The long visual version

I have lots to say. (nothing new there) But no time.

Too many photo's and just no time to split them properly.

So instead of the wordy stuff here is a post in full randomness glory.

My baby boys toes. 2 1/2 yeas difference.

A flower so lovingly picked by Kaitlyn...from my bouquet.

She is sweet like that. 

She will also pick all the flowers right out of your garden. 

Even the very last one.

I accept with joy and thanksgiving and massive giggles inside and then take them into the house and put them in a glass. It is not like they last long in this climate anyway. Either too hot or too cold, they will just shrivel one way or another. Might as well pick em!

Post baby body.

Not coming along so quickly this time hence the few photos of myself.

Still 20 lbs to go and it is not coming quickly.

I know...I am only 3 1/2 weeks into this postpartum bod but I am not making very quick progress and I am pretty darn sure there will be no bikinis this summer!

Dandelions.

We can never get enough. This reminds me that I am still waiting on canvas for a client who has ordered a set of dandelion paintings. I hope it gets here soon because this canvas delay is bumping back my summer schedule. (Mentally willing it onto the truck the suppliers are set to unload tomorrow)

Dave's mom made a quick trip out to do our dishes, wash our floors, bake and cook for us...oh, and see Hudson. (of course, he is the reason)

I got the finishing touches done on the painting that she carted with her back to Calgary.

Better photos of it soon over on the art blog. (which needs updating in a major and bad way!)

Hudson's baby party cake. It was bigger and heavier than he was. And sooooo good!

Thank you TT!

What happens when you let our kids craft at their own free will.

One thing (amongst a few others) that I have not been able to find in the baby boxes are the teeny tiny socks. I did find the moccasins. Not a very flattering shot of poor Hudsy.

But how is this?

Or this? Definitely better!

Kaitlyn loves to tie one on. A baby that is. 

All about being a little mommy.

Father's day. We forgot all about getting stuff together and shipped off. Just like mothers day. We have flopped badly in the being good kids to our parents department this year. We have had our heads stuck slightly in the sand with all our own stuff and rarely come up for air.

I did remember Dave at the last minute and the kids and I whipped something up. 

They where then so excited to give him his gift they couldn't wait until morning.

So the night before they presented him with his new t-shirt. Every time a child is born into our house we make a new shirt for him. The last two ended up being for his birthday since it fell right after their births and this one fell conveniently right after Hudson's.

The boys toes again.

I cannot get enough! Munchable!

And the rain. It has rained a lot lately. Not that I usually mind but sometimes I want to get this butt into shape and trudging through mud is not the picture I had in mind.

I don't mind this butt though!;-)  (Sorry folks)

Being out at the lake with Dave and a few days off was nice. With all the rain we ended up going for drives and drives and drives. 

I do actually really like this part of summer. It is cooling and refreshing but now I am really looking forward to sitting down at the beach with a sketch book and a bucket of sand toys.

I think my little big eyed diva is too.

Though she can really bust a move to bust boredom.

So can the E-man for that matter.

They can get their groove on and no one had to teach them.

I believe we were made to move and shake. 

We get our wiggles out this way.

I think we just might go wormy if we didn't get them out.

Gymnastics does help with the wiggle madness some. (her last class of the season wrapped up this week)

But if you don't get the wiggles out you might just end up captivated in a crampy dark fort by a big ol' dragon.

Then again they might just find their own way out if you don't let them out. 

Like when your mom asks you if you would please pose pretty for a mini photo shoot.

That hip just might wiggle out of place.

An arm might just flail.

A hand might just raise.

A pout might pop.

Or a tongue.

You have just gotta let em out some how!

Whew!

Ahhhh...

And that bod again, it needs to wiggle!

(totally sucking it in here!)

Caught the moment he woke up.

And the continuing destruction out at the cottage.

This time of the old pump house and out house.

The progress seems so slow, but it is happening.

However when work for Dave and the pool for the rest of us calls we get very little done and rather distracted.

Uncle "Phife" and Eth.

Kaitlyn. She is a fish! (and in the deep end swimming like crazy)

As much skin as you get to see. Working on the tan lines.

This one is for you mom. (and other Leaf fans) Enjoy your moment because Dave nearly flipped when he saw this. I am sure he will have him decked out in full Oilers regalia in no time.

Playing fire man with a friend.

I cannot believe how much Hudson is changing already. 

He is not much bigger but his swelling has gone down and his looks are changing.

And we still cannot get enough of him. 

He is already learning how to get his wiggles out!

Baby wearing...

...cause we don't want to miss a moment.

The time just goes way too fast. Uh, ya, I know, it has been ages since I was on here and this is why.

Hudson is over two weeks old now and still a good baby. We are all still adjusting, especially Ethan. He is the one that has kept us up at night and is being more needy. Every day is better but he is still not quite his normal self.

I am finding it really hard to stretch myself between three kids. I had a few friends tell me that the third child was easy schmeezy and that it would just fit right in. 

Others told me it was the toughest of all adjustments.

I think it is pretty tough. We now have three kids under the age of 4!

Holy freaking shmolly man!!!!

Three kids!

Dave and I....and three kids!

I still can hardly believe it!

 I do feel overwhelmed with tasks to do but also so in love and gussy all at the same time. Emotional but in a joyous and thankful kind of way. Like I want to soak up every stinking moment with each of em and kiss and hug endlessly. I cannot believe how a heart just grows to fit in the next kid. I had no idea I was capable of this!

So getting dishes done or laundry or anything else is tough. I just want to hold my baby all the time and snuggle his little rolly neck and smell his baby smell and listen to his little coos...ahhhh.  Baby days!

Don't you just love em?!

The promised flattering shots

Hudson James at one week old.

Last week my friend Holly came over with a black fleece and ideas for a photo shoot.

She was all on the ball too and I should have just hopped on here and made a link to her blog because she posted the  photos she took that night.

You have got to check her post out!

I stole some of her shots so here are some of mine and some of hers.

this is one of her adjusting Hudson. I just love hands....more hand photos to come soon.

Thank you Holly for the awesome afternoon!












So here we are now a week and a half into life with Hudson.

I am healing really well and feeling pretty normal. Still toting a front bum on my belly but it is shrinking every day. 20 lbs to go though, yikes! I have a feeling this will not be a bikini summer!

The birth story

I debated for a moment about whether I should share the whole story in detail or if I should just say, "hey, we had a baby and I hurt and that is it."

But you all know me better than that and you also know that this blog is also my diary. So, I will just say what I do and if you don't like to read about labor and delivery or see this kind of stuff than just skip to the end or come back another week. 

Just warning you.

So here is how it went this time.

It was one of those nights.

You know the ones where you go out to a shoe party and have a fantastic time chatting it up with friends and pork out on cheesecake and nachos. One of those nights that you wish your feet weren't so swollen so you could buy shoes instead of toe rings and a wallet. One of those nights that you feel pretty darn good and figure you will be pregnant forever.

One of those nights that your husband says, "Hey hon, please don't go into labour until Thursday or Friday. This is my good money week and we really need it!"

Ya, it was one of those nights.

I came home late, put kids to bed, watched a few shows with Dave and then settled into bed with a book on childbirth that I had just gotten from a friend that evening.

She had kindly marked all the good spots in the book figuring I probably wouldn't have time to read the whole thing. (Brilliant!)

I read and read until I had read all that she had marked and a pile more. I was finally feeling tired, closed the book, turned out the light and laid down. Despite all that I had read I knew that every labour and birth can be different and that having a plan doesn't always work. I had resolved earlier that day that I would just go into the whole experience with an open mind and just go with the flow. Let it work itself out. No stress. 

Two minutes later I sat right up. Was that a contraction or was someone standing on my hip bones?

I checked the time. 2:00 AM.

I laid back down but noticed that I felt a little wet.

A few minutes later another pain and more wet. I got up. Yup, I was trickling and those were definitely contractions. Three minutes apart and keeling me over.

I looked at my blissfully sleeping husband thinking, "he is not going to like this!"

I gently shake his shoulder or poke him, (I am not so sure anymore) and he rolls over opening one eye.

I say, "I am sorry. It is time."

He says, "Oh. Really? uuu...." and rolls back over.

I say, "Yes, I am leaking and contracting and we have to go!"

We get our stuff together, call my mom (who happened to be sitting in her bed waiting for the call) get my sister settled with the kids and get out the door.

No time for candles, no time for reading, almost no time in between contractions.

We get to the hospital and they want to ask me questions. Hello! I am in labour, and climbing the walls! There has got to be a better way! 

Up and into labour and delivery we go. I am seeking my happy place. Climbing mountains in my head, diving into pools and rivers, swimming in beautiful freshwater pools in exotic places, I am trying to escape.

However it feels like someone is jumping on my hips trying to break them and then digging daggers into my lower back.

I get changed for them to check me. 

Contractions are now 1.5 minutes apart with barely a breath in between.

4 centimeters.

4!?

I am in agony, why aren't all my happy place thoughts and peaceful thinking working.

I try to drink water, I am so thirsty but it keeps sticking in my throat. I want to throw up, I am weak and shaky and my vision is spotty.

BODY! Why are you failing me?! 

I was mad at myself and frustrated, only 4 cm's and I feel this bad already!! 

What if this labour was going to be like Katilyn's and I stay at 4 cm's for 10 hours? But what if it is like Ethan's, oh, ya it already wasn't. I was 9 cm's by the time we got to the hospital with him.

I called for the epidural with horror stories flying through my head.

I didn't care. I wanted to escape. I wanted to breath.

Ahhhhhhh......epidural.

Only thing was that the guy administering it didn't tell me until after that he gave me an extra dose of something to deaden the pain more. He said it would freeze my butt but it would work right away, then I could rest. It would only last an hour an a half. 

I was a little miffed. I still wanted to feel things. Have some control.

The nurse checked me again.

8 cm's.

Oh, this is going faster than we thought.

She left for 15 mins and came back.

9.5 cm's.

She left again and came back with the doctor and an intern.

We would be his 5th delivery.

Time to push. 

Ten minutes later it is 5:49 AM.

And Dave is cutting the cord.

We had a baby!!! 

9 lbs 13 oz of all boy.

The first of ours to score 10 out of 10 on the Apgar test.

Dave was awesome. He coached and encouraged and pounded his fists into my back while I was laboring. I am so proud of him. 

My mom was so excited. She had wanted to be there so bad and couldn't have been happier. Can you tell? Her first birth that she wasn't delivering at.

We then rested. I got stitched. Yes, this was my first real tear. A 3rd degree tear. Just like I had had an episiotomy.

Not nice.

I went for a bath and then we moved over to the mat ward. Dave went to pick up the kids. I couldn't wait!

They couldn't either, although Kaitlyn had insisted they stop to buy the baby a balloon, and flowers for mommy.

It gets me all choked up when I see them with Hudson. They love him so much already and the look of sheer joy on their faces when they hold him is something I hope I never forget.

The giggles over gas and burps and coos. Priceless.

I had requested an early discharge and my Dr said it would be fine. Whenever I was ready I could go. However my baby was under another Dr and despite calls throughout the day we never connected.

I had checked into a public room thinking I would go home but ended up staying the night.

The room had 4 beds but it ended up that there were only 2 of us there. The other woman had endured 2 hours of stitching after her birth and was on a catheter and in a load of pain. 

I realized that what I went through was nothing in compare to what she went through.

I felt ashamed for being angry at myself. I had vowed to let things go and just go with the flow and here I was disappointed in myself. I think it was the Lord giving me a knock upside the head. He is in control, not me!

I am glad for a safe delivery, a quick labour and a healthy baby. I couldn't ask for more.

I spent the night but slept little. I could hear the baby across the hall cry all night and of course with all the excitement of the day I was still high on endorphins or something.

So I am guessing that some of you are wondering about my hospital experience. I was so worried about it up until a few days before going in and had finally just let it go.

I am glad I did. Turns out I was pleasantly surprised. The nurses were amazing!!

They listened to me and when I was demanding and wanting to do my own position during delivery they just stepped back and said I could do whatever I wanted. They ran me a bath and were so kind.

Being moved around wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I even shared a toilet.

That was gross though.

The lady that I shared the room with had a lot of visitors who did not respect the 'patient only' sign on the door and I had to clean the seat after careless dudes peed on it.

I HATE doing this!

The only other thing that I noticed right away was that the nurses rarely checked in on me. They came when they were called on and when they were scheduled to ever 8 hours. I could see how busy they were though and didn't mind not getting bugged.

So in the end the experience ended up being quite fine. I wouldn't want to spend another night (the bed was awful) but I felt like I was treated with care.

 Hudson's Dr then came by in the early hours of the morning and checked him out. We were free to go!

Home at last. Home to a clean house, thank you Dave!!! (minus the floors, he doesn't do floors but I don't care)

And we are settling in just fine. Hudson is getting non stop love and I am sitting on a donut.

Feeling pretty good otherwise though. Thank you for all the facebook comments, comments here and e-mails, you guys are amazing! Oh, and this reminds me, I got an e-mail informing me that I am featured over on NewParent right now. They have some pretty cool giveaways and a lot of neat features too. Worth checking out!

Back to my story....My milk came trickling in yesterday and then tonight hit with a vengeance. I lost 5 lbs today....I think it came out my boobs!

And that is the tale of Hudson's entry into the world. If he ever reads this I am not sure what he will say but I have a few years to think of what I will say.

I hope I didn't gross you out too much unless you are a teenager and doing things you shouldn't.

If you are an expectant mom I hope I didn't freak you out. Really, no matter how your baby comes into this world it is soooo worth it!! 

After giving birth I thought, "I never want to do that again!" But here I sit just a few days later holding my baby to my breast thinking I would do it all again in a heart beat.

The new man in the house

Meet Hudson James. 

Born June 2nd, weighting in at 9 lbs, 13 oz.

Nick named Sumo...

and baby Buddha by some of the nurses and doctors.

But to us he is Hudson and we love him to bits!

It is not that he is huge. ( I know quite a few people with way bigger babies) He just has rolls and no neck yet. 

Much more flattering photos to come next post.

Birth story too. (not so flattering)

I am just too tired and not enjoying sitting at the moment. I am off to bed but I just had to squeak out a few photo's before the real deal just to say he is here!

I am so in labour!!!!

2:00 AM. My water is trickling with every contraction. Dave started the truck and we are heading out. Baby time.

We are having the BABY!!!!

Now!

Pregnant forever

I am really feeling like I will be pregnant forever. A few weeks ago I would have sworn this baby would come any day. Now I just feel like it will just hang in there all summer.

Not a great feeling but a strange one.

Today I have an appointment. 

Not exciting.

I still have not had an internal exam and the Dr said she won't do one until I am past due next week.

This is driving me nuts!

My last Dr did one every week from 34 weeks to see how things were progressing. When I was dilated 3 cms for a month I knew it, and understood why I was in so much discomfort. I also understood why Ethan was born with two huge hematomas (no idea how to spell that) on his head. 3 cm's worth each.

Anyway I am glad the the festival is over and that this is the new focus.

I still cannot find any of my tiny undershirts, that is something I need to get on!

According to what the Dr said last week this baby is nearing the 9 lb point now. I really, REALLY, hope she is wrong!

 Thank you all for being so kind about the festival. I really didn't feel like it was that successful considering the amount of inventory I had but the truth is that I did have sales and covered my costs and that is what matters.

Today I am trying to get photo's edited and uploaded, time to stock that shop!!

I hope you all had a great weekend, I am just finally recovering!

Cathedral Village Arts Festival

The day dawned bright and  and sunny. We couldn't have wished for better weather. No rain, no wind, just glorious sun.

8 am was set up time so we packed up and headed down to the festival site.

My family came out to help and I cannot thank them enough. They were amazing. The tent went up and was stocked by opening time at 10. I felt like a mean dictator as I bossed them around. I had a vision for how I wanted everything set up and even though we did have to make changes (like where I wanted to table to go) it ended up alright. 

The biggest issue off the bat was that we had set up our tent  according to what we thought the mail out said. It said that the space was 10 x 14 feet and we assumed that meant that it was 10 feet wide by 14 feet long. Turns out it was the other way around. We were so lucky and the festival people were so accommodating and we were able to just move the tent back by three feet.

If we hadn't been on an ally it could have been a disaster.

Here is how it looked before the masses descended.

It was a long day and we had planned on just me and my mom hanging out.

As it turned out the kids and Dave stuck around the whole day.

From 8 am to 6 pm the kids just hung out. They were amazing! Dave took them up and down the strip a few times and they also spent some time behind our tent tailgating it in the truck.

They brought back snow cones and balloon animals, fries and hot dogs and just hung out people watching.

However their good behavior overload was made up for on Sunday when we went grocery shopping and it was the trip from hell!

I think they had just had enough already for the weekend and had nothing left.

We ended up having an alright day. According to other sellers on the street I did well. There were booths that never even broke $100, let alone enough to cover the cost of the booth space. Some made a few hundred dollars and I am sure some made way more. I came close to the 4 digits but fell short. Sold a few large paintings and quite a few prints and a handful of magnets.

I shouldn't really complain, I just set my bar really really high. 

One etsy friend of mine said that last year she made triple what she did this year despite being off the main drag and having to shut down two hours early due to insanely bad weather.

I wonder if it is the economy that held people back this year or if it was because there were just that many more booths. (over 300) Whatever it was I am counting my blessings and am glad that I did have quite a few sales. Thank you everyone!

In the next few days I hope to get my shop open again and load up all the extra prints I made.

I will let you know when it happens.

Shutting down....back to an empty space.

One thing about being stuck in the tent all day was that I missed cruising the strip. I wanted to see some of the belly dancing and graffiti work and watch the buskers. 

Not only that but I find checking out all the different art mediums and styles very inspiring so I am hoping that everyone that took pictures there adds their shots from the day to the cvaf flickr pool. 

So in recap it was a really good day, thank you everyone that came out..there were over 30 of you that showed up just to say hi and support me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

And a massive thank you to family, you were amazing!!!

Counting down to the art festival and a baby

I am really starting to freak out....just a little bit....in my head.

The Art Festival Street Fair is coming up this Saturday (the 23rd) and the baby's due date is creeping closer.

I am pretty ready, OK, I am not really ready at all but am trying to get there for the festival.

It's the baby thing that is kinda weighing heavy on my mind.

What if I go into labour the night before?

What if my water breaks that day?

What if I have the baby tomorrow and I am fresh out of the hospital with boobs bursting with engorgement for the festival?

But then again I am probably just freaking out over nothing and the baby will just wait until June. Why do I do this to myself?

What does it profit except for some rattled nerves?!

I must get my head in check and focus!

Sheesh!

So, let's get on with the preparations.

I have been trying to get ready by doing some last minute touch ups and digging out of my secret basement painting stash, well, I don't really have a secret stash but I have a few pieces that I haven't shared.

The kids have been keeping busy destroying the living room, painting, and crafting as well.

Here are a few that are in the print shop getting prints made.

And a few others kicking around. (the boots are staying though)

We started to set up our small kiosk tent. I think it is around 8x8 or 10x10 and the standard white top. However there are no walls and it has been sitting outside behind my parents garage for four years. 

It is a little rusty.

So Dave decided to invest and got a huge garage style tent. We will just set up two of the sections and part of the walls. I hope it works...we might just stand out like a sore thumb amongst all the little tents and tables but we'll be covered.

We have an hour and a half on the morning of the festival to get the tent set up and all the art displayed. I sure hope we can do it. (I mean Dave)

On my list of to do's there is the float situation, a log book to keep track of what sells and plastic sleeves of some kind for the prints.

The table will need to be covered and I have yet to create a banner. My banner designer friend (Hi Maria, waving sheepishly) is probably scolding me though the screen right now. 

I totally forgot to get what I needed sent off to her.

So I will have some sort of painted canvas little thing to say who I am. If all goes well this year then I will know and be better prepared for future festivals.

Kaitlyn has been quite busy crafting her own thing while I craft and would much rather that I sell her stuff than me sell mine.

She has laid claim to all the kid inspired stuff and is quite adamant that she "NEEEEEEDS IT!!!"

I did think that her double sided hand puppet was quite clever. She directed the cutting of felt and did the rest.

Ethan started to make a lion puppet of his own but never got past tracing his hand.

While he played cars endlessly Kaitlyn kept going by moving on to paints.

She is really quite abstract with her techniques. I wish I could learn from her, I am just so controlled, even when I try to be abstract or sloppy.

A few of the 'windy day' paintings have been whipped up. I shouldn't say whipped up, they take forever to create with their multiple layers and dry times. Then with my hand forever going numb I only get to sit and work on them for a few minutes here and there.

So the kids and I have made magnets instead. (notice the dots? Inspired by BA's  amazing dottery) My hand can survive this. I think the prices will be revised though, the wood ones would be a steal at $4 a set. 

What do you think is reasonable? I don't know what I would or wouldn't pay. 

Pricing is tough.

My mom has decided to contribute as well and has been working on some magnets of her own.

Oh, right, I almost forgot about the pendants. Above is one I made for Kaitlyn a few months back.

And above is one (click on the photo to see the detail) that was custom ordered through my shop by a friend for a friend for her birthday.

I have painted the large wood ones before (10 years ago,I will upload a photo of them one day) but fell so in love with the miniature ones that I just had to make more.

And then since I couldn't stop at the pendants I decided that they might be cute as magnets.

I am not sure if they will be for sale yet or not since Kaitlyn is quite in love with them already.

Well see.

Now back to the preparations. Dave just called and is done work early. Nice for me but not for the pocket and he is off to get hooks and try to figure out how to hang paintings in the tent.

Are there any ideas out there for this?

The only thing we can come up with is to use either dog run fencing and the square S hooks or use that thin board with the holes in it. I cannot remember what it is called but it would be sturdy and we could use the hooks with that too.

I keep thinking there must be a cheaper and better way to do it but I have never paid enough attention at past festivals to see what other artists do.

So if there are any ideas I am all ears!

My pregnancy and motherhood 'Blessing'

This was something new to me. I had read of a 'blessing' before but wasn't really sure what to expect. 

As it turned out there were only a few that came but it made for an intimate and really special time.  So for those of you wondering  what a 'blessing' is I will walk you through what happened this afternoon. 

It was a time to just focus on me, the miracle of pregnancy and motherhood and  to praise God for this precious gift. I know there is more to what it was all about and I'll do my best, here goes...

First they made me a floral crown. I had to smile as crooked as possible for the shot!

 Then a candle was lit. There were supposed to be a few candles lit, one for each of the women there but some forgot. This was something that was sent home with me. When I go into labour I can light the candles and remember that these women are praying for me. I think I will just light them when I am lying in bed at night doodling and think of them. I get all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it.

 If I go into labour and it takes a while I will light them and read through the blessings I received.  If it is crazy fast like Ethan's labour and delivery I have a feeling I won't. 

Next up we had some snacks and sat around and visited.

(Monique)

Then I experienced something humbling. Have you ever had a friend wash your feet, give you a massage and then lather them up with lotion? It almost made me cry.

Aromatherapy oils, herbs and salts were all added to the water. 

Kaitlyn was a little nervous at first but then joined in with Karen and gave me a massage as well.

What a gift, a blessing in itself. (I am also really glad that I had filed my heels and painted my nails last week)

As my feet got pampered the few friends that came read me words of encouragement, poems, scripture  verses and stories. 

Some of it was a great reminder of what pregnancy and birth is really all about. It was encouraging me not to get so caught up in the pains and discomfort of this late stage but to remember the precious kicks and flutters and the miracle of carrying a baby, another little human in my womb.

It was a reminder of the gift of pregnancy and motherhood and a reminder as to how precious and fragile life is. It was them showing hospitality and the joy of servanthood to me.

The 'blessings' on paper were then put into a scrapbook for me to keep.

Blessing me in ways beyond I thought possible.

My heart was singing with joy and gratitude.

I am so glad I got to experience this  'blessing' before the baby comes. I feel more ready and at peace and calm about the birth. I cannot tell you how this has affected how I look at things.

I was getting so caught up in the trivial last minute dragging on of things and now I feel so rejuvenated that I could stay pregnant for another year. Well maybe not quite that long but you know what I mean.

It also was really touching to hear how friends see me. It was funny too because some of the things that they admired about me were things that I come down on myself the hardest for. 

My being open, honest and the ability to take things in stride were things that were mentioned.

 While here I am wishing I would just shut up sometimes and not share so much. I wish I could get more organized and on top of things. Funny how we see things differently than those around us.

The fact that I had to clear a small patch on the kitchen table last week to eat at when I had a  friend over really made me feel like a cluttered fool.

Where the heck are my priorities?

 Since there just wasn't room for both our kids at the table and I wanted to visit rather than clean it off I just threw a table cloth on the floor and declared it time for a picnic.

I was embarrassed it had to come to that.  Why couldn't I just be organized enough to have a clean table?!

My friend, (who I think is totally amazing by the way and organized the whole blessing thing) thought this was great. She is funny like that though.

I struggle daily with priorities. I tend to put art and crafts and fun play with the kids above all household duties and even above making meals.

Finding balance is something that really gets to me. I do find it hard to see the good in what I do since I see others live scheduled organized lives. Coming to terms with the fact that I am always jumping from one thing to the next and then back and then on to another thing in my head is really tough. I know I don't fit 'the mold' and I am getting used to it.

I just never considered it an ability that I can leave art and craft projects out and not let it bother me. 

However sometimes it does  bother me, especially when I would like to have adults over. I am just not sure what they would think of picnics on my kitchen floor.

It sure does help when friends tell you they love you for it though. I guess this is probably the same reason I love them! Huh.

During this precious mushy girl time Ethan conked out in my brothers room. Phil (my brother) stole the camera for a moment so I wouldn't miss this.

He must have been really tired to mot even make it all the way onto the bed.

Anyway, back to me. I know, me, me, me. It felt kind of odd to have all the attention. I just babbled and chittered and chatted and spilled details of my life and experiences that I could and  probably should have kept to myself. However, you give me the floor and blab, blab, blab is what you get.

I can't wait now to go to someone elses 'blessing' and listen to them!

I almost felt guilty getting all the attention, I just wanted to give it right back to them and scream "I love you!"

My heart felt so big!

What a gift they gave!

Karen, my mom and Charity.

My sister's Emily and TT and my little Kaitlyn.

And these are some of the gifts that were sent home with me. (click the image to view larger)

I am still trying to wrap my mind around the whole afternoon. I have never seen such an outpouring of love from people that I have known for such a short time. These women are truly amazing!

The love of God that shines in them is something that is so beautiful. They just give and love and don't judge and they find the positives and they share and just keep on loving, I just don't know how else to say it. 

It was beautiful, encouraging, uplifting and empowering.

I just want to hug them all over again! (Sorry I missed you Monique, I should have pried my butt out of that chair and squeezed you tight. Just a warning, next time I see you you will get it.)

I hope this becomes a mainstream pre-baby-mommy-shower thing. It was amazing!

Thank you---you know who you are!

And if you are expecting or know someone who is....this a such a fantastic gift to get or to pass on!