I built this tower all by myself!

I came into the kitchen this morning saying "ontop, ontop". Mommy wasn't sure what I was talking about until she came out into the living room and saw the tower that I made all by myself. I didn't use all the blocks, but for the first time I built a tower with my blocks by stacking them from biggest to littlest...I even put the little tiny one on top. I was very proud of my tower..but it was also lots of fun to knock down!

Wordless Wednesday: Friends

Today we enjoyed a playdate with friends...it's hard to believe how quickly they have grown. Looking forward to many more years of playdates as they grow together.

For more Wordless Wednesday visit Two of a kind, working on a full house and 5 Minutes for Mom

Mia, Olivia, Hannah, Addy

Mommy's Little Helper

Hannah has been helping me put laundry in the washing machine and taking it out of the dryer for a while now. I usually hand it to her and she puts it where it goes. Today, she started pulling the clothes out of the dryer herself...so cute! After the dryer is empty and the basket is full she pushes it out of the laundry room..then as a reward for helping...she gets to ride in the basekt while mommy pushes her across the room. Fun times doing chores here at our house! :)

Ate all da food

Hannah gets pretty excited after she eats all the food on her plate. Her new thing is to wave her hand in a circle above her plate and say "all da food"...enjoy :)

Happy Homemaker Monday!

The weather in my neck of the woods: Cool, windy, and rainy on and off

One of my simple pleasures: enjoying morning coffee and conversation with my hubby every morning

On my bedside table: just pictures of Hannah right now

On my TV: la la la la Elmo's World :) (Elmo seems to be the new thing these days)

On the menu for tonight: Chicken Pasta Primavera

On my To Do List: scrub floors, pc order, laundry, unload dishwasher

New Recipe I tried last week: Cinnamon-Apple Porkchops (very yummy fall dinner...I even had the extra apples over ice cream for my evening snack:))

In the craft basket: I want to try to make some fall hair bows for Hannah this week

Looking forward to: A few playdates with friends this week

Homemaking Tip for this week: Ever get mildew spots on your clothes? I found that a great way to remove them is to soak the spot with lemon juice, set in the sun, then wash.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): LOVED this slideshow of sweet little Joshua at All about Me...we love him!

Favorite photo from last week: Did I mention that we love Joshua? We stopped by to visit last week...I just love, love, love this picture!

On my Prayer List: My sister...she is 8 months pregnant and has come down with a bad case of the flu. She had to go to the hospital last night because her pulse was racing and her fever was high. They gave her an IV and re-hydrated her. Thank the Lord that by the time she left, her fever came down, and baby is doing fine. I'm so glad to serve a God who hears our prayers and answers them. She is now home, resting, and feeling a little better...still praying that the flu will go away and she'll be back to normal quick!

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
ooh..I loved Psalm 34 last week...here are a few of the verses that really spoke to me:

v.4 "I sought the Lord and He answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."

v.7 "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and He delivers them."

v.8 "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."

Thanks to Sandra for hosting Happy Homemaker Monday

Things I Love Thursday: Cinnamon Plus Spice Blend

I love spices...and probably my favorite spice of them all is cinnamon! I love pampered chefs cinnamon plus spice blend! I put it in my coffee grounds every morning for a great cinnamon taste in my coffee. I also use it any time a recipe calls for cinnamon. Makes for some delicious fall desserts!

For more Things I Love Thursday (and a giveaway) visit the Diaper Diaries.

Two New Teeth

Just wanted to show everyone my new teeth coming in on the top...good thing I have a BIG smile! Do you see them?!

WFMW books in the bed

This is a tip that I learned from reading "On Becoming ToddlerWise". I try really hard to rise early to have some quiet time with the Lord before Hannah gets up. Because of the way our small house is set up, Hannah sometimes hears me, and wakes up before I'm ready for her to get up.

When I put her to bed at night, I lay a few books at the foot of her crib. I tell her that when she wakes up in the morning, she can read them. Thankfully, this works for me! Hannah gets up and quietly reads for a few minutes, buying me a little bit more of much needed quiet time in the morning.

For more great works for me Wednesday tips head over to We are that Family.

Happy Homemaker Monday!

The weather in my neck of the woods: It's the time of year where the mornings are very cool and the afternoons are warm. I'm so excited for fall!

One of my simple pleasures: Watching my baby laugh and play

On my bedside table: "Love and Respect"

On my TV: TV is off..that's a good thing.

On the menu for tonight: Cheesy Chili Soup

On my To Do List: Finish the laundry (yeah I'm almost caught up!), put the rest of the summer decor away, dust.

New Recipe I tried last week: The Best Meatballs (can you tell that I love kraft food recipes?!)

In the craft basket: haven't been too crafty lately

Looking forward to: Fall! Yeah...it officially begins tomorrow. Can't wait for trips to the orchard, crisp leaves, apple pie, apples cider...and all the goodies!!

Homemaking Tip for this week: never dump grease down the drain of your sink, if you do...it clogs the pipes over time. I spoon the grease off my meat into an empty can and keep in the fridge until it's full, then throw it away. This tip comes from my momma!

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): 12 Books in 12 Months at Stop and Smell the Chocolate. My book reading dilemma is this: I got to do lots of reading while nursing Hannah, now that I'm not doing that any more, I don't do so much reading. I also have gotten very much into reading blogs...that takes a lot of my reading time. However...I know that I need to be reading, and I enjoy it when I do. So...starting next month I'm going to join in with Lisa and do 12 books in 12 months. I'm working on putting my list together now. I want to have a balance of books too: spiritual growth, mothering/homemaking, and fiction: Any GREAT recommendations?!

Favorite photo from last week: love those pig tails..love that face!

Lesson learned the past few days: When we carry one anothers burdens, others see the difference and are drawn to our Heavenly Father

Acts 2:47

On my Prayer List: Expecting moms in my life: my sister, sister-in-law and friend Joyce. Praying for a friends friend who is going through some hard times, and for Douglas' family (15 year old boy who passed away yesterday from a brain tumor)

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Psalm 32:7 "For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory."

silly girl uses pasta as a drinking straw

By this time in yesterdays dinner, we had to take Hannahs dress off so that it didn't get any more pasta on it. She was using the penne as a drinking staw and saying "drink"....hasn't her mother taught her not to play with her food?

Sign Language for kiss & a few more...

Hannah just started doing the sign for kiss....which is such a cute one! Here she is showing us the sign, plus a few others. Enjoy :)

Yeah...she's eating!

After a week of not eating very much at all, it was so encouraging to see Hannah eat some pasta for dinner tonight. She was too cute telling us how messy she was after she finished...had to catch a video..enjoy!

FBC ladies retreat

I so enjoyed our ladies retreat this year. I'm so glad that the Lord worked out all the details at home (He always does) so that I could go and enjoy my time there knowing that Hannah was well and taken care of. I'm so thankful that her fever was down, and for my friend Ambers mom who watched her for the day.


The retreat came at just the right time. It was relaxing and refreshing...just what I needed! I enjoyed time with friends and getting to know some ladies that I haven't had much of a chance to get to know yet.

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47 spoke to my heart this weekend. In this passage the believers were helping to carry the burdens of one another. I was challenged to get out of my own little world, and be more purposefully about looking for needs in lives of others. I want to share the burdens of those around me, to look for ways to help them and minister to them . My friend Rachel did a great job of being this for me just yesterday! My prayer is that the Lord will make me aware of the need of others around me and help me to know how I can help them.

An added blessing from the weekend was the door prize that I won. I won an overnight stay at the Radisson! Sure looking forward to a short weekend "away" with Seth in the near future. God knows just what we need doesn't He?!

Take a moment to listen to the theme song from the weekend, let it uplift and encourage your heart :)

Come Worship The Lord - Shannon Wexelberg

Blessing of the day

As you know, Hannah hasn't been feeling well this week. Praise the Lord, her fever was down all day today! She is still a little fussy, be we think that she is on the uphill...yeah! I talked to my friend Rachel today and was telling her about how Hannah hasn't been eating very well. Wouldn't you know...within a few hours..there she was at our house with a basket full of goodies for Hannah and even a beautiful picture that Joshua painted her. We are so blessed to have such great friends!!

God's BIG story!!

Please take the time to check out God's Big Story at Run the Earth, Watch the Sky! This gives a picture of what the Bible is all about, from beginning to end...great job Kristi! Print off the free PDF and share with your friends too!

This weeks update

We sure have had quite the week. Hannah's fever has been up and down all week. The doctors think that the fever she had after she left the hospital was a virus.

Monday: We went to see Dr. Bullach for our 18 month check up AND for our hospital follow up. Hannah weighed in at 20lbs..but I don't think that they checked her height....bummer, I guess I'll have to do that. We had a few other more pressing matters on our minds :) Of course at the doctors office, no fever and was doing just fine.

Tuesday: In the morning she was still doing fine. We enjoyed the first day of mops!
After nap, Hannah woke up with a fever of 102.5 and it stayed right around there all through the night.

Wednesday: Back to the doctor! This time, it was an ear infection. No church Wed. evening, we stayed home and watched movies and read books on the couch.

Thursday: No fever in the morning, but yes you guessed it...fever came back after nap. Before bedtime it was 103.7. We gave her motrin and a cool bath...I think I'll be waking up in a few hours to give her some more. It was a pretty miserable day today. We were pretty bummed to have to cancel our 18 month pictures with Trenda , but we are hoping for another beautiful day next week to reschedule.

Please pray for Hannahs quick recovery from this ear infection. Tomorrow is our ladies retreat at church. I sure hope that she's feeling better, it will be hard to leave her if she's still got this fever. Thanks to everyone for your love, concern and prayers!

Enjoying the rest of the weekend

On Saturday evening we watched OSU...Hannah was starting to feel a little better. As you can see from the video...she still not herself...but was pretty cute saying "OH-IO" and "Go Bucks!"

watching the Buckeyes

As always, she loved playing with her Uncle Jeremy!

Hannah & Nana

swinging on the big girl swing and Nana and Pops!

sweet baby girl

Adam & Beth's Little Baby Cakes is on the Way

Even in the midst of all going on with Hannah, I was able to get away, and we had a great time celebrating with my sister. I'm so thankful for all the help that my mom was with the shower. She arranged for us to have the shower at the Richfield Art Studio, which was the perfect place and did lots of other things too! Her and Dad also left the hospital early and went to the art studio to do all the decorating.

Beth and Adam are expecting their first baby, due on October 30th (the day after my birthday-I'm hoping the baby will take after Hannah and come a day early :)). Beth's pregnancy has gone very well...she even survived moving to a new home! Beth and Adam aren't finding out if it's a boy or a girl...and are so excited for the surprise to come on delivery day!

The theme for the shower was: "Beth & Adams Little Baby Cakes in on the Way". The theme was based on the book "BabyCakes". We don't even have this book, but it's one of those library books that we check out over and over again...Hannah loves it! I knew that it would be a good pick for baby Riss. The theme worked out well for a gender neutral shower. I enjoyed using primary colors, which is a little different from the normal pastels.

the invitation

signing the prediction chart. We had everyone guess the baby's birth date, sex, and weight...more votes for a baby girl....can't wait to see!!

signing "BabyCakes" for baby Riss

the cake

lots of gifts! She got great stuff! I really enjoyed helping her put it all away in the nursery on Saturday afternoon.

my dear husband helped a lot with this one :)

Mom and her girls (& grand baby too)

my gift to Beth...she picked this out at the Vera outlet sale

such a cute bedroom set!

friends! It was so great to get to see Beth's friends, and even meet some of them for the first time. She is so blessed!

She is blessed with great in-laws too. This is Beth with Adams Grandma and Mom...both so excited for their first great-grandbaby and grandbaby. :)

Beth & Bonnie

There is no better friend than a sister..I love you Beth!!

I can't wait to be an aunt!!

God takes care of me

Last weekend, I headed to Ohio with Mommy to visit family and so that Mommy & Nana could throw a baby shower for Aunt Beth. I loved getting to see Pop, Nana, & Uncle J. On Friday morning, I was playing in the kitchen with Mommy and Pop. In the midst of my play, I got distracted...I found some lamp oil, and it changed the course of our weekend just a little. Before Mommy could get to me, I drank some of the oil (thankfully it wasn't very much...maybe less than a half an ounce). Nana called poison control and they said that I would be fine as long as I didn't throw up...and they told Nana to give me lots of fluids. After lots of coughing and crying, Mommy decided that we better go see the dr. at the emergency room. (Pop drove our red car pretty fast!) At the ER the dr. listened to my lungs, and got me hooked up to the monitor to watch my oxygen levels. The big concern was that I didn't get any oil in my lungs. They didn't want me to throw up, because that causes the oil to go down into the lungs. They took an x-ray too. Pop went in with me and held my hands up while the took a picture of my lungs. I didn't like this part very much, but did a good job for the doctor. After what seemed like a long wait for Mommy, the xray came back negative. The dr. said that he thought one of my lungs looked a little hazy though. After the doctor explained everything, he asked mommy if she had any questions. She asked a few medical questions, but then asked if she should have Daddy come down from Michigan (he had stayed home for the weekend). The doctor said that if it was his little girl, he would come. Daddy came to see me, and I'm so glad that he did!

Mommy and I left the ER in an ambulance...both of our first times riding in one (and hopefully the last!). We went to Akron Childrens Hospital, and Pop & Nana followed in our red car. By the time we got there, I was doing much better. We saw some doctors, and just sat and watched tv. I took another nap, then woke up and had a small snack. Shortly after that...Daddy arrived! I stayed the night there so that they could watch my oxygen levels. I was uncomfortable at times...the IV in my hand was pretty annoying!

Well...like I mentioned earlier..the reason for our trip was to celebrate my new cousins soon arrival. The baby shower was suppose to be Friday night...what was Mommy going to do?! By the evening, Daddy had arrived and I was doing better. The doctors and nurses said that it should be fine for her to leave for a few hours. So hesitantly she left, and was glad that I was sleeping. Uncle Tim came to the hospital to hang out with Daddy and I...so that was nice! When I woke up, I was uncomfortable again. Uncle Tim bought me a teddy bear which made me feel MUCH better! Every time the nurses came and squeezed my leg (took my blood pressure) I squeezed my bear. Mommy and Daddy both stayed with me in the hospital that night. None of us slept very well...but that's okay. We were glad when the dr. told us everything looked good and that we could go home in the morning!

Saturday afternoon I took a long nap at Aunt Beth's house. When I woke up form my nap, I had a fever. Mom & Aunt Beth gave me Tylenol and a bath...that helped a lot.

I know that God was watching over me that day. Many prayers were lifted up for me (thank you to those of you who prayed!). I could have drank a lot more of that oil than I did, and I could have thrown up, and I didn't. We thank God that he watched over me and give Him all the glory!

A Day at the State Fair

We aren't too sure why the Michigan State fair is in Detroit, but we do enjoy taking advantage of it every few years. This was the first year (and probably the last as they are doing away with the MI state fair) that we too Hannah. As always, she LOVED seeing the animals and watching the people. What a fun day!

eating PB&J while watching the horses

AAAAAnimals!!!

so fun to touch the cows!

she loved "patting" the horses

lovin' the turkey right before he nipped her finger

It's so fun to see the animals in the "Miracle of Life" barn..these lambs are only 3 days old.

Wordless Wednesday: My Sandbox & my silly face

Enjoying some of the last days of summer in my sandbox

This is my silly face! I make this face a lot...usually when I'm trying to be very silly :)

If you wonder where I get my silliness...I think this picture proves it :)

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 minutes for Mom