). Yup! There was a major one this week, which could explain why my posts might have been unexciting.

- My children thrive on structure.

- Be part of helping this family who were victims of the joplin tornado.

- My baby sister is the cutest red bird named Panchito around. Go to Disneyland and see her in the new parade! And don't forget to take a picture like this blogger did.

Ben is cooking up a yummy pasta dinner and we will have family movie night with the girls tonight. Happy weekend all!!!