yellow

"How wonderful yellow is.

It stands for the sun."

~Vincent Van Gogh

mixed media:

colored pencil, ink, various papers, and thread

it's too late to link up

to the lovely color your world challenge,

but I thought I'd share it anyway.

family photos

If you have been reading my blog for a while,

you might remember this sweet family

whose family photos I took in December.

Last Saturday I was able to take some updated portraits for them

at a beautiful park about five miles south of our town.

The weather was much more comfortable this time,

and we were able to get some pretty decent shots.

hair (or in our case, headband) clip storage

I knew that having a girl would be different than having boys, but one thing that still kind of floors me is how many more accessories little girls accumulate from day one!  Sweet Pea still doesn't have much hair, but thanks to those soft, stretchy headbands with handy holes that you can clip bows and flowers to, we already have quite a collection of hair (ahem, headband) clips.  After a few months of digging through a small, overflowing basket full of them, I decided that a better storage solution was necessary.

I ended up combining a clever idea I saw on Pinterest with the current trend of kitchy embroidery-hoop wall art to make my very own Christina variation.  It was a super-quick (maybe 5 minutes to assemble each hoop), super-cheap (I picked up the embroidery hoops at the thrift store for a few cents each and used ribbons and laces from my stash), and super-practical.

I started by arranging a variety of ribbons and laces over the inner ring of an embroidery hoop. Then I put a thin line of Elmer's glue around the inside of the outer embroidery hoop ring to make it just a little more secure (I'm sure you could also use craft glue or hot glue instead), and pressed the outer ring over the inner ring.  After tugging on the ribbons to make sure they were nice and smooth and tightening the screw at the top of the hoop, I trimmed all the ribbon ends.

After the glue dried, I was arranged our hair (headband) clips on the ribbons and lace and hung the hoops on the wall.  They would probably be cuter if I had taken the time to spray paint the wooden embroidery hoops, but I didn't feel like waiting.  They have held up remarkably well so far and look pretty cute, unpainted wood and all.

Linking up with Jennifer's In the Studio today.

ten-and-a-half months

Our Little Lady has been ten months old for a little while now.

I always procrastinate on these posts

because they seems to sum up her brilliant little personality so dimly.

But here goes.

Right now Sweet Pea...

has discovered that she can turn the pages in books
(and naturally likes the paper ones better than the safe board ones)
loves to be in the middle of what her brothers are doing
(trains? cars? tools? blocks? bring it.)
makes anything into a drum
is almost obsessed with the fridge magnets

can get from lying down to sitting up all by herself
still isn't crawling but scoots rapidly around on her bottom
(she looks a bit  like a frog
as she propels herself around with little bent legs)
is enjoying exploring the house
(cabinets, closets, the rooms upstairs--nothing she can reach is safe)
is trying to pull herself up to standing

says "da-da" all the time and "daddy" occasionally
says "hi" and "hey"
says something that sounds like brother
waves goodbye
tries to sing along with music
is learning a few signs (mostly "more")
screeches like a velociraptor but not usually because she's upset

finally has a little tooth
and is working on a second
has decided that pureed foods are beneath her dignity
loves picking up finger foods and feeding herself
is drinking from a sippy cup
eats a lot
yet still manages to be in the1st percentile for weight

has been moved out of The Nook into her own room
is doing quite well with the change
(nap times have been a little harder since it's a noisier room,
but nights are going much better
now that we're not waking each other up)

delight

noun: extreme pleasure or satisfaction, joy

verb: to take great pleasure or joy

This month I am delighted (ha)

to have the chance to review Dayspring's

Delight Yourself in the Lord Tote.

I love it!

It is made of a super-sturdy yet flexible material (they call it oilcloth).

The pretty floral print is offset

by sleek and stylish black and white accents.

It has tons of room in the main section,

and several small pockets

so your small stuff doesn't get lost in the bottom.

(Both are essential in a bag for a mama like me.)

I have some baggage when it comes to the verse on it, though.

Did you have "that person" in highschool?

You know, that one with whom things never went well

and who still ends up being problematic

even though you're both supposed to be grown-ups?

Well, my "that person" in highschool

claimed this verse in a rather distorted way,

and ever since then I've had a hard time being encouraged by it.

This week, though, I've been thinking about the word "delight"

in a new-to-me way.

How God is the source of all the delight in my life.

How I truly do desire to delight in Him.

I think I'm beginning to leave some of my baggage behind.

I'm thankful for this tote

in ways beyond having another very pretty bag.

I'm thankful for chance it gave to to think about this verse again

and to be encouraged by it like never before.

If you'd like your own  lovely and encouraging bag to keep or give,

check out Dayspring's June special:

buy 2 bags, get 1 free.

There are pretty oilcloth, jute, and canvas totes--

something for everyone.

Some of them are even on clearance for just $4.99!

Dayspring kindly sent me a tote free of charge in exchange for my review, and all of the opinions I have stated here are my very own.

sunrise, sunset...

Sunrise, sunset...the days slip by, each full, and before I know it weeks of days have passed and I have hardly photographed and written nothing.  I miss it.  Here is a nice, jumbled list of some of the things that have been filling our days lately.

The biggest recent happening is the discovery that Baby #4 is on his/her way.  It took a little while for the surprise to wear off, but we're excited and already have names picked out.  I'm due January 1, so we're in for a whole new experience with a winter baby (the other three are late summer/early autumn babies).

Thankfully the nausea has been quite manageable this time around (the best yet!), but the fatigue has been brutal.  There have been a lot of naps and early bed times.

We have been reading and are looking forward to participating in the library's summer reading program.

Benjamin's parents visited for Memorial Day weekend and brought their cat with them.  The cat was naturally a huge hit with our animal-loving boys.  We have a lovely, relaxing visit with them complete with good food, golf, naps (haha) and a little shopping.

This is Frodo the cat (or as Brother calls him "Fwoo-do"

Dishes are an inevitably large part of the everyday.

My new-every-two contract renewal for my cell phone is coming up, and I reeeeaally wanted a smart phone (c'mon, everybody has one!). I dealt with my covetousness issues and rehashed how the monthly fee for a data plan is not really something we want to pay for a service which I definitely don't need.  And then we decided that a Kindle would be a better investment.  I feel spoiled and have been thoroughly enjoying getting to know my new gadget.  I've been doing a whole lot more reading to myself these days.

Benjamin also got me a subscription to my favorite foodie magazine for Mother's Day.  I've been enjoying reading that too.  (For some reason I still kick into summer-is-the-reading-season gear like I did when I was in school.)

And then there's the laundry.  I'm really growing in my ability to find satisfaction in getting the laundry washed/folded/put away.  It's a good thing.

We've been drinking yummy lattes.

And eating lots and lots of fruit.  We've been taking full advantage of our community's recently launched branch of the Bountiful Baskets Co-op.  I've been enjoying finding creative ways to use unusual fruits and veggies that we wouldn't get otherwise.

In addition to our seasonal allergies, we are getting over a nasty bout of summer colds.

There has been lots of imaginative dinosaur (and train and sandbox) play.

There has been treasure collecting,

and gift giving.

Really, it's been a good start to the summer.  Hopefully the rest will be just as good.  I'll try to update more frequently, but I'm not going to make any promises because I might need to nap...or decide to read...or soak up some sun.