New Blog

I just posted my latest wedding photos on my new photography blog. (Please be patient - it's still under construction!)

Ana & Shane's Couple's Shower

One of the exciting things going on in our lives, right now, is preparation for Ana & Shane's wedding. Ana is my "aunt" by adoption. She is just a little older than I am, so we've grown up together & are like sisters. She & Shane are scheduled to tie the knot in October, so my Mom, sisters & I put together a couples' shower for them. Here are a few pictures of the party we had last weekend.

The invitations. Very simple design - printed on white cardstock with a strip of scalloped paper sewn onto one side of it. A punched butterfly attached with a paper tagger gave it just the right finishing touch.

The happy couple... feeling a little nervous about a party in their honor.

Table decor. I used my chippy candlesticks with a cream colored plate on top as a makeshift cake stand. I thought it looked cute.

The cupcakes Brenda & I made. So simple, but so cute! I also made the little flags out of patterned paper & toothpicks.

Again, very simple table decor. Vintage blue canning jars with sand & a tea light.

My favorite part of the party decor. Really easy & inexpensive tissue paper pom-poms made using this tutorial from Martha Stewart's website. The white paper lanterns were borrowed from my sister, Lish, uses them as part of the decor in her bedroom whenever she's not loaning them out. :)

The little advice cards I sent out with the invitations. I'm planning on binding them into a little book (the tag on the basket will be the cover) for Ana & Shane to have as a keepsake.

A closer look....

More details....

Little Miss I-Can-Do-It-Myself

Ryleigh was eating breakfast this morning & heard Jeff singing the song "I've Never Seen the Righteous Forsaken".
Jeff: (singing) "Have you ever been hungry? Jesus will feed you."
Ryleigh: (exasperated sigh) "I can feed myself! Jesus doesn't need to feed me!" :)

Sabrina @ 4 months

• I'm trying really hard to roll over, but I haven't succeeded yet.
  
• I'm growing so fast & getting all chubby. Everyone comments on how big I'm getting.
  
• Mommy just switched me to size 2 diapers.
• I'm starting to wear mostly 3-6 months clothes.
• I love to squeal & "talk" to people.
• I still like to sleep with a blanket or something over my mouth. Sometimes , though, if I'm really tired, I can fall asleep without it.
• I've made lots of new friends this month! The Penn View college kids are back & a lot of them love to hold me.
  
• I recognize my brother & sister & like to smile at them whenever they talk to me.
• I'm really partial to my Mommy's voice & will pay attention to her even from across the room. (Mommy hopes I will always listen to her so well! ;-)
• My legs are so chubby that Mommy & Daddy have to push them down into my bumbo seat! ;-0
  
• My mommy & daddy think I'm at such a sweet age & would love it if I would just stay like this forever.
• Mommy thinks I might be starting to get teeth, cause I'm always drooling & chewing on my hands.
  

Happy Grandparents' Day

"Grandparents, like heroes, are as necessary to a child's growth as vitamins."
- Joyce Allston

Toy Organizer Re-do

Today I'm joining Kimba's DIY Day party for the first time. I've been wanting to get one of these toy organizers for what seems like forever, so I was thrilled to find this one at a consignment shop. The only thing was, I really wasn't crazy about the Pooh design all over it.

So... I grabbed my trusty can of spray paint & some scrapbook paper and... VOILA!

Be sure to check out Kimba's blog for more DIY projects & ideas.

Vacation Photos, Part 2

***Since this is all old news, I seriously thought about just skipping part 2,
but since Aunt Darlene is still waiting, I figured I'd better not disappoint her.... ;-)

The second half of our little vacation consisted of traveling on to the Indianapolis area for a wedding & a family reunion on the Stratton side. We enjoyed seeing & catching up with a lot of Jeff's aunts, uncles & cousins that we don't get to see very often. We also really enjoyed getting to spend a little time with Steve & Tracy & their kiddos.

Carson loved holding Sabrina. More than once, he came up to me and
said, "I really wish I could hold Sabrina," which was his little way
of asking. ;-) In this picture, it was obvious that Kristen wanted a turn as well!

Little Miss Kylie - such a sweet little gal!

All ready to get on the road...again....

Ryleigh really enjoyed making friends with & playing with Darin & Shanista's daughter, Angie.

The Patriarchs + 1 Matriarch of the Stratton clan.

This is the way they normally act. ;-)

Playing an icebreaker game - Ring Around the Rosie.

Vacation Photos - Part 1

Well, we are back from our little getaway. We had a great time & even though we've been back home for almost a week, I'm still getting caught up! As usual, I took tons of photos & will most likely have to post in segments.

Our first stop was this wonderful Christian retreat center called Faith Mountain, located way out in the boonies in West Virginia. We had heard a lot about this place & decided to go for a few days before heading to Indiana for a family wedding/reunion.

We stayed in the Sassafras cottage. We were thinking "rustic cabin", so we were pleasantly surprised when we walked in & found a beautifully decorated, two bedroom, fully equipped kitchen & bathroom complete with a large whirlpool tub!

We spent A LOT of time in the hammock. It was so relaxing!

Grant (Ryleigh, too!) had loads of fun playing outside. Grant spent a lot of time playing in the dirt with his cars & trucks. Almost every time he came back into the cabin, he had either a rock or a stick clutched tightly in his little fists. So much fun to see his little boy nature come alive!

We also really enjoyed sitting around the campfire. In fact, check out this post to see a video clip of Grant trying to "catch" the smoke.

Sabrina went through a growth spurt while we were at Faith Mountain. She literally seemed to grow overnight. She's filling out so much & starting to really respond with lots of smiles & coos.

Another one of our favorites... meals on the back porch.

Jeff enjoyed lots of hikes. He caught this beautiful sunrise on the last morning we were there.

We discovered that all those redneck stories you hear about West Virginia are true! ;-) I could not believe the horrible "paved" roads we were driving on were actually located in the United States! These roads were every bit as bad - maybe even worse - than the roads in Mexico!

Each house had it's own container for trash to keep the animals out of it. Some were built very neatly. Others were made of whatever the people had on hand, such as old boards, pallets, chicken wire, old freezers ;), etc. This was one of the funniest ones we saw - two grocery carts pushed together. Notice the official little Waste Management sign.


Needless to say, we had such a nice time that we did not want to leave. We'll definitely be returning when we can stay longer!