In just one week, I will be waking up to this: But, until then, I have some things to get done.There are a few projects I’m wrapping up, some planning to work on, reading and studying for our upcoming Ladies’ Bible study, and food shopping for our week at the beach.  I’ve been looking forward to this trip all summer and now it’s just one week away!  

Sorry for the absence the past two weeks.  We have been out of town, visiting both sides of our family.  We drove to my parents’ house first and spent about 4 days there just hanging out.  Then, we continued North to visit my grandparents, then on to Bradley’s parents’ in central PA.  The girls loved reuniting time with their cousins and grandparents, and we enjoyed time together spent laughing, talking, crying, and just being together. The highlight for me of our two week vacation was a surprise from my sweet husband.  He reserved a night for us at the Bed & Breakfast where we spent our wedding night!  He had…

Nap time was abbreviated today, so just a post with pictures.  I’ll be posting more details on many of these pictures very soon, but in the meantime, here’s a little photo recap of what I did this week. Put together some finishing touches in the nursery.  Reveal to come next week! Spent a number of hours on this ladder painting. Sewed a little something for the girls; a tutorial is coming next week.  Baked some yummy chocolate cookies.  They are delicious.  Stay tuned for the recipe. Spent lots of time with my kiddos.  Couldn’t resist sharing this picture of my little guy.  He’s 3 1/2 months old now!  Can’t believe…

Back in the old days people would trade services for services; you couldn’t always expect to get cash payments for work you performed.  Doctors would treat their patients and sometimes receive chickens, eggs, or even produce in return.  Many parts of the world still function with systems like this, but the USA generally works on money for services rendered.  I’m here to tell you, though, that you can still try the bartering system!  Here’s how it recently worked for me: My friend, Callie, photographer of Achor & Eden, master mind of The Not Wedding, has wowed me with her photography and business skills ever since I met her in 2009.…

Over the weekend we had the opportunity to attend the Ordination service for a good friend of ours in Charlotte, NC.  He just completed his studies at RTS {Reformed Theological Seminary}, and has been given the position of Assistant Pastor at a church plant in South Charlotte. We were thrilled to rejoice with him and his family as they celebrated the awesome journey the Lord has taken them on these past 4 years. The service was Sunday night and we had planned to just drive all the way home after the service, but at the last minute we decided to get a hotel halfway to home, and take the kids…

I shared with you on Tuesday my blogging dilemma:  the camera wasn’t working.  Really, I just couldn’t find the battery charger, and the battery was dead, so no camera.  We thought perhaps we left it plugged in at the hospital when Mason was born, so we were shopping for one at Costco yesterday.  We placed one in the cart, and then I remembered I had definitely used it at least once since coming home from the hospital.  So, when we got home I looked all over, yet again, and in a moment of desperation decided to look under my nightstand.  Aha! I found it!  Now I can resume taking pictures…

Since today was the EDD {Estimated Due Date} for little Mason, I thought it only appropriate to share his birth story with you.  I’m so thankful he was two weeks early!  Isabella was 8 days early {you can read her birth story here} and Mallory was 2 days late {find her birth story here}, so I really had nothing to go by with this pregnancy.  Here’s how the day began… April 13:I woke up pretty early and felt a few contractions as I was getting ready for the day, nothing horrible, but they were noticeable.  Bradley got home from work around 6AM, and I mentioned that maybe today would be…

Henry Mason Born: April 13 8lb 4oz This is the first time I’ve even logged into my blogger account since Friday when I went into labor and then had my little boy.  He is absolutely precious!  We’re planning to call him Mason, but that’s still up for debate in our home, and we’re tossing around things like Henry, Hank, Mason, Mase, so he might get confused!  I’m sticking with Mason, though, so that is how I will most likely refer to him.  I’ll share more about his birth story later, and hope to get back to my regular blogging schedule soon.