REWIND: Birthday Boy & Girl

Before heading to America, we celebrated our good friend's children's birthdays with them.

They are the sweetest kids~ Here is some photos of our time:

I can't get over this CUTENESS!

What kid doesn't love cake? :)

Then we had some fun playing on the roof:

REWIND: Quilting

It all started with a sweet lady who comes to our house daily... Sally*

Beth & I wanted to do something special for her for Christmas this year.

So we thought we would endeavor to make a Rag Quilt for her- 

with bright and beautiful colors, and lots of love :)

This was Beth's second time making one, but first time without someone "coaching" her.  

And my very first attempt at anything like this.

So we cut our quilt "square" out of a cereal box

(Don't you love how fancy we are?)

Beth and I logged some bonding time cutting fabric

 We laid out our top layer on the bed with the design we wanted.

(Which was actually a pretty big feat for two indecisive girls :))

Then carefully stacked up each row and labeled it.

Next, we cut our "batting"- AKA a fleece blanket (haha)

As you will notice- still using our fancy "quilting square"/ cereal box

 And what exactly were my children doing this whole time?

So glad you asked-

For the most part, they played on the mat that was in the room with us for the majority of the time.

Such Troopers!

However, Riley snuck out once and this is how I found her :)

Movie Lover?

 Once we laid out the back design and labeled it, we got busy sewing our "X's" on each block to attach the front piece, the batting, and the back piece all together.

Then we started taking our blocks and stitching them together- YAY!

 One of us would put them together and hand them off to the other one sewing, then after a while we would switch off.

Teamwork is AWESOME!

Then we quickly saw blocks, become rows of blocks, which became half a quilt, then .....

 A week later, and approximately 5-6 hours later (and a snipping session for the "Rag" part)-

"TA-DA"

We had our final product :)

 As well as two friends who grew a little closer over our "Quilting bonding" 

AND

One happy woman, Sally*, who kept saying "This is for me? I cannot believe it!"

:)

 Here is our back design:

A challenging endeavor, but a rewarding feeling once we finished the task!

We MAY have been SUPER proud of ourselves (haha)

And a special shout out to Craig's sister, Jodi, for many "phone assists" when we weren't exactly sure what to do next :)

THANKS JODI!

Grateful for good friends who join you to take on new projects, and for this sweet woman whom the Lord has put in our lives- who loves us daily, and for the chance to find a special way to love her.

The Lord is so GOOD.

...:::* Riley Joanna : 9 & 10 MONTHS OLD *:::...

 . November 27, 2013 .

We celebrated 9 months of having this beautiful blue eyed girl in our lives:

MEMORIES & MILESTONES:

MONTH 9 (Oct 27- Nov 27)

- clapping your hands
- you have this shy, cuddle into mama, and big smile reaction to people you meet
- we can see your top FOUR teeth hiding in your gums!
- "mamamamama" maybe on purpose or maybe not but either way I love it.
- carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, beets, green beans, and star snacks- developing quite the diet :)
- still so cute even when fighting a runny nose and congestion !
- quite a Mama's girl right now
- love to grab hair ( and amazingly enough your brother is quite patient with it)
- so smiley
- you've become quite the trooper when your brother decides you are his wrestling partner.
-11/19 top right tooth starting to show :)
- figuring out how to drink from your sippy cup
- eating finger snacks well- stars and yogurt drops
- high five mommy non stop while you eat sometimes. Sweet moments.
- love babbling.
- 11/26 top second to the right tooth popped through

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

. December 27, 2013 .

Then 9 months quickly became 10 months- can you believe it?
We've loved every way that our lives have been changed since the Lord gave us Riley Jo- what a gift!

 

So... I thought I would include the real results of our photo shoot.

She wasn't quite thrilled about it :)

But then her sweet smile came peeking through:

And you will notice who quickly makes their appearance on the scene as well ;)

JEALOUS! haha.

So we let him have his photo moment, too:

MEMORIES & MILESTONES:

MONTH 10 (Nov 27 - Dec 27)
- Cute little wave with your right hand
- first Sleeper Train ride- nov 29 th
- Dec 2nd - top left front tooth popping through
- Dec 3rd - top right front tooth through
- best blue eyes ever
- first time to America and meeting grandparents and aunts and uncles
- quickly became lots of folks new little buddy!
- "oooooo" with your mouth and lips pooched out all the time
- very first Christmas.
- trying to smack your tongue off the top of your mouth ( not quite the caliber your brother was but still quite cute)
- love to self Feed snacks.
- finally in 9 month clothes :)
- super cute bundled up and wearing your new hat Grammy got you.
- dec 27th- 2nd top left tooth finally poked through... That's 6 teeth already!!!
- hair is slowly getting longer

When the "props" came down- our little girl really came out!

Our Baby Girl, Riley Jo~

You, dear one, are a JOY GIVER!  

You love people for who they are and you don't hesitate to offer them a smile.

It quickly becomes contagious, as they cannot fight back the smile the creeps across their own face.

We pray your life would truly be one marked by JOY and that it would easily pour out to those around you always.

So proud to call you ours!

~All Our Love~

Mama & Papa

 Couldn't ask for a better ending to this time, but to remember what a gift this little girl is-  not only to us, but to her brother.  It certainly is something special!

And I love getting to witness it every day :)

. REWIND: Papa's Work Pal .