A Pretty Give-away

I won something! I can't tell you what, cause I might use it for Christmas gifts. But it proves that reading blogs is not a waste of my time. right? Right?

I had a taste of victory and now I need more. So I'm blogging about this other giveaway. Because blogging about it gets me more entries. And because I LOVE the things over at The Vintage Pearl . So go here and you can win one of these:

catchin up

Sorry I haven't been around. Jess left town for a week and i got sick. And sicker. So I've mostly been managing to make it through the day and waste a lot of time staring into Internet oblivion. I thought since I can't really speak right now I could type--I have so many thoughts going through my head right now I would love to get out! But, I think my fingers have a cold, too. Cause they're too tired to type. Just point, click, point, click through etsy and facebook. As I looked through pictures tonight, I realized I had TONS of blog worthy photos that somehow never got published, so tonight is a review of

"THE BLOGS THAT ALMOST DIED IN MY HEAD"

SEPTEMBER: I don't think you ever got to see Sam playing soccer:

Josiah wants to do EVERYTHING like his big siblings. So he was THRILLED to get this backpack from another sweet Josiah at our church who had waited for years for a Josiah to receive all his monogrammed goodies. We happily oblige!

speaking of Si, here's a HI LARIOUS story for you (pardon me if you've heard me tell it, but now you get visuals):

take this naked booty of a puzzle loving toddler:

and this beloved puzzle of Jesus's life:

and you get the line: "Mom, come here. I peed on God."

I bet some of you are peeing your pants right now aren't you? Not yet, well, check this one out:
Josiah's out of the tub, and tells Jess he's cold. Some people might decide to dress him. Others might get the packaging tape out and run it around him a few times and then look at his wife and say "What? He was cold. I fixed it."

And bloggers take a picture first, then yell.
You'd think I'd learn, but the other night he helped get kids ready for bed by dressing Si in a halloween lion's costume. It really is funny. When you're not so tired. Jess and Si are quite a pair.

What about Addie. Adeline gets a lot of face time on the blog. But here are a few must-sees.

A funny face for Aunt Alyse

Adeline Louise was named after her Grandpa Louis Swinger. Here they meet for the first time.


I just love this picture of me and my girl.

I didn't find a lot of unblogged Ella Rose pictures. Here's one of her pre-K class on a field trip:

(Si's in there too)

This is an oldie of us dancing at Dave and Esther's wedding. Ella and Sam had a BLAST.

There. Loose ends tied up. Now to my bed.

Amos and Addie

Today was the first time I allowed Amos and Addie to play together. Amos is still a puppy, or maybe a stubborn teenager, but either way, he's still rambunctious. But today, as he was occupied with his bone, he let Addie pet him and crawl on him. They might become friends after all.

What a face!

Look at me, dad! I got a puppy!

Craftiness

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness! LOOK what I did! I can't believe how cute they turned out!!!!! I love love LOVE them! I've wanted to make these dresses ever since Sandi Henderson introduced her Portebello Pixie patterns. They remind me of the Matilda Jane brand, which are way cute and WAY expensive. After my trip to fabric heaven I settled on this Heather Bailey fabric and dreamed for months about the dresses. Most of the time when I do that, things never turn out just like I wanted, but these, I think, were even better.

If I had known how much Ella would love this dress, I would have saved it for a Christmas present!

Creativity runs in our family, and Sam got an extra dose. Here's his latest creation:

Family Portrait on the Beach

Last minute gift idea. . .

I am still reeling from the poor decision I made this afternoon: take the 4 kids to the mall after school to run a few errands. Why are so many people shopping at 2pm on a Wednesday?!? So, in case you're like me and have vowed not to hit the mall again til January, I have a great idea for you. I couldn't post this earlier because I didn't want my family to see their gifts, but we delivered them at Thanksgiving.

Aren't these ornaments amazing and adorable?! I met Anne Luckey at the Coastal Kids Market--our tables were next to eachother and her mother was Adeline's happy babysitter. She does these custom ornaments from an emailed picture and ships them in a box ready to go under the tree (or on it!). These are of my nephew Liam, my brother and sister-in-law on their wedding day, my family on the day Jess came home from Iraq, and my parents and crew. She's taking orders til December 12 so go check her out!

And are you wondering why I don't also suggest a little something from Ella Bella Baby? It's because I am C.L.O.S.E.D. Ahhhh. Done. That is, until January. Here is a picture of the orders I sent out today, in production, and then ready to ship:

Quick question

Too much plaid for Christmas pictures in Forsyth Park?

These are my clearance Strausburg clothes I had planned to use for Christmas pics this year (Of course, Si will have a shirt on and Sam won't wear sweat pants, and HOPEFULLY ella won't stick out her tongue). I'm thinking it's too much plaid and I should find something else for pictures.

Opinions?!?

We made it home after 15 hours, and tomorrow I"ll try to post some about our wonderful thanksgiving, but for now, please take a minute to pray for the family of CPT Rob Yllescas, whom I mentioned a few weeks ago. Rob went to be with the Lord today, having suffered serious injuries in Afghanistan a little over a month ago. My heart is heavy for Dena and her daughters today, and thankful for the sacrifices so many have made to preserve our freedom.