Silly Girl

This... is a YAWN...

This... is a SNEEZE...


I just had to share!
hee hee

Have a nice Weekend!

Picture Day!

I didn't feel much like thinking of something to post today...
so I thought I'd share some pictures/captions from the past few days!

This was a picture I took of Eloise on the 23rd when she was officially 6 months old!

Lounging around on the couch....

Such a big girl! Seems like earlier this month I was wondering if she'd ever sit up on her own... and the next thing I knew... BAM! She just started doing it and she LOVES it! We still put her in the Bumbo Seat sometimes - but I guess she doesn't really need it anymore!

Boo lives with my in laws now... she's been a big morale booster for them as my Father in Law has gone through his chemo, etc. She does come home now and then to visit... but seems to go back to their house more than stay here at ours. I miss her... but I know that they need her. Maybe she'll live here again some day (I hope!!)... so that Eloise can grow up with her as "her" dog.

Cory's dad is soooo good with El! :)
I am so thankful that they can't find any cancer on his latest scans!
I want Eloise to grow up knowing her Pop pop and Pappy!
(My dad and Cory's)

Eloise helped me open presents on my birthday! It was a nice day. The weather was pretty mild compared to the SWELTERING heat we'd had last week! I went to my neighbors to visit and she gave me cake... then we had Chinese for dinner... then MORE cake! (Then more cake the next day!) I am not used to all of the sugary (and greasy) food.... lets just say I didn't feel good the day after my birthday!! Blech!

This is the book Cory got me (among other things!)...

My in laws came to give me presents and eat cake... and they used some ribbons on my presents... so after Eloise ate her Carrots (hence the orange-tinted face)... I couldn't resist giving her pigtails! HAHA!


And finally... I just love her expression in this one!
Love this girl!

It's nice to have a simple birthday with the ones you love!
And yesterday, my mom and sister and her kids came out to
celebrate with me again.
(since I wasn't feeling too hot... they came to me instead of me driving out to them!)
It was nice!

Thank you for the Birthday Wishes!!

Oh Eloise!

(P.S. - Tomorrow is my birthday!)

Yummy Recipes!

I have mentioned in the past couple of months (especially since Cory's dad found out he had cancer) that our family is trying to get away from white sugar and white flour. It's not as hard as I'd expected. You do have to give up certain things... but there are also tasty alternatives you can make yourself! And isn't it so much nicer knowing what goes INTO your food... rather than buying something in a box and not being able to pronounce most of the ingredients?? I think so!!

(And I must admit... I HAVE cheated off and on... but then I always feel crappy afterward!)

Last week, a nice old couple from church gave us this HUGE zucchini. I don't know about you... but I think the bigger a veggie is... the more bland it tastes. So, I decided to make some zucchini bread. The only recipes I had were regular ones calling for white flour and white sugar. So... off to Google-Land I went... and found this great website called HEAVENLY HOMEMAKERS! Maybe you are familiar with it! There are a lot of great recipes that I want to try from this site... and so far I have made the YUMMY whole wheat and honey zucchini bread.... and just this morning I made the homemade poptarts. Just a tip for the poptarts... make sure you roll the dough out pretty thin or your ratio of jam to dough will be off! I did that on a few... however I don't mind them being more "doughy".

I encourage you to check the site out! I haven't had time to browse all of the recipes... but what I've seen so far looks good and uses healthier ingredients!


I'm leaving you with this sweet pic of El and my sister's boys from last week! I'm going to go enjoy listening to the much needed rain while playing with my sweet baby girl!

Happy Monday!!

Happy Half-Birthday Baby!

Eloise is 6 months old today...
I wanted to sit down and write a long post about all of
the things she is doing (like sitting up and squealing uncontrollably--which is hilarious)...
but I am having a hard time typing through blurry vision
as the tears just won't stop coming.

How did this happen already?
Why does the time have to go so fast?
I am with this sweet baby all of the time...
and yet I feel like I'm missing it all!

I never imagined it would be this hard to watch your baby grow.
A mix of sadness and excitement all in one!

Sometimes I just want to turn back the clock...
I spent the first 2 months totally stressed out with the newness of it all...
(not to mention the problems I had nursing)
I wish I could have a do-over...

But... I suppose, instead of sitting here blubbering about it,
I should pull myself together so that I can smother her
with affection when she wakes up from her nap!!



Happy 6 Months, Eloise!
You are the sunshine in our lives!
We love you!

CANCER FREE!!!

My husband's dad just got word today that he is CANCER FREE!
He still has the tumor... but tests show that the cancer is gone!
He will have surgery in August to remove the tumor... and also a follow up
round of chemo therapy to make sure that everything is free and clear!

PRAISE GOD!!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Current Happenings!

Life has been so busy lately.

There aren't enough hours in the day to do everything and
then even thinking of blogging!!

The summer is flying... and it has been HOT lately!
WHEW!

A neighbor gave us a huge zucchini and I found
a "healthy" recipe that I hope to try today or
tomorrow at some point!
If it's good, I'll share the recipe!

Boo had to go to the vet... she has some sort
of allergy that is making her miserable.
She can't even sleep because she is constantly
getting up to scratch. She doesn't have fleas
or anything... so they did some blood
tests to try to pinpoint her problem and
see if we can get her some relief!
Poor pup!

Eloise is doing well! She is sitting up now!
(We have to sit her up... but she balances herself pretty well!)

We were able to visit with my cousin on Monday.
She lives in Arizona, so it was the first time she
met Eloise!


Later on... Eloise and I went to visit my grandma
in the nursing home. My aunt was there and
was trying to get my grandma to open her
eyes to see Eloise jumping on the bed.
But... she didn't.

I got this really sweet picture though!


Update on Cory's dad...
Though it's not official because the doctor got called away...
the nurse said that the tumor shrank!!
He still has a couple of spots on his lungs and a lymph node...
but they aren't necessarily cancerous.
(They didn't test them)
As of right now, he is able to have surgery in August!
Thank you for your prayers!

I am off to take care of the chickens while the baby is
still napping!

I hope you're all enjoying your summer!

Sad Day

It was a tough decision...
but it was one that I had to make on my own.

I am selling my 56" Macomber Loom.

(Don't mind the hideous linoleum floor)

I have had this beast for about 8 or 9 years.
I have used it maybe 3 times.
I always had good intentions.
I wanted to weave scarves and rugs and blankets...
but it was always too daunting a task.
You have to be able to devote time to it...
and when I was working a full time job...
time was nonexistent.
When I was pregnant... I sure as heck didn't have
the energy to tackle a project.
And now... with an almost 6 month old...
it's just too much again.

And it monopolizes most of my dining room.
The thing is HUGE.

So... today, I posted a couple of FOR SALE
listings on some local sites.

And the wait begins.

I am making a frowny face right now...
but selling is the right thing to do.

I really do enjoy weaving.... but I also
would like to have a dining room table sometime
in the near future!!

Maybe someday I'll have a house with
my very own art/craft room... and
I'll be able to buy a smaller (more practical) loom.
((I can dream, can't I?))

Maybe my "sad day" will turn into my "someday" one day!! :)

Sweet Eloise

Please visit my sister's blog:
"The Country Blossom"
to see more pictures from our "impromptu"
photo shoot this past weekend! :)

Shout Out!

I would like to wish my beautiful niece, Madelyn, a very...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
The big 1-0!
WOOT!

(Look how little you were here! heehee!)

We love you!!!

Photo Shoot: BUST! - or was it?

Well, if you saw my last post... this would be the post I was going to reveal what the heck those pictures were about. I guess I still am going to... just not in the way I expected!

Back when Eloise was just about to turn 3 months old, I had contacted someone I went to high school with who does photography on the side. The plan was to get some "not-so-newborn" photos of Eloise... since she was already kind of getting out of the newborn stage. Time and time again, plans fell through. Since we wanted to do shots outside, we were kind of dependent on the weather, which -of course- was RAIN, RAIN, RAIN almost every weekend. Then, wedding season started and I sure as heck didn't want to get in the way of this gal booking wedding gigs. So... we finally settled on July 9th.

Guess what? We were all ready to go... just waiting for the clock to tick down the time... and I got a text saying that the photographer was sick.

GREAT.

To say I was bummed is an understatement. I had been looking forward to getting some nice shots of Eloise for literally... MONTHS. Not that each picture we get every day isn't special... but something a little more "professional" was what I was hoping for. Not to mention, my mom and I spent a whole day working on a dress for me... and I spent THE NEXT DAY working on a dress for El! A lot of work... seemed like a shame that it would go to waste, in a sense.
Since it was a No-Go... I called my sister to whine about it to her.

To my surprise, she was kid-free for a little bit... and offered to come out and take some pictures for us! I wasn't so sure at first... since it wasn't "professional"... but then I thought... WHAT THE HECK!? WHY NOT! So we made arrangements.

Here are some of the pictures that Cory and I took- after being tweaked a little, of course! I have to get the ones from my sister... and I'll post those another time!

Warning: Picture Overload!

Not too shabby for a regular OLD Canon camera! :)
(Not sure why some of the pics look grainy... they are only like that on Blogger... not on my computers picture files! Oh well!)

A Little Something to Look Forward to!

Here's a sneak peek of something special....

Stay tuned for the final reveal!!!
(Maybe in a few days or so)

Water Baby!

Eloise loves the bath... she cried the first time, probably from shock, but hasn't cried since. Water in her eyes and all! She really loves to be in the water.


I have been wanting to get her out into the kiddie pool, but was waiting until Cory had some free time to share in the moment. I purchased a pool that was WAY too big... but today, Cory put a little bit of water in it (from the hose... Brrr!!)... and Eloise and I put on our bathing suits! Ok, technically, she was just in a swimmie diaper... but she's a baby, so it's cute!


I am hoping to get her in a real pool sometime this summer, but we'll see.

Here are a few more pictures from this past weekend...

Eloise was in the carrier I made, while I was hanging up clothes on the line.


We attended a beautiful wedding on Saturday...

Eloise and mommy before the wedding...


Eloise and daddy at the wedding... she zonked out!


A Sunday afternoon visit with some friends...


And a quick visit from Grammie and Pappy...


I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Please keep Cory's dad in your thoughts and prayers as they meet with the surgeon tomorrow!