Still AMAZES me!

Today I went in for my 18wk ultrasound...It still takes my breath away every time I see the baby. The doctors said that everything looks great and healthy and that is all that we could ask for! Oh by the way...IT'S A...

Just Kidding, we are not finding out what the baby is. So you will have to wait until mid June to find out.

I still can't believe we are having baby number 3, but I guess I have a couple of months to figure it out. It is such a miracle to be pregnant again, and my prayer for this pregnancy is that I would let go of all of the insecurities that I had before and just truly enjoy the part that I get to play in this miracle. So, gaining weight, losing sight of my toes, and just being uncomfortable are all things that I am going to find joy in this time around...

Here are some of the pictures...

This is a profile shot, with the babies thumb in it's mouth...

This is another profile shot, but right as she was looking at the baby it opened it's mouth and stuck out it's tongue...it was really cute.

Honestly I have no idea what this is...

Another profile...

This is the hand...

Our Cruise....

A couple of weeks ago, Preston and I had the amazing blessing of being able to go on a 7 day cruise, just the 2 of us, to Honduras, Costa Mya and Cozumel. It was amazing and so needed. I feel like I found out who my husband was. We had such a great time and laughed a lot. Here are some of the highlights...

Day 1: Galveston

Day 2: At Sea
We played bingo, and Preston won first place in a volleyball tournament.
Very cold still, but the sun was on its way...

Day 4: Honduras
My favorite port. We snorkled over the ship you see down here, it was so beautiful and so fun. The lush landscapes and amazingly clear water was truly breath-taking...

Day 5: Costa Mya

Much prettier day here, and a great beach for kids. It was only mid calf deep for a long way. We just took a cab to the beach and layed out and walked around the town all day.

Day 6: Cozumel
By far the most "Americanized" place we visited. They had a McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and everyone spoke english here. It was very pretty, we also just took a cab around town and found a fun beach with an iceberg and trampoline. Oh, and yes that is Preston pointing and laughing at the word "duty".

Letting the Juices of Creativity Flow....

Lately, I have been feeling like I have all of these creative juices in my head that do not know how to get out. So... I have been trying to come up with fun, cheap ways to let them run wild...

A few projects I have tackled this past week:
1. As a family (Preston included) we spent last Saturday morning each painting a canvas to hang in the play room. We really had a great time and laughed a lot, mostly at Preston who lacks artistic abilities...





2. Sanded and repainted an entry way table that I have had since before we got married. It was my first time to do anything like that, and I think I might be addicted. Preston had to tell me to stop, because I was just wondering around the house trying to find anything that I could sand and paint...my new favorite hobby.










3. I dont have any pictures, but my mom gave me my old craddle that I used growing up for my baby dolls and I went to the fabric store (for those of you who know where I live, that would be Walmart, the only store in town...but it sounds cooler to say fabric store) with Grace and I let her pick out all of the materials. She of course went straight for the Tinkerbell material, so we got pink and purple and green and tinkerbell fabric and I made bedding for the craddle. It was very easy and a fun project for Grace and I.

I am always looking for fun crafts, so if you have any great ideas...please let me know!!!

Place Mats

So one of Preston and I's goals for 2010 is to be more intentional about teaching Grace and Fisher about helping out around the house and the importance of everyone doing their part. One of the things that we both thought would be a great "chore" for them was to learn how to set the table and then at the end of dinner we have started letting one of them take all of the plates and put them into the sink. It has been very cute to watch them serve each other and to get excited about helping out. We were having trouble getting them to set the table correctly, so...

I came up with these place mats that are super cute, and help them to know where everything goes. Each one of us has our own so they know where the big plates go and where their cups and stuff go. It still blows my mind that I have kids old enough to start helping out around the house but I am excited to start imparting in them that a heart of service is a great virtue.




All I did to make the mats was cut out all the shape from scrapbooking paper, and then the names I made on my Cricut. I placed to pieces of construction paper and glued everything into place. Then I used my stamps to label everything and added the bible verse at the bottom. After that, I just used contact paper to cover each side...pretty simple and the possibilities are endless!

I am thinking that a really fun project for the kids and I would be to start making some for each season or holiday, or special occasions.