I told you I would put photos of the crafts that we made at MOPS this year and here they are. The only one I didn't have a photo of was the ornaments that we made at Christmas. They were really cute, but mine is put away with the other ornaments. I'll tell you how we made them at the end of this post.

Along with the following crafts we try to do some service projects and this year we did Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes, we filled Easter bags (easier than baskets) for families in a neighborhood that a group from the church (SOS) provides supper for on Saturdays and we also made card kits for Kidslink Downrange, an organization that provides cards for children who have a parent deployed so they can stay in touch with each other.

I can't take credit for all of these crafts b/c I searched all summer for ideas and unfortunately I can't remember where I found them.

1) Magnetic note pad: use a 4x6 magnetic photo frame, slide a piece of scrapbook paper inside, add a ribbon for detail, glue a post-it pad on there and add a clip to the top to set your pen on. I forgot to put a pen on it for the photo and just didn't feel like going back to add it.



2) Fridge magnets: I found large glass gems (1.5" in diameter) online and ordered those along with magnets to make these. I tried regular scrapbook paper, but the magnet showed through once you glued them on, so I bought scrapbook card stock that was printed on both sides. I used E6000 glue to stick it all together.



3) Personalized soap bottle: use scrapbook paper, scrapbook scissors and modge podge to make this cute little addition to your kitchen sink. I got some stickers to put on there to make them more personal. I suggest using the glossy modge podge and make sure you paint a layer or two over the whole thing when you are done to make sure it is sealed nicely.


4) Photo albums: use those 4x6 flip books you can find at pretty much any store. Use scrapbook paper and some stickers to personalize it. I made a much cuter one, but couldn't find it so I made this one super quick to just show you an example. I thought Brandon might not appreciate all the flowers and stuff the other one had on it when he goes out of town.


For the Christmas ornaments here's what you need:

- 4" clear glass ornament
- scrapbook paper (suggest the kind that is printed on both sides)
- glitter
- those little table confetti things you sprinkle at parties - in a Christmas theme
- ribbon (about 18 " strips)
- Christmas raffia grass

Cut the scrapbook paper into 1/2" strips and wrap them around a pencil to curl them. Stick it in the ornament and then add the other stuff, except the ribbon. Place the ribbon through the little metal loop in the cap and tie it in a bow with a larger enough loop to hang it with. Here's the site where I got the idea, but they have different examples up now.

If you are interested and have a small MOPS group I have a ton of photos albums leftover and some ornaments as well. Actually, I got a good bit of everything left over and I'd be happy to sell it to anyone. We won't be making any of these next year. Just let me know! I hope I didn't bore all of you, but I remember last summer searching blog, after blog, after blog for ideas and thought that maybe I could help another craft leader out there somewhere. Or just a mom at home looking for something cheap, easy and quick to do!

Here are the photos from our little trip to the beach in AL with Mimi and Papa John. We were so thankful that they let us come crash their vacation and hang out with them. I've already told you that we had fun, so I'm just going to get a move on.

Wednesday we left and met them at the Bass Pro Shop and had lunch. It was yummy!! If you ever make it to the that one (Ft. Morgan/Daphne/etc. area) you must go. Then we drove over to see the battle ship in Mobile Bay. The kids had a great time running all over the ship and insisted on climbing the stairs alone. Yeah, I'm not sure if it was threats or promises of ice cream that got them to slow down and hold our hands, but one of them finally worked.

Papa John, the kids and I forcing a photo at the front of the ship. Brandon and his mom were taking photos and that's the only reason adults made it in any of these photos.


Sophie trying to climb over the chain attached to the anchor.





Hey Mimi and Papa John!! We'd split from them when climbing up and couldn't find them when we came back down. Thankfully they had walkie talkies and we turned around and found them.


We spent the next day at the beach and playing in the pool. Christopher had sores on his underarms from swimming so much. I haven't seen him have that much fun for that long in while. It was great! I was even more impressed with how Brandon and Papa John were able to keep up with him.


Our new little swimmer. Don't those eyes just make you melt? She had so much fun learning how to kick her feet and eventually would only hold onto one of your hands while in the water. I was a little worried b/c the first time we got in the water this year she wasn't liking it at all. Thankfully we got over that quickly.


The kids playing with Brandon. I was so glad they had a pool right outside the condo and that the water wasn't too cold b/c he had hurt his back before we left on our trip and was in a lot of pain. (Why he's not in any photos from the battle ship.) The pool really helped him feel better and made holding the kids no problem. Oh, and yes, I got in, but I don't show photos of me in a bathing suit on here.


These kids (yes 3 of them) played and played and played in the sand from the second we got on the beach to the minute we mentioned going to the pool. They even got me in there and I hate sand. Sophie was so funny b/c she eventually let me take her coverup off, but then realized it was the best thing to wipe her hands on and wanted it back. She was so prissy while digging! And she's not a prissy girl, which is what made it so funny.


Later that afternoon we went and ate at Lulu's, which is Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant and if you are ever in the area, it's also a must. But you have to go early, it's always busy (except when we went) but worth it. They have a massive sand pit for kids to play in and a volleyball court and a live band and no walls and it's right on the water so you can watch boats drive by. So yummy!!!


Me chasing the kids after dinner. They laughed and ran and played and slept like rocks that night. It was awesome!!

Thanks again to Mimi and PJ for letting us hang out. We had so much fun! Thanks for coming to hang out with us at our house too. We love you and can't wait to see you again!

I too exhausted to add photos from our week of adventure, but obviously not too tired to just go to bed. We spent the week hanging out at home and then heading over to meet my in-laws at the beach in Gulf Shores (or was is called Ft. Morgan? or Orange Beach? who knows, but it was that area.) and it was absolutely lovely! That's not a word I usually use to describe things, but it really was. It was so quiet and peaceful since nobody was around and we didn't have to drive to get there. It was great! But I'll talk more about it later.

I thought I'd give my opinion on the book I (was supposed to read) just read and tell you about the one I'm reading now. SO, the little book club book I got and was so excited to read was kind of a flop for me. I was really disappointed b/c I was really looking forward to it, but it was really hard to get into and if it takes me a week or more to read 50-75 pages then I'm probably not going to finish it.

And I didn't.

Eat, Pray, Love is divided into three sections: Italy, India and Indonesia and I just barely made it through Italy and had to quit not long after entering India. I think what made it so hard to read was I'd just read over 15 Christian fiction books and then dove right into a very non-Christian, non-fiction book. Not the best transition. I don't have any problem reading books that are not about Christianity, remember I'd only recently found a Christian author that I actually liked so it's never really been an issue, but this just wasn't the book I needed to read after reading so many of the other. It wasn't just that, I had a hard time following her story. It's like reading someone's diary, only without the sneaking part. We all know women can bounce around in their conversations and that's how this felt to me. I hate to start a book and not finish it, but I just had to call it quits on this one.

But, on a different note, I can't wait to see the movie! And I definitely want to see this one on the big screen. I've never been to any of the places she visits and I want to see them larger than life. Please don't choose to never read this book b/c of me (not that anyone really listens to me, just ask my kids) I just thought I'd give you my opinion. It's obviously good enough that they made a movie out of it and I still want to see that! (I also love Juila Roberts.)

Instead, I decided to pick up a book that my friend Tiffany is letting me borrow, it's called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I'm really enjoying it. It's just letters written between a woman that is an author and a group of people who formed a pretend literary society during the war. It was the only way they could get together without getting in trouble with the Nazis. It sounds boring, but I promise it's not. It's actually pretty funny! The woman is spunky and single and says what she thinks. I love people like that. (Unless I'm on their bad side, which I usually try to avoid.) Want to hear something funny? There is a quote on the back of this book about how great it is. Guess who wrote it? The woman who wrote Eat, Pray, Love. HA!!!

Now my eyes are about to fall out of my head and the fly in our house is even too tired to circle my head anymore so I'm going to bed. Oh, and on a totally random note, today Brandon and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. Go us! Not much in the grand scheme of things, but if we were a hot Hollywood couple that would almost be a silver anniversary. So, yeah us! I love you honey buns and thanks for putting up with me for this long and for wanting to keep doing so for the rest of our lives. : )

Today was the last meeting of the year for the MOPS group I've been going to. It was my second year being a part of this and my first year being on the steering committee. To say that I loved it is an understatement. If there is a MOPS group in your area I strongly recommend joining. My friend Tiffany is the one who told me about it and got me going. She was one of the craft leaders last year and this year I took the job on. It was stressful at times, but oh so rewarding.

I had planned to put photos of each of our crafts on here, but yeah well, I didn't. I was only going to do it b/c I got each of the ideas from other blogs I researched last summer and wanted to pass the ideas along to anyone else looking. Today we made fridge magnets and they are "super cute" (does anyone remember who says that b/c I can't and it made me laugh every time I heard it?). I'm going to make new ones and I'll show you those, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. The first round I made didn't turn out and the second was ok. I wanted to make sure we had leftovers before I made any more.

I have to go make more "lelolade" (please say it while throwing your tongue out on each "L") for little miss priss, but I wanted to end with these little pups again. I wore them for the first time today and got more compliments than I ever have before on anything I've ever worn. Even some of the fashionistas of the group were asking me about them. (I was so flattered I almost peed my pants!) I'm SOOOOO not a fashion person, so to be complimented on something I found myself and actually wore is huge in my teeny, tiny little world. SO, in case you are wondering about them you would never believe but they are CROCS. Yup, I said it. And the wedge part is rubber and they are super duper comfy! You can find them here and I think that these are pretty cute too! I'm off to hang with my gang for a little while before heading out to dinner with the MOPS steering I worked with this year and will work with next year. Yeah for girls night out!!!

Christopher jumping off the dock at Turkey Creek... always a show off!



Whatcha' doin C-dawg? -- "nothing much, just chillin'"



Christopher practicing his "matrix" style jump.... actually, he's levitating right there.


Who loves water..... me?


who needs a hug? I got one right here, come and get it!

We have had a really good weekend here at our house. I think it's mostly due to knowing that Brandon is going to be home all next week and so he can relax (mentally that is) and the kids and I are just happy to have so much time with him.

Yesterday I got to sleep in until 8:30 (I know!) but still felt tired all day long. I think it's this dizzy thing I have going on. and I'm starting to think I'm allergic to my house b/c if I'm here for long I feel worse, but when I leave I feel better. How do you fix that? Anyway, we went to the BX and then to the commissary to get some groceries and came home to have lunch and put Sophie down for a nap. Brandon and Christopher went to go see How to Train your Dragon (is that right?) and seemed to have a good time. When they got home, they cleaned the pool in the backyard that has been hanging over the fence (very redneck, I know) and then we all got cleaned up and went to a birthday party for a sweet little boy that turned 2. He lives across the street from us and melts the heart of anyone and everyone he meets. We had a great time and are going to miss that family so much when they move next month. We came home and everyone (including Brandon and I) were in bed before 8:45. It was awesome!

This morning I was able to sleep in again (Brandon's been waking up at like 5 a.m. lately for work, so sleeping in for him is 6 a.m. or whenever the kids wake up-- just want to clarify I'm not that spoiled OR that selfish), but don't worry, it wasn't nearly as late as the day before. I was also told to not come out of my room yet when I did wake up, so I went back to bed (and played the coveted "hi-pod" as Sophie calls it) until they came and joined me with cards in hand. Even Brick brought me his own card. It was so cute! The kids were so proud of the pics they had made and I couldn't wait to get my hugs on! Brandon made me french toast (my fav!) and we all had a yummy breakfast while trying to figure out what we were going to do that day. Our S.S. class doesn't meet on Mother's Day b/c nobody comes due to other plans, so we just skipped church. Bad, I know. We went to Lowes and got wood to build an awesome step stool for the kids to use with the trampoline. It was WAY more than we thought we'd be spending, but the ground is soft and we needed something really sturdy.

The Ramages were more than happy to let us borrow their drill b/c both of Brandon's died before the first screw even made a dent. They hung out for a couple hours and the guys worked together. We love them b/c they make the most stressful project fun and manageable. The kids eventually started to melt and the stairs were done so we parted ways. Sophie napped, the boys tried and I worked on my next craft for MOPS. After Sophie woke up we loaded up and headed to Turkey Creek. The water was freezing, but it didn't stop the kids from playing in the water anyway. After that we drove through Dairy Queen and got blizzards. Note: the new Buster Bar Blizzard is delicious! We pulled over to a place on base so the kids could eat without us having to climb around every bite. Came home and played t-ball with the "new" t-ball stand we found on the side of the road on the way home. In think we will have two little players next year! Missed the sign up for this year.

It has been a great weekend and I'd add photos, but they just downloaded and there are about 400. No lie. I'll add them later. Hope you had a great weekend as well!!!

i know this is going to sound a little crazy, but my wish is to have a blog makeover. but it's not exactly "cheap" and so it's not in our funds right now. maybe for my birthday? but that's in february so maybe Christmas would be better. i'm just tired of the header thing and want something a little better. i don't want a crazy one with scrapbook looking stuff all over it. it's not me. i just wish that i knew how to do all of this myself.

maybe i should have paid better attention in that web design class i had to take one summer for my major.

who am i kidding. that was 10 years ago and that stuff wouldn't work now anyway!

some things are just easier to pay someone else to do.