Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours!

May the peace and joy that comes from the Lord be with you and your family this Christmas and in the new year to come!

Like a Winter Snow...

I love this song so much! It truly brings to light how the Lord sent His son so peacefully and innocent. When He could have chosen any mighty way to bring Him to the earth. The Lord's love was sent to us  as a sweet innocent baby boy.

This is a live version of Audrey Assad singing it. If you haven't listened to her before, you should!  Such a beautiful voice. Throw in some piano and you got some sweet tunes! ;)

7 Months!

Westin my love you are 7 months (two wks ago)! You are the sunshine in our days! You make each day so fun and are the sweetest natured baby. You give the best hugs when we pick you up and squeeze our necks so tight! It melts my heart!

You are a full on crawler now. You get into everything and we have to watch you very closely now. You love cords, shoes and pretty much everything you shouldn't play with! ha!

You are still putting everything into your mouth. Even if it disgusts me like Mags ball..ew. I know it will only get worse! You love Maggie moo and chase..more like speed crawl right to her!

You are finally getting more into food. This past month has been a learning process for you. Honestly I think you could care less what and if you eat! But, you are finally getting better and are at least smacking your cute lips when I put you into your chair when it's time to eat. You LOVE veggies and are not a big fan of fruit which is totally crazy! Your favorites are Peas, sweet potatoes, squash and green beans. We have tried pears, mangos, bananas, apples. You do love prunes which is hillarious! I wouldn't mind if you kept this up with your veggies. How awesome would that be?!

You are still sleeping great and are a pretty good napper as well. So thankful for that! You don't have another check up until 9 months so daddy weighed you and you are 17 lbs! You haven't gained but a couple of ounces since your last apt. I am betting that you moving around CONSTANTLY has something to do with that. ;) I wish that is all I had to do! ;)

We are still so in love with you. Your daddy and I are crazy about you! We are so excited that this Christmas you are with us and are looking forward to making so many memories with you my love. :)

 Those cheeks are so kissable!

I have a feeling this is the face I will get when he's a teenager, ha!

Half a year!

It is crazy to think that I have a six month old now! To think I had a baby six months ago is totally weird. I say this every post but time has flown by.



Our monthly signs have to be up out of reach now. Too much fun to leave alone. ;)

Westin you are 16 lbs & 9 oz (30th percentile) & 27 3/8 inches tall (75 percentile). You are a tall boy! That is the first comment I almost always hear. How tall he is and how much he looks like his daddy. ;)

Can I just say my little Westinator you are so fun! This month you are SO active. You roll all over the place. You plank! This is soo funny. You are always in the push up position and you hold it for so long! Your daddy and I have no clue how you do it for so long! This past week you have started getting on all fours and even rocking back and forth a little. I predict by Christmas you will be crawling! Then our real parenting skills will have to come out! Ha!



Here you are "planking" with Daddy. ;)

You are sleeping great in your crib. You wake up once or twice at night sometimes and I have to pull you down back to the center of your crib because you scoot up all the way to where your little head is pushed up against the railing. You sleep about 11 hours at night. We are very thankful for that! My favorite time is first thing in the morning when I go to get you out of your crib. I know you are mine, but you ARE the cutest baby ever created! You get soo excited when we walk in your room. You giggle and give the biggest toothy grin! I love it!

Yes, I said that right. Teeth. The kid already has two bottom teeth! Crazy. Teething wasn't too bad. Some restless nights and boom there they were. We started solids when you turned 6 months. It's only been a few days and so far all you have had is sweet potatoes. You like them the most when I mix it with your rice cereal.

Here are some more pictures from this month!



This one makes me laugh!



Hands down, my favorite face you make! I call this "bird face". Too cute!

Sitting up like a big boy!

And this is what happens when you take away the monthly sign that was sitting beside him! Ha!





A Father's Love...

Do you ever feel that your thoughts are just better written out? Probably. I'm guessing a lot of us 'bloggers' feel that way. No worries. Not a mommy post. But, sort of in relation to. I can't help it. I live and breath it daily, it happens. :)

There have been many times where I have felt the love of God. Through blessings, healings, worship, friendship, during quiet times etc. I know that we have a God who loves us more than we can ever fathom. But, sometimes our feeble minds can't truly comprehend just how much. I am not sure we ever will. No matter what we do, where we have been, the choices we have made-there is a God who will love us no matter what, under no condition.

I have heard in the past that sometimes we don't fully understand the love of God until we have children of our own. Not to say that if you don't have any yet, you can't understand. Just that a child can help put things in different perspective in such a way that you have experienced a love you didn't know you could carry. I have found this in my own life.

This morning, at an insane hour my husband was off to work early to meet his boss. When I say early I mean like no sun shining...barely any cars on the road early. :) Me thinking I have an entire bed to myself to stretch back into dream land, I am awakenend by a cute but very talkative little boy jibbering over a monitor. I wait. Hopefully thinking he will drift back off. No such luck. So, in my hopes to keep the slumbering at bay, I quickly walk into his room and give him his pacifier. Only to find the poor boy soaked. Yep. Through his PJs and sheets. Darn you huggies. I trusted you!

Fastforward. I put Westin in our bed, hoping we both would just fall back asleep. Nope. So, I started my day. As my dad used to say Geese to Geese. Not sure if that's a French saying or not. But, it just means..shucks, darn..."are you kidding me!!!" I'm sure you get it. ;)

So I went ahead and fed him. All the while, the whole time he is eating sweet boy just keeps touching my face with his sweet chubby little hands. *insert pure mommy happiness overload!*  Gets me every time. I'm easy what can I say.

Thoughts of just pure joy and grattitude enter my heart as I hold my baby. I love this kid with a love I didn't know I could carry. Now, I love my husband too. He taught me a lot about unselfish love. But, O to the M to the G. I love this kid with every ounce of my being. Being covered in his vomit or *ahem* poo- phases me none. Now, when he is older that will probably change, ha! But for now it's baby vomit and his cuteness overrides any grossness.

Back to my point. As much as I love this boy, nothing he can do will ever change that. Sure, when he gets older he may test every boundary he's given. I will always love him. Always. Even if he looks me straight in the face and is flat out disrespectful. I will still love him.

I got to thinking...God loves me more than I love my son. Ya'll that is a lot. God loves us more than we do our own children. To me, it is completely mind blowing. No matter what I do. He loves me. He hold us in His arms while he burps..uh I mean pats our backs ;) and whispers in our ears, "I love you, I love you, I love you." Even if we can't comprehend like my son can't when I do. He still says it over and over. One day we will learn to listen and hear it. It is a sweet thing to know that you are loved by someone.

 He wipes us clean from time to time. He feeds us. He embraces us. He loves us more and more each day. The sight of our faces brings a smile to His face. Just like we love our children, He actually loves us more.

So today? Know that you have a Father who loves you. A Father who loves to see you grow. A Father that wants you to run to him when you fall and scrape your knee. Just so He can scoop you up and whisper I love you, I love you, I love you.

Five Months!

Westin you are five months! I am a little late getting this up. Better late than never!

He looks like he is showcasing himself! ha!



Love his baby blues. :)

Some highlights this month..

• You are my serious little thinker child. You take a while to warm up to people but, you will flash a smile! You do this really cute thing and tuck down your head like you are so shy when people talk to you! I love it, so sweet!
• You are an official crib sleeper! I think this was harder on me than you! Since we moved you, you have been sleeping like a champ! You usually go to bed around 8:30 and you sleep til 7-7:30am! Momma finally has her sleep back! Woo to the Hoo! ;)
• You aren't a fan of rice cereal. So we are going to wait.
• You are a rolling machine for the most part. At night I will wake up and look at the monitor and you are sleeping on your tummy lots!
• You will grab and reach for EVERYTHING. My phone, coffee, whatever. I need to be careful!
• You love Maggie Moo. You will pet and smack her. :)
• You giggle all the time. I love it so much.
• You love peek a boo. You just laugh each time we pop up and startle you!

You are so fun. Your personality shines these days. I love it so much! I can't believe you are on your way to being a whole half year already! Say what?! How in the world did that happen?

We love you so much our little Westinator! ;)

• 

Pun'kin Patch!

Before we had the little Mr. JC and I would totally go to festivals, tree farms at Christmas, and little farms to pick fresh fruit, etc. We would always say we couldn't wait to have little ones to bring with us one day and do family things like this! So thankful that this year we totally have a cutie pie to take with us. Granted he will remember none of it, I was so excited to get pictures of him! I took a lot, here is just a few! :)

I think his eyes, minus the eyebrows look like my dad in this pic!

His face in this one cracks me up!

We had a really good time. No it wasn't chilly at all. Boo. Come on cold weather, please come and visit us!

I love my serious little toot. I should totally do a post of the "many faces of Westin!" ha!

Year Six

It has been that long. Six years ago, life was pretty good! I had met this wonderful man who had been orchestrated into my life at the most perfect time. We were in love and inseperable. With years of my family life not being entirely interesting. My life suddenly had gotten so different.

I don't like to think of this time in particular. Mainly because it's hard. Six years ago my dad entered heaven. With all of my heart, I believe Jesus excepted him with open arms that day. No one likes to remember, for good reason, the time of life when you lost someone so precious to you.

Certain songs bring me back there. Particular places spark a thought and suddenly there you are in the midst of that awful moment again. A moment that you were so unprepared for. A moment that changed everything.

It was hard. Life was confusing. Life was getting really good and suddenly everything that I knew became so blurry. My focus was shot. Even those of us who are strong, break and become weak.

The Lord was there though. Through the entire process. I can remember feeling a peace that I couldn't understand why I had during such a heart breaking time. Why? Why am I not crying and losing it as much as everyone else? Not that I didn't. I can remember driving my dads truck the night of his passing back to our house. Screaming. Litterally. At the top of my lungs. Tears. Me violently shaking while, driving. Definitely probably shouldn't have been driving, now that I think of it. But, my world had been shaken to the core. I had never before experienced anything like this. Ever.

But, somehow in the midst of it all I could see the Lords face. I felt His presence ever so near to me. I cried out and He was faithful. Was it hard? Yes. Life became different. You see and feel things differently when things like this happen.

I can look back now and see the blessings that came from it. I can see how the Lord was with me. He gave me my husband. Poor guy had NO idea what to say or do. But, all that he did was perfect. I can't imagine what or how I would have handled it, would roles have been reversed. He held me as I cried into his arms not sure how to respond. He cried with me. He was a big source of Joy in my life at that time. That was Gods blessing to me. He knew that I would need his freindship and love.

The Lord comforts us during hard times. He is always faithful. Always. Even with six years being passed. I still miss my dad. I miss hearing his voice. I hope that I never forget what it sounds like. I miss the way he would walk by and reach out his hand, just so I would grab it. I miss his goofy laugh. I miss his tender heart and the way that he would cry when he was proud of me. I miss that he wasn't able to walk me down the aisle at my wedding. Now, I miss that Westin never got the chance to know his little Frenchmen of a Grandpa. My dad was a good Grandpa. I miss him. That will never change. Each year as this time comes I am reminded of a dad who loved his kids with all that he had. A man who was genuinely kind and funny. A man who really was a good father. I am also reminded that God never leaves us or forsakes us when we need Him the most. He is always there waiting to embrace us.

Love you and miss you dad!

Four Months!

Westin you are four months old! This past month has gone by so quickly, my son.

Some of your stats:

Weight: 14 lbs and 4 oz 49%

Height: 26.5 Inches! (you grew 3 inches in 2 months!) 90%

Head: 15 7/8 inches 50%

Eating: This month we have (finally) gone up to 5-5 1/2 oz per feeding. Sometimes you will eat 6 ounces, but that is it. You are still soley on breastmilk except for one feeding. You are not the biggest eater, you never have been. Sometimes this makes me a nervous wreck because I want to make sure you eat all that you need to. The doctor says you are perfect though and gaining just as you should. You just don't have the biggest appetite. You typically don't even cry to tell us when you are hungry. You eat every 3-4 hours. Except at night of course. We can introduce rice cereal if we want to, but because you seem satisfied with the breastmilk, I am not in any hurry to.

Sleep: Oh, glorious little sleeper you are! We have finally really got into a good groove this past month, hallelujah! Bedtime is 8-8:30. You go to bed no later than 9. This month I am seriously considering seeing if I can push up your bedtime to 7:30. We shall see. You typically wake up between 6-7 am for your morning feeding. You are all smiles when we come to get you up! You are also a good little napper. You usually will talk yourself to sleep which is by far the cutest little thing to hear!

Play: We still do plenty of tummy time. I think you love this more than anything. You can roll from your back to your side, almost all of the way. But, when you are on your tummy-you always roll on to your back. When you first started doing this you would get mad! You didn't like it at all which was funny! You grab at EVERYTHING! When I am holding things, you want to see it! You love to look at your little teether books. You sit in your bumbo and also play in your excersaucer!

Personality: I can truly say that as a mom, this is my favorite thing to see! I love that your sweet personality is coming alive! You smile all of the time now! All I have to do is look at you and grin, and you will give me one right back! You are super tickleish. You giggle and grunt with a big smile when I tickle you. You get so excited when daddy or I come over to you. You kick, throw your arms around and get big happy eyes! You also jibber jabber con-stant-ly! If I am in the store, when you are tired, when you play, sometimes when I am trying to feed you, you will look up and just coo like you need to tell me something at that moment! I.love.it. : ) You have become so social lately. I hope it grows even more! I want you to love everyone! You still love you some bath time. You will kick and splash now. I can already see the future and in a couple of months I just know that we will be completely soaked after baths. ;)

You truly are the sweetest baby. You typically don't cry, unless you are irritated with something. When you are mad-you.are.mad You can get a little att-ti-tude at times. Not sure who you get that from! ;) You really are easy going baby though. I love being your mama. I love seeing you grow and learn. But, at the same time it makes me sad to think at how fast it truly goes by.

We.love.you.more.than.you.will.ever.know.

Hello there Mr.Turtle.

Three Months!

Westin you are three months old! My has time seriously flown by! You are the sweetest boy and each day my love for you grows even more!

This month you have started sleeping so good! Up until this week you were still getting up once to eat around 3-4am. But, this week you surprised mommy and slept til 8:30-5:45am! I was shocked and so excited! The next night you did it again and slept till 5am! Last night, you got up around 4 again. So, you are still trying to work it out. But, progress has been made and I couldn't be happier! You still sleep in the co-sleeper next to our bed. We have bath time every night around 8. I lotion you up, put you in your PJs, feed you and you are in bed usually by 9. I can lay you down wide awake and you usually never make a peep. You know it is bed time! I have started putting you in your crib during naps and you really are doing great! I give all credit to the sound machine we have. I must mention that after we give you your early morning feeding, you go back to sleep. I have to wake you up every morning! I swear you would just keep sleeping if I let you!

You love tummy time still. You can be tempermental sometimes about your play mat. I think you have a love hate relationship with it. :) You love your bouncy chair. I am not sure what we would do with out that thing! By far my favorite must have mommy item. You sit in it everyday so mommy can get a shower, fix her hair and get dressed. Thankfully you love to listen to the hairdryer. However when I put on my make up, you always start fussing! Typical man.. ;) I guess I am taking too long to get ready!

You started to sit in your Bumbo chair. You only last about 5 minutes or so, then you are done. You love to be faced out when we hold you, so you can look at everything. You are still fascinated at Maggie. You always just stare when she comes near you. I am not a fan of the doggie kisses all over baby thing, so mommy usually doesn't let her get too close. I know eventually I will have to get over it though, because you will be chasing her. Sigh. Maggie really loves you though!

You have gotten much better about eating. You don't take forever to eat anymore, which is great! You are still at about 4.5 ounces per feeding every 3-4 hrs. I have tried to offer you more and you are not interested. You will roll the bottle on your toungue and act like you have never used one before! That is how we know you are full. Your new thing is you have started to squeal when it is time to burp in the middle of feedings. You get so mad at us! You just want to keep eating!

You look SO much like your daddy. :)

You sitting up in your Bumbo! You look so big already. :(

You were also dedicated this month back to the Lord!

Westin we absolutely adore you being in our lives and can't imagine you not in it! We love you little man!

Love,

Your Mama

Taco Pizza!

mmmm...

Image via Pioneer Woman

This is "our" new go to recipe! I just decided on it, ha! The other night I wanted to make something uber easy. With an almost 3 month old, time is of the essence these days. I found this recipe by the Pioneer Woman and it is SO good and easy which is just what I need! It is also fairly healthy! This is a great meatless dinner, so no laying out meat and hardly any prep needed!

To make this scrumptious dish you need:

1 can of black beans

1 pkg of Taco Seasoning

Pizza dough (you can make your own or use a pre-made)

Bunch of lettuce chopped thin

Fresh tomatoes diced

Bunch o' Cilantro!.. For me, the more the better!

Tortilla chips...She made fresh ones...I'm lazy ;)

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt which is what I used

Tabasco or hot any hot sauce

Make your pizza dough or get out your pre-made one and spread it out on your pan.

Get your undrained black beans and cook them on medium heat in a sauce pan.

Once heated through, smash them all up!

Mix in the taco seasoning and let them cook a little longer until they are a "refried bean" texture.

Dice up your tomatoes, lettuce and cilantro.

Mix up some of your sour cream and hot sauce

Spread your black beans evenly over pizza crust and sprinkle on the cheese. Bake in oven around 400 degrees. Her recipe said 500 degrees, but mine started burning, so I lowered it a tad. :)

It's done when the crust looks golden brown and cheese is melted.

Put on your lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro and tortilla chips.

Then for my favorite part...drizzle on the sour cream or plain yogurt hot saucey goodness all over it!

Lastly..eat all of that yumminess up!!

I have been trying to really eat clean and healthy lately and this recipe is truly scrumptious!  You can make it even healthier by using the plain yogurt in place of sour cream and even using a wheat pizza crust. I also used the blue corn tortilla chips which worked beautifully as well.

Seriously soo good!

Happy Pizza Eating!

Mommy Insecurities...

I know that I am not the only one who has struggled with these feelings. I have taken care of babies my entire life. When my little brother was born, I was 8 years old. My mom used to call me and my older sister, Josh's "little mothers". It is still weird, mind you, when I look at him now almost 19, and think I used to change his diapers. Weird. I feel old.

Anywho, taking care of kids, changing diapers...nothing new to me. But, when you have your own? All of these simple tasks feel so daunting at first. Did I put his diaper too tight? Is the baby too hot? Too cold? Did he get enough to eat? Does he have gas? Is he hungry again? Why is he crying?

Oh, to remember that first week. Pure Joy. Annnnddd. Pure stress. Now? I am glad to say that I think, I got this mommy thing down. Hardy Har! ;) It is definitely a learning experience. I love that for the most part, just by looking at my little man, I can tell what he needs. Not all of the time. But most. I can tell when he is tired and needs some mama time. (I secretly love that sometimes he just wants his mama!) I can tell which cry means what. Irritated cry? Bored cry? Tired cry? Plain just ticked off cry? Yeah, when you are with them all day...you just know.

These days, I am still learning about my boy daily. But, I think of the future. The kids of this generation seem like they are dealing with a lot more trivial of things than we did as kids. No? I stress to think of the things he will face as a young person. All of these things which I cannot control, get me thinking.

With all of these fleeting thoughts. I have to remember that the Lord chose me and JC to be Westin's parents. I am the best mom for Westin. JC is the best dad for Westin. He thinks we are capable. With His guidance on everything, He thinks we got this! I am so thankful that I don't have to try and figure things out on my own, you know? Now, I am sure challenging times will come. Scratch that. I know they will come. But, it is good to know the Lord is on our side. He brought Westin in this world for His purpose. It is JC's and my responsibility to help lead, guide and prayerfully parent Him back into the arms of the Lord. When I was pregnant with Westin. I felt the Lord show me some of the ways He might use him. I can't wait to see the man of God He will become. I look forward to the moment when He asks for Jesus to become a part of his heart. That will be the BEST day!

In the mean time. Even with all of the newness of being a mom. Trying to figure it out and still becoming confident in the mom that I am. I must remember. God felt that I am the best mom for Westin. In that, I am honored. In that, I am confident. :)

Thankful Thursday...

I am so thankful for a very supportive husband. He is such a good dad to our boy.
I am thankful for morning coffee and fat free French Vanilla creamer.
I am thankful that finally after 5 years of marriage, I am being serious about menu planning.
I am thankful for my vacuum. No matter how dirty the house is, if I vacuum, I feel like it's clean.
I am thankful for daily outings. Even if it's just to go to Sonic Happy hour.

And finally...I am thankful for this sweet boy. He brings pure joy to our little family.

Two Months!

Westin is two months now! Where has the time gone?! It's weird, it feels like he has been with us forever. Yet, at the same time it is hard to believe he is already two whole months. We love you little guy. I stare at you sometimes and still can't get over that you are mine. That I get to keep you! You are by far the best gift I have been blessed with!

Some stats at your two month appointment:

Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz
Height: 23 5/8 "
Head Circ: 15 1/8 "

You are such a sweet and happy baby. You are full of smiles from the moment you wake up! You used to make us work so hard for one, but now you give them freely. :) When you get REALLY excited you kick your feet so fast and get this look on your face, like you are going to start blowing bubbles. It is THE cutest face ever! You have really found your voice this month and gurgle and coo at us when we play with you. You LOVE bath time! You get the most serious face and raise your eyebrows the entire time, with a half smirk. It makes daddy and I laugh! You hate getting out of the bath. Being cold makes you really mad and you tell me how much you despise it, with the way you fuss at me! You love being naked! (As long as it's not right after your bath!) Getting your diaper changed is a highlight to your day! ha! You just lay there and get so excited and talk to me the ENTIRE time!

You got your first set of shots. It was so sad. Mommy hated to see you cry. So, she cried too. We both sat there and cried together! If you were older, I probably would have went and got you ice cream afterwards.

You are still an extremely lazy eater. It takes you a while sometimes to finish a feeding. But, you are getting better. You are at about 4 1/2 oz per feeding. But, even this is sometimes too much for you. You eat every 3-4 hours. You get one formula feeding a day. The rest is the liquid gold-breastmilk! Mommy tries very hard to keep up with you! ;)

You love your binky. You still sleep a lot. Your last feeding is typically around 10pm and you are out the moment your head hits your bed. You get up between 3-4 for your mid night feeding and then lately you have been sleeping til 7:30! Which mommy loves! ;)

You are such a joy! We never knew the kind of love we could experience until you joined us! We love you Little Man!

 

His serious "bath face" that we get the ENTIRE time! ha!

 It may not look like it, but he LOVES his bath!

 

He likes tummy time!

The doctor said he is doing great with his neck muscles!

 

I seriously can't get enough of this little boy! :)

One Month!

I want so badly to be a good scrapbooker. I am just not though. But, because I don't want to forget all of the important milestones and sweet things our little guy does. I am going to keep track on the good ole blog. I will try to keep it up, becasue it truly is an extremely easy way to document these memories! So here goes his first!

Weight: 9lbs 7oz

Since, I am writing this a month later. I will try to remember. So, lets just start from the beginning! The first month was a hard one! Mainly because we have never done this before! Mommy had a hard time breastfeeding you because you are one LAZY eater! So, mama pumps and gives you all that she has! Bottles turned out to be a great thing for you, that way mama could see how much you are eating. As a first time mommy, this was the MOST stressful thing. Especially since you are such a lazy eater, I would have had to walk around with you permenantly attached to me if not, becuause you acted like you were never full! You are a very easy going baby. We still breastfeed a little. Use bottles. You will do it all like a champ!

In the beginning you had a fussy time that would start sometimes around 9pm and last until midnight some nights. We never knew when it would hit! To protect you from germies, mommy kept you inside all day! This was pretty hard for mommy.Since, she is used to being on the go! But, you are worth it. You did go on DAILY trips to sonic for happy hour though! That was mommy's only outing for a really long time! :)

This first month has been the hardest. But the greatest! I can't believe how great of a blessing you have been to us!

Baby Moon...

This past weekend we went on a very breif but fantastic getaway trip! I was so looking forward to it, we both needed it. We got a fantastic deal on a hotel and just went for it! We had such a good time! We went to Dallas and spent most of our time near Southlake. Which is such a nice area. I could seriously live there! There was also the sweetest little town called Grapevine near there and we spent a lot of time there too.

I got my very first massage over the weekend. Oh my word. In love. That is me. Why have I not done that sooner! By far the best money ever spent! Ha! We also went and visited Gateway church which was fun! But, I am so ready to see my home church family. When you find the right church, you miss everyone so much, just when you miss one little service!







How cute is this caricature?! There was a sweet old lady named Cynthia in an ice cream shop who did them for cheap so we had to get one! She made me pregnant with our little guys name if you look closely. ;) Of course we asked her to put in our litte Magsters, she is our first baby.




Hanging out at the Beach...

We live near a beach. I wouldn't call Galveston the prettiest. But, at least we have one right? A couple of weeks ago we went and spent some time in the sun! No, I didn't get in. The water was fa-reez-ing! We just relaxed, listened and reminisced. Mainly about how we used to skip classes in our college days (*shock-gasp*) to come here and just be together. We were so young and in love! Ha! We realized the next time we go there, we will have an additional sweetie pie to take with us! It's so weird how time flies and things change, but in such a fun new way!



At 31 wks pregnant with our little guy. :)



A very rare occasion of a body shot! Ha!



Getting Crafty...

So, in my much spare time these days. I read a lot of blogs. I love getting decorating ideas or just craft ideas. While the nursery has been my main focus. Which is on its way to being finished. Yay! I came across this lamp shade idea. I wish I could remember where I saw it at, so I could give credit to them, but I can't remember.

Also, because I am a horrible documenter when it comes to these things. Sorry to say I don't have detailed how to pictures. I get too excited while I am doing it. All the while thinking I need to go get my camera, but I never do! Oops.

So, materials needed include:
an old lamp shade
Burlap material in your favorite shade, I am sure you could use any fabric & it would look great!
Glue gun
a TON of glue sticks
Scissors
Iron

To get started you take your material or Burlap in my case and cut strips of fabric in the desired width you want. Keep in mind, you will be folding the fabric long ways and pressing it with your iron. The longer the piece the better it worked for me.

Once fabric is pressed, lay aside. You will then cover the entire lampshade with another piece of your material and glue it to the shade. I just traced my shade onto the fabric, then cut it out and glued it on the shade. Make sure you glue the edging to the top and bottom of the shade for a nice clean look. For this project I did two lampshades and bought a yard and a half of my burlap and it seemed to be plenty.

You next will begin gluing the pressed pieces of fabric in a squiggly pattern onto the shade. Make sure you put glue on the pressed side seam of the fabric. It will give it a more three dimensional look this way.

You go around the shade until finished, filling in any gaps you think look bare. I found that you can't really mess it up or put too much fabric. That is why I LOVED this project. It was a little time consuming, but well worth the wait! You will also burn your fingers a bajillion times! Also if you use burlap, you will soon find that burlap is NO FUN TO CUT!  It is extremely messy, the fibers get everywhere including up your nose! haha!

So the finished product???

Cute, huh?! It is so different looking and I love it! I just know that if you had a funky lamp base in a fun color, you could sell these at a cute boutique for a pretty penny! Even the hubs liked them. The whole project only cost me the fabric! Me likey for sure. ;)

Happy Crafting!