Lyrics of the Day

Praise Him, praise Him,
All you little children,
God is love, God is love.
Praise Him, praise Him,
All you little children,
God is love, God is love.

Thank you, Jesus, for the abundant blessings you have poured down on Cade. I am so eternally grateful for the progress he's made. I give ALL the glory to You. Job 8:21 says, "God will let you laugh again; you'll raise the roof with shouts of joy." Father, they will here me shouting on the other side of the Earth when Cade is recovered! I will always proclaim of Your mercy and goodness and Your faithfulness. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.


***Putting language together and having it sound "normal" is something that is a little bit of a challenge for my son. Lately he has been saying more and more things that are just so amazing. For instance, last night he was playing Ratatouille and getting a bit frustrated. He said, "stupid crab!" I giggled a little because it reminded me of his dad (lol) and Cade looked right at me with a pout and said, "stop laughing about it." May not seem like much, but let me tell you, that was HUGE! Such a typical 7 year old moment. I can't praise God enough for His blessings!

Catch-up

A momma tomato and a kid tomato were walking together down the street. What did the momma tomato say to the kid tomato when he was lagging behind? Ketchup! lol

I haven't posted in forever. Been so busy. Actually, posting and reading other blogs was taking up a big chunk of my time so I had to take a short break to focus on other things. Balance is the main thing I crave in life and balance is the hardest for me to obtain. I tend to get a bit "obsessed" with things. :)


So, last week I really focused on homeschooling with Cade. I found tons of awesome blogs that have activities but they're mainly geared toward preschool age. Cade's 7 and quite bright so I ended up using the hands-on activities but adjusting things so they were more at his level. I bought a white board and would make a list of "lessons and activities" that we were going to do that day and then he could check each one off as we completed them. Great idea--he loved it! And...he loved the fun activities so much that when we were done he wanted to do more. As a matter of fact, he said, "I can do school work forever!" So that kept me very busy. Here are a couple of the blogs I got ideas from: Adventures of a Flake and Hey, I'm Just the Nanny. Cute projects! So Cade's been learning but it takes a lot of time for me to decide what lessons we'll be learning and then plan the actual activities. Then I have to sit and do the projects with him. How wonderful it would be if he could sit and do independent work but that's just not the way he learns. Oh, and I bought these...they're so much fun! Cade loves to make up sentences, they're great for reading and will be perfect when we start working on nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. I highly recommend them!


Second new thing--we got a Wii! Finally. Cade decided he was tired of playing Ratatouille on the PS3 and wanted to play it on the Wii. His dad, who is a total sucker and loves showering Cade with gifts, and who wanted a Wii as well I'm sure, hopped right up, traded in the PS3 at GameStop and came home with a brand new Wii! We have the sports games that came with it but we haven't played them yet. We've been playing Ratatouille. It took me just a bit to get used to the controllers but now I love it! I can't wait to play bowling!


And this is my latest obsession. I never thought I'd hop on the bandwagon for this one because I'm really not that into vampires. I mean, they drink blood. Eww! Saturday, hubby rented Twilight and I watched it. It actually wasn't all that good. Kind of cheesy. But for some reason, it drew me in. I wanted to know more about the characters and more of the story. So Sunday after church we went to Barnes and Noble and I bought the first 2 books. I was finished with the first one on Monday and the 2nd one on Tuesday. Tuesday evening my husband brought home the next 2 books. I'm trying really hard *not* to finish the this book in one day. lol They're not great literary reads but there is something that just sucks you in (no pun intended!) and I cannot put these books down. I've been struggling with completing and entire book for a long time so it's nice to kind of get lost in a book again.

Last, but not least, my friend Monica over at Home is Where Your Heart Is have decided to really start scrapping again. We both used to live in Phoenix and our husbands worked together in the Air Force. Her older son is about a year and a half older than mine and her baby boy will be 5 months older than my baby girl. I miss her! :( She lives in Japan...kind of far. We used to scrapbook together and make altered art together. We would give each other challenges and it was a lot of fun. Anyway, we've decided to start doing challenges again and I'm really excited about it. We have our first one picked out and I'm going to make myself put my book down and work on scrapping today. I'll be sure to post the results soon!

And that's it, I think! Oh, I'll have to take a new belly shot on Friday. I'll be 24 weeks and my belly has gotten big! Miss thang likes to practice her kickboxing in my belly...lots of fun!

Taking a Short Break

I've been busy with homeschooling and life in general. I plan on enjoying my weekend with the hubby and Cade and I'll be back on Monday to post updates and pictures. Have a blessed weekend!

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Have you seen the movie 21? Love it!

So, here are the winners of my book giveaway. *I used random.org but I have no clue how to capture a screen shot so yall will just have to trust me!* ;)

The first # that came up was 28. Congrats Rachel from One Day at a Time--you won a copy of The Love Dare!

The second # that random.org gave me was 24. Congrats Shannon from Just a Girl--you won a copy of The Strong-Willed Wife!

Thanks to everyone else for stopping by and playing! Have a blessed weekend!

Shiners? Raccoon? Masked Super Hero?

What in the world made my crazy child think that using a marker to color his eyes purple was a good idea?! And look at that smug little expression on his face! {This happened on the same day that he stole my white, fuzzy craft fur that's about 3 feet long and stuck it between his hiney buns because he "wanted a tail"!!!!} Thank goodness for little boys and laughter! :)

I'm a Scrapper!

Back in the day (which would be oh, about 3-6 years ago), I was just a teeny bit addicted to scrapbooking. It was my passion. I absolutely loved it. I loved taking pictures and even journaling, but most of all, I loved putting a layout together. The sense of accomplishment I had after completing a page really gave me a rush. I was proud of my layouts and I thought they were pretty darn cute. I got so involved in it that I started designing layouts for a couple of design teams. I would submit my layouts to magazines and they would get published...I actually got paid to scrap! I was posting my layouts to online galleries where other scrappers would leave comments about them.

Then it happened. I started comparing my work to others. My "art" which I loved so much. I started to feel inferior. I wanted to measure up--to be as good as the "famous" scrappers. I started losing my mojo. I started disliking my layouts. Scrapbooking wasn't enjoyable anymore. So I quit. :( I took a very long break. Like an almost 3 year long break. I had no interest in scrapping. No desire.

A week or so ago, I happened to go through a couple of my old albums that are being stored at my mom's house for the time being. I truly enjoyed looking at my old layouts. They were cute! And the journaling...some of it actually brought tears to my eyes while some of it made me laugh out loud. I am so happy that I preserved those memories. I had actually forgotten some of those things. {Advice--write things down. You just know that you'll never forget it--but you will.}

So all this got me thinking. I haven't scrapped or journaled in a super long time. That's a lot of memories from my son's life that I've missed out on recording. I'm going to be having another baby soon. I've gotta get busy! I absolutely must start scrapping again. I have to. And this time, I will not compare myself to others. I will make layouts that I love...I will make layouts for myself and for my family. And I'll share a few of them here with my bloggy friends! No more trying to be as "good" as others. I want my hobby back!

In honor of that, I'll share a layout I put together yesterday. The pictures are of my son about 2 years ago. I love his dirty little pig face! And I'm happy to say that I actually loved creating this layout (super simple, just my style!). So, on this Thursday, the thing I love is scrapbooking!



I like this little meme. I get to think of all the things I'm appreciative of and then share one (or two!) with yall. See what everyone else loves over at The Diaper Diaries!

Gratituesday

I just read a fantastic interview over at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers with Stephen James and David Thomas, authors of the book Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys. I am so grateful for that interview. I really needed it. I've been struggling with myself lately, trying to decide what type of curriculum to start for Cade (we're homeschooling). He's been learning bits and pieces here and there every day but we haven't started anything formal yet. He absolutely hates sitting at the table and doing school work so I'm trying to find lessons that are hands-on. He needs to learn through doing and experiencing. I just sometimes doubt myself because that doesn't seem like "school" so much. This interview reassured me that I'm on the right track. Boys learn in a different way. They're kinesthetic learners and there's nothing wrong with that. My son definitely needs movement. He needs activity. He needs meaning to his learning, not just rote memorization. So, I'm grateful for the interview and the confirmation it gave me. And I'm eternally grateful for the chance I have to parent this amazing little boy of mine! What a blessing!

By the way, I haven't read the book yet but I'm going to...just ordered it from Amazon!

Crafty Tuesday

Sponsored by The Southern Housewife...check it out!

Sooo...I am not a seamstress. But I love sewing. I decided to make some burp cloths for the baby. I was inspired by these burpies made by Susan Weinroth. A-stinkin-dorable! Of course, mine looks like poo compared to hers. But I don't think the baby will mind. She'll be content to spit up on the pretty pattern! This first one was my practice burpie. I have some adorable {girly} fabrics ready to go to make some more. I'm afraid to use my best fabrics in case I mess up! Silly, I know. Anyway, here's my first burpie:



I think it turned out pretty cute! And it was really easy to make. I just sewed together 2 panels of fabric and then sewed it to a Gerber prefold (wrong sides together). Leave a small opening, turn right side out, and top stitch all the way around. Easy peasy!

SITS Giveaway!!

I'm participating in the Spring Fling over at The Secret is in the Sauce and I've decided to give away a couple of books! 2 winners! Woot woot! So enter the giveaway and take a few minutes to check out my blog. I promise you'll find some interesting stuff here...for instance, Spongebob taking a poop. I know you haven't seen that anywhere else! ;) Or maybe you need suggestions for toys. I can tell you the best toy ever and also the absolute worst toy ever! Have fun reading and I'm glad you're here!

The first book I'm giving away is The Love Dare. Okay, I haven't seen the movie yet. But I plan on it. I've heard it has a fantastic message. Not the best acting, but a wonderful movie, nonetheless. The book is amazingly simple...it lists a love "dare" to do every day for 40 days. Simple stuff but really powerful. Funny how we forget to truly show love once our lives get all crazy. I'm talking about me here. Why is it easier to get irritated than to have patience?


Next is The Strong-Willed Wife. I should probably be keeping this one for myself (shhh...don't tell hubby I admitted that!). In big, bold-lettered words on the back it says, "Submission isn't a four letter word." Love it! The book "presents how the scriptural concept of authority is designed to be a vital part of a loving, secure relationship. You'll discover freedom in letting your husband lead, because submission doesn't mean denying who you are." Yep, this is a definite must read!


{Can you tell that marriage has been on my mind lately? I've got marriage books out the wazoo. Never, never, never stop working on your marriage. It's way too important to just let it slide.}

So here are the rules. Leave me a comment. Plain and simple. I won't make you follow me (although I'd love it if you did) and I won't make you tweet about it. Just leave me a little note letting me know you stopped by. You can say whatever you want. If you're feeling especially nice and/or wordy, link me up to your favorite blog. (I love crafty blogs and homeschooling blogs. Oh, and blogs with recipes and homemaking blogs. Blogs about organization are good; and blogs that make me laugh, too. I love all blogs!) Not like I don't spend enough time on the computer already but I enjoy sharing the bloggy love! If you don't have a blog, be sure and leave your email address so I can get in touch with you. That's it. Oh, and I'll use a random number picker thingy on Saturday so be sure and leave your comment by midnight, Friday the 13.

Thanks for stopping by!

Play Ball!

So Bongo, who is actually back to being Cade, by the way, had his first baseball game on Saturday. He's actually playing on the Dream League which is part of Little League but for special needs kids. He's on the Astros (go 'Stros!!) and they gave him a shirt (#3), baseball pants, belt, socks and a hat. He, of course, refused to wear his uniform and ended up being the only kid to play in his regular clothes! lol It was so much fun, though! He has 2 buddies (high school girls that have volunteered) who stay with him throughout the game. So anyway, all the players were announced and lined up on the field for the National Anthem. Seeing my precious son standing there with his hand over his heart just about did me in. I know I'm overly emotional when pregnant but I can't tell you how much I love this little boy of mine. I mean like momma bear love. Fiercely. Game starts and he gets to play shortstop. The first ball is hit right to him so he leans over and scoops it up. Go Cade! Then he just stood there with it in his glove...another little boy ran over and grabbed it from him and tried to tag the runner at first. For the rest of the inning, this is what my guy looked like:



He actually hung out and didn't try to run around the field or anything so I thought that was good! Then it was the Astro's turn to bat. Cade was last in the line-up which means that he automatically gets an in park home run (every player gets to bat and run the bases). So Cade goes up to the plate, bats with the wrong end of the bat, and then runs and picks up the ball! His buddies try to convince him to throw the ball down and run the bases but he insists on kicking the baseball along the base line...all the way around! It took him about 6 minutes to make a homerun. All the parents are cheering and encouraging him the whole time. He finally made it home and everyone was clapping and yelling. He looked right at us and said, "I did it!" Too stinkin' cute, I tell ya!

Second inning (they only play 2 cause it takes about an hour and a half) and
Cade came up to the fence and told us he was done. We went ahead and let him leave early. Next time we'll try to stay for the whole game...and just maybe he'll actually wear his uniform! Here's the sweet sight I got to see as we were leaving the park (bad photo but you get the idea):

Journaling

The other day I found a few of my old scrapbook albums and sat down to look at them. The first one I looked at had lots of layouts from when Bongo was a newborn. I of course ooohed and ahhhed and fell in love with him all over again! The next album had a lot of layouts from when we were living in Georgia. We lived there for 2years; Bongo was 2 when we got there and 4 when we left. It was right after I realized he had autism. It was a seriously dark time in my life. I flipped through those pages and looked at the pictures of my beautiful boy who means the world to me and was so *grateful* that I had journaled about what was going on in our life during that time. It's heartbreaking and at the same time it's so awesome to see just how far my son has come! Praise God, Bongo has made so much progress! I also started thinking that I haven't scrapped or journaled in a couple of years. I'm really disappointed that I haven't. I plan on going back through my pictures and trying to catch up a little before the baby comes. I just hope I haven't forgotten too many of the stories that make up our life.

Here are a few of my older layouts (when I get some new ones done, I'll share those). Is he not just the cutest boy ever?!?!

It's a Baby...(warning: super long gushy baby love post!)

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness, I can't believe it! I am so super blessed; I have my sweet angel boy and now I'm going to have my precious girl. God is so good and He really knows what He is doing! So anyway, yesterday after finding out I just had to go shopping! ;) My husband took Bongo to Stomping Grounds and there just happened to be a Babies R Us in the same shopping center so off I went. I was proud of myself...I didn't go crazy and buy every cute thing I saw. As a matter of fact, I was much more picky than I thought I would be. I searched high and low for the perfect clothes and I finally settled on a 3 pack of Carters soft cotton t's (she'll be a summer baby...it's cool to lounge around in t's and a diaper!) and an adorable onesie and pants from Koala Baby (cream colored onesie with embroidered butterfly and peach pants with cream polka dots...so pretty!) Here are the t-shirts:


Last night I was looking on Etsy and all I kept thinking was thank goodness hubby's new position and raise start April 1!!!! I kid, I kid. I plan on being wise (or trying to) when it comes to buying baby stuff. It's just so hard to resist all that yummy pinkness! Here are a few things I found and love on Etsy:


Is this not the sweetest little crocheted hat ever? Love it! I found it here at Zoe Lynn Designs.


Love this painting from Galerie Anais. I'm thinking I could probably make something similar to this with all the art and craft supplies I have. It most likely wouldn't be as cute as hers, but hey, baby girl won't mind! :)


Pretty burpcloths! (Gracious Creations) My son was such a spitter. I almost hate to buy and use such pretty burp cloths if they're just going to get all dirty! lol Maybe I'll just use the cheap burpies at home and then take the pretty ones with us when we go out!

I also need a cute nursing cover thing. I found a tutorial for one so I'll attempt to sew one for myself but if that doesn't work out, I'll need to buy one. Know of any other good shops with lots of adorable girly stuff? If so, please let me know!

Thanks for letting me share my good news!

Today's the Day!

We have our big ultrasound today so I get to see my sweet baby and see if it's a boy or a girl! I'm so stinkin' excited I can't stand it! I'll be back this evening to update. (I haven't posted in a week--oh my! I've been focused on purging and organizing throughout the house. Must be early nesting or something!)