Craft Weekend

I got invited by some friends to join them at a girls craft weekend.
I said YES! ;)

And we had so much fun!

We stayed at an amazing craft house in Newton, KS. It was a crafter's dream. I felt a little like I was in heaven.

My bed for the weekend. 

The dining room

Isn't this the cutest house?

It was so dreamy! A true crafter's paradise.

This was in another bedroom, but I just loved the wall decor.

The HUGE crafting room.

 I was the first one up in the morning and snapped this picture while everyone was still sleeping. I also didn't stay up as late as everyone else. I can't pull all-nighter's anymore. There were thousand more pictures I could have taken, because this is just a small portion of the house. I could not stop OOOOing and AHHHing over everything. 

I mostly just worked on hand painting signs. My hands got so tired, but I was so productive. It was the most crafting I think I have ever done in a weekend. 

One of my favorite quotes by Ann Voskamp

I made this to go above the window at my kitchen sink. 

These are going to be giveaways for a women's conference at my sister's church.

I had such a wonderful weekend and I feel so blessed that I got to be a part of this craft weekend. It was really refreshing to just get away for a little bit. 

For those of you who have been following and praying for Mitch here is an update:

The doctors have turned all the sedation off and he has been opening his eyes off and on. He is breathing on his own for 2 hours at a time, three times a day. This is definitely a huge improvement. Please keep praying for his body to continue to heal and to stay calm as the sedation wears off. I am so grateful for all that God is doing in his life and for each and everyone of you that have been praying for him. Your prayers are making a difference. 

Winter Recap Part 2

About a week after Christmas, Eli got his cast. It was terrible. By this point, Eli was so freaked out by any doctor getting near his arm that he screamed while they put his cast on. They had to move his arm around a bunch so I'm sure it was also painful. I let him have a sucker and the pain was soon forgotten after it was all over. We had sticky blue slobber everywhere, including my clothes. But, when your baby is in pain you are pretty much willing to do anything to make it better.

He thought it was pretty cool that we could write on his arm. Lane thought it was cool too and kept asking for me to write on his arm. As I already mentioned in my last post, Eli got his cast off a couple days ago. He has bounced right back to being a crazy stunt man. My boys have no fear.

We ended up having our 2nd Christmas with my family the first weekend of January. It was short, but very sweet. The boys loved getting to play with all their older cousins. They really weren't very interested in opening gifts at either Christmas celebration this year. I think they are just too busy to actually sit down and rip wrapping paper. 

The boys playing with their Papa!

Me and my sweet niece Nora

We got her one of those Generation Dolls that are supposed to be like American Girl Dolls and I think it's safe to say that she really liked her gift.

The boys got these really cute remote control dogs. They have been a hit. 

Loved getting to spend some time with my mom and sister. It always goes by way too fast!

And the best picture of the day award goes to this girl. She stole the cuteness show. Enna is so much fun to be with.

We had a great year full of wonderful memories, laughter, and good times. I'm looking forward to this year and all it has to offer. 

*Update on Mitch: The pressure around his brain has gone down to 5, which is really good! He does have pneumonia now, so please pray for that to go away. He is still in a coma and needs lots of healing. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for him and his family. We appreciate your prayers so much. 

Winter Recap

Christmas flew by, the New Year flew by, and we are already almost halfway through January and I haven't blogged about anything! So this is going to just be my recap of all that has happened in the past month. It may even have two parts, because a lot has happened.

4 days before Christmas we took Lane to the ER and found out he had pneumonia. When we got home from the ER our house was really cold and we suddenly realized our furnace wasn't working.

This little fireplace sat on our island (so the boys couldn't touch it) heating our house for the next couple days until we were able to get everything fixed. We had to replace the whole thing. That was a fun bill right before Christmas. 

Christmas Eve, right before I was getting ready to put the boys to bed, Eli fell off the couch and broke his arm. We knew it was broken right away because you could actually see that his arm was bent where it was supposed to be straight. Talk about a traumatic experience for mother and baby. 

It broke my heart to see him in so much pain and know that there was nothing I could do to take it away. He was such a trooper though and ended up falling asleep on me while we waited for the doctor to put a splint on his arm. It was a really long night. I'm happy to report though, that we survived the broken arm and the cast actually came off today. Eli and Lane celebrated with a really long bath that included lots of splashing. I cannot tell you enough how tired I was of that stinky cast and sponge baths. 

Christmas morning with his splint. Poor little guy!

The hospital gave us child sized sling, but it was way too big for his little arm. Good thing in know how to sew ;)

The next day we had Christmas brunch at our house and I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull it off or not since we had a rough Christmas Eve. It was a wonderful day though and we really had a nice time together and the food tasted good ;)

Making that yummy brunch in my new kitchen with my new apron that my husband got me for Christmas. 

Oma and Opa with the grandbabies. It's impossible to get everyone to look at the camera.

Me and my nephew Fallon. He is such a cutie. I think I spent most of the day holding him. I got my baby fix!

The family minus the boys and the photographer : Brian's mom. 

I'm so glad we got to spend this time all together. I'm not really sure how to share this next portion, but that lovely young couple on the left side of the couch really need your prayers. That lovely young couple is Mitch and Karen, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Just last week Mitch was in a very serious car accident and was taken to the hospital unresponsive. He is now in a coma and has a lot of brain swelling. They are having a hard time keeping his brain pressure stable and are not really sure what damage there is. Please pray for him. We are praying and hoping for God to heal his body. Would you please join me in lifting him up. Also please pray for his wife. I can't imagine how hard this is for her. If you would like to give towards their medical bills and upcoming expenses, go HERE to donate. Thank you all in advance for you prayers and support. 

It's crazy how sudden life can change drastically. It's really not something you ever imagine happening. This has been a reminder to me, to cherish every moment. A lot of times I find myself looking forward to the future. Looking forward to when life might seem a little easier, a little less stressful. Instead I really want to start enjoying every moment, because things can change in an instant. I don't want to miss out on the joys of today when I'm focusing on making it to tomorrow. 

So, I'm going to end with that. There will be a part 2 soon though, I promise.