Independence Day

They're a little late, but here are some pictures from our 4th of July celebrations.

I didn't make too many plans ahead of time because Noe was going to work in the evening. We hung out at the house most of the day, and Noe did some mowing. Samweli had to be involved of course, and ended up pushing this mower around the yard a little. Noe ended up turning it on and helping him over the rough spots. He is such a beast of a man! I can't believe how strong he is! <---I'm talking about Samweli. :)

Samweli is full of independence himself these days. We went to Letulle Park for the city's July 4th celebration. There weren't too many people there, but that was perfect for my son because he had plenty of room to roam around wherever he pleased. There were prizes (my friends won a trip to Schlitterbahn!), free bouncy houses, water slides, great bands, and the most exciting part...pin wheels:

The last "band" was a barbershop quartet that covered our favorite patriotic songs and led into the fireworks show, which was Samweli's first ever. He loved it!

I would just like to say that Bay City did an AMAZING job putting together our Independence Day celebration. The fireworks show was the biggest in our history (so I'm told), the kids' activities were free, and the park was sprayed for mosquitos. For our little town, I'm pretty proud. Even though there wasn't a huge turnout, I hope they do it again next year. We'd definitely be there!

Kitchen Redo - House Pics Post 2

So, my kitchen isn't finished yet, but it's close enough for me to share pictures. Here we go:

BEFORE:

^^^Please notice the HUMONGOUS slatted doors over the pantry^^^

(left picture)

and the crumbling yellow tile countertop and backsplash (right picture)

along with the mismatched "wood" laminate. 

Did you notice the smoke-stained vent-hood 

and the gaudy, retro knobs on all the cabinetry...

...or should I mention those things too?

AFTER:

We sanded and painted the cabinet doors and replaced the hardware. I couldn't salvage any hinges (although I did try), but I was able to save a TON of money by resurrecting some old cabinet pulls. My mom bought the pulls for me at a garage sale ($7 for 40 pulls). We cleaned, spray painted and lacquered them, and they turned out great! The originals sell on ebay for $7 a piece. We just took off the ugly plate on the back that was making them look so dated!

I took off the bifold doors that covered the pantry because they were poorly hung and falling apart. I opted to leave it open and *try* to keep my food stuffs looking neat and organized on the shelf. I picked up some clear canisters at a garage sale (14/$10) and had a few of my own already. 

It helps to keep everything looking somewhat unified.

Here is our breakfast nook. I still need to pick out fabric, make cushions, refinish the bottom cabinet doors, and do something with the window, but it's coming along. (Samweli enjoyed running through some hanging streamers at a party we went to, so I thought I could set some up in the door to keep him busy while I was getting my kitchen set back up.)

Did you notice that we moved the oven? That's because my wonderful hubby got me a dishwasher! Hmmm...I wonder if he thinks that counts as "helping" with the dishes.

There's still a LOT more to be done, but the bulk of the job is over. Maybe we'll get it finished before we've lived in the house a year, but if not, that's okay. I'm just blessed to have such a functional place to cook.

I know colors don't come across computer screens like they ought to, but if you want to check out my kitchen colors, try these from Sherman Williams (but wait until it goes on sale, of course):

Compatible Cream (walls)

Navajo White (cabinetry)

Dover White (trim)

As usual, I've updated the Fluff Gallery and Family Photos sections with new projects and pictures. Please feel free to take a look and enjoy my family and my fabrics! Just click on the tabs at the top of the page.

Green Bean Garden

Kimberly, myself, and our row and a half of
freshly planted veggies.

We have a garden! This is the first one I've ever done. My mom, sister, and I are all working together on it. We have been blessed with good rain this year, so we haven't had to water it even once! Let's take a moment and thank God for that blessing. Thank you, Lord!

A retired gentleman opened up his property to the community. He tilled all the soil. All we had to do was decide what to plant. We didn't want too much of any one thing, so we chose to make a row of green beans and then a few carrots, cucumbers, and radishes.

We've just started harvesting our green beans, and my mom has gotten quite a few radishes. I'm going out tomorrow to pick up the 4th round of grown green beans. Honestly, I don't really even know what I'm doing, but the green beans have been super-easy. Plant beans 6 inches apart, about 2 inches down (like to your knuckle). Water. Grow. Pick.

We didn't want to mess with canning and were delighted to find out that we can just vacuum seal and freeze them. (Thank you, Aunt Peggy.) I might try blanching the next batch before I freeze them, but with this group, all I did was:

This is only HALF of our second crop of green beans!

1. Cut off ends.
2. Wash in vinegar water to kill bacteria.
3. Rinse in clear water.
4. Dry overnight.
5. Package and freeze.

Even Samweli was able to get in on the fun when I packaged them!



*Note:  My green beans were delicious when I boiled them without letting them thaw first. If you thaw or microwave them, I don't really know if they'll turn out as good.

A few extras:

The garden is extremely wet! Look at all that mud!!
Can you tell which ones are my legs? LOL!
My legs really are that white.

Here's my beautiful Rose Begonia at my house.
I just really like it and wanted to share. :)

Samweli's Room - House Pics Post 1

To be honest, before we got our 16-week ultrasound, I was positive I was going to give birth to a precious girl. I really didn't care if our baby was a boy or a girl, I was just very sure I already knew - girl.period.girl. I guess my mother's intuition needed a little more maturing. I was very clearly wrong. We had planned to go shopping that afternoon to register for all things baby in celebration of our little one. Unfortunately, I had the baby blues and picked more of a gender neutral theme than Samweli's daddy would have preferred:

As you can see, it's cute, but it doesn't really scream BOY. Samweli now has a room that his daddy can be proud of, and he loves it! By "he" I mean Samuel, but you could take it as "Noe" if you want. They are both in Baby Boy Heaven.

Here is Samweli's new Hunting Room:

***Caution - if you are against the hunting of animals, don't continue on. My husband loves -  and my son will soon love - to shoot things.***

This is his room looking from the door. We found a great camo rug on clearance,
and the camo blanket was actually a shower gift from a friend, Jolene.
She recently started selling her ultra-plush blankets since everyone
LOVES them. You can check them out here.
I found this awesome wood sign with a bear on it and decided to incorporate bears
along with the ducks and deer I had originally planned on doing.
And the framed "art" idea came together thanks to Emily.
(They are just those vinyl wall stickers put on white paper.
Don't tell anyone though, they look like prints.)

Noe and I both found these metal signs which
I think look really cool in his little boy room. :)
The deer antler sign over the dresser says "HUNTING".
He knows what each animal on his wall is.
I still need to get a plain green changing pad cover,
and you can't see it, but the lamp shade has ducks on it too.

My mom got the light switch plate in Tennessee
and the (fake) antlers were a perfect spot to hang
his camo jacket.

"Little Bear" ended up being the perfect addition
to his bedroom. It's a tree carving from Tennessee
that was picked out by his Grandma, Babu, Bibi,
and Aunt Stacey. It's the one thing in his room
that's too heavy for him to push around,
but he loves giving him hugs. So sweet!

There's one more corner of his room that needs finished, but I have ideas for it. I've just got to decide how to mount the Benjamin that Samweli's Pop gave him to hang in his room.

Well, that's one room in the house finished. Only the rest of the house to go! That doesn't sound too overwhelming, does it?

Previously Posted Family Photos

Samuel just took peek-a-boo to the next level.
He's discovered hide-and-seek.
Without any prompting I founding him patiently waiting in the broom closet
for me to find him. I'm glad I found him quick;
he never told me he was gonna start playing!

Unloading the new mower with Daddy.
He was freezing, but he still enjoyed the rain.

Hanging out in the office.

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Samweli got a play castle from Lolly and Pop.
Noe turned it into a water park on it's first day in our yard.

At Grandma and Papa's for Mother's Day

Samweli thinks that the skimmer tank is his personal kiddie pool.

Umm...is that your son? Because he sleeps JUST like you!

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Easter!!! I know that he looks like he's in a suit from the 70's, but his neck was just too thick to get the shirt buttoned to the top! Like father, like son. He had a super-cute little clip-on tie too, but it just didn't make it. LOL!

He went down for a nap before the egg hunt, so he's a little 

"under-clothed" in these pictures. :)

"Where are the rest of the eggs, Mom?"

He LOVED opening up the eggs to see what was inside
- too bad he didn't get to eat any of it. Bahaha.

(I'm not really a mean mom. Samweli had special eggs
just for him that had his snacks in them.)

Samweli's first sidewalk chalk art. And in case you didn't know, 

his rainbow is the one in the bottom of the photo. :)

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"Gimme the camera!"

"Playing in the middle of the night is so much FUN!"

Playing before bedtime

Going for a walk

My Baby Is a Monkey

Yesterday Samweli turned 8 months old. Now that doesn't make him a monkey, but (even though he's not walking) he also CLIMBED into his stroller and turned himself around yesterday. See the picture below? No "seatbelt" on because I didn't put him there! Why would I let him do this? I...ummm...had stepped into the other room for a moment. Ahem. I guess I'll be more careful from now on. :) I'm just amazed he didn't lose his footing and fall, although he did this morning when I was trying to video him doing it on his own again. Haha.

Yup, he climbed right up in there all by himself and then
turned himself around. You think he wanted to go for a
walk or what?

In the past few days Samweli has also reached some other exciting milestones. He clapped for the first time during praise and worship Sunday morning. :) He also crawled a few feet yesterday (which I think he's been capable of doing for a long time, he just doesn't seem to care to do it unless he's on a hard floor). He has also started sleeping in his own room through the night, and much to my dismay, won't sleep in with me anymore in the morning, even when I bring him into my own bed.

Since he's sleeping so much better on his own now, Noe and I decided to make some cookies after he went to bed the other night. Normally there is NO cooking happening when Samuel sleeps. Pots clanking, chip bags opening, and breaking ice out of their molds have always been sure-fire ways to wake up our sleeping baby. We quietly set to work mixing all the ingredients. That's right, we didn't even use a packaged mix - we did it from scratch. :) Unfortunately we accidentally used the tablespoon instead of the teaspoon for the baking soda and salt, so our cookies tasted kinda "saltine cracker-y". What I loved more was that Noe wanted to make mega-sized cookies so he put huge scoops of dough onto the cookie sheet. Our cookies came out looking like cow patties. Look:

Yum yum!

And to celebrate Samweli's 8 month old birthday, if you can call it that, I got a new serger! NO, the serger's not for me, it's for him, really! He will now be pooping on things that are much more finished around the edges. Haha. My gifted serger was giving me quite a few issues when I sewed the soakers for Samweli's diapers - not catching all the material and all - and this one seems to work like a beauty. I'm so excited! Below is my serger and my most recent diaper.

It's pink and cream colored! How cute!

Camo cotton outer - hidden PUL - suedecloth inner

In my next post, I'll show you how to cut your clothes drying time and save money with a super-easy, kid-friendly project! Of course, I have to finish doing it myself first so I can test out that theory. Hehe. I also have a funny video of Samweli, but had trouble uploading it, so maybe I can get it up in my next post.

Didn't get enough of my kid yet? I've uploaded a few new pictures in the Family Photos section of my blog (click on the tab under the blog title at the top of the page).

I Can Sew...Really, I Can!

My sister asked me the other day, "Becky, have you always been this creative and we just didn't know it?" My answer - I guess so! I have spent the last week just sewing my little heart out - seriously! I've been staying up until 2am cutting and sewing and thinking about what I'm going to sew the next day - I just can't seem to help myself. The funny thing is, I think I'm actually pretty good at it. Who knew sewing could be so much fun? You seriously need to try it! Here are some of the more recent things I've sewn for the ladies going to Tanzania this month:

Wetbag for beach days

Jewelry Pouch

Jewelry pouch opened - this turned out AWESOME!

Bedside Organizer

Bedside organizer "in use" (a different pattern, obviously)

On another note - my baby sister, Laura, left for Tanzania this week, so I want to spend a little time reminiscing about how absolutely amazing she is. I can't express how proud I am of her. She's got such a quality about her. I can't describe it, but I think that means that it's just the glory of God shining through her life. Laura will be spending the next month serving the Lord on the mission field. She worked so hard to make this trip possible. She sent out letters (which seems to be the most popular way to raise money these days), but didn't stop there. She handcrafted cards and sold them at our local market (if she were to calculate her time she probably would have made maybe $.50 an hour working on them), she put flamingos in peoples' yards for almost a month, and worked all year to put some of her own money toward her trip. When did my little sister grow up? All of a sudden she's a mature young woman!!! And very beautiful too, may I add. She didn't even quit working until right before she left, and she's only going to be home for a weekend before she heads off to college (where's the selfishness in that, right?). God has blessed me with an awesome sister, and I am so looking forward to all the ways He is going to use her as His vessel in the future.

Samweli and Auntie Laura, the night before she left

And COMING SOON: You may have noticed the new tabs below my blog title. These tabs work, but for now they go to pages with nothing. Eventually, I'll be getting my project pictures and cute photos of Samweli posted under these headings so even if you miss a couple blogs you can catch up that way. Or you may just want to show off my cute baby to your friends and it will be an easy way to do it (I don't like facebook's new picture viewer, ick). OR - and this is a big OR - you MIGHT see something that I made that interested you and want to go look at it again so you can try to make it yourself! Like I said, eventually, that will get posted. Haha.

Here's a few new pictures of Samweli to keep you tied over until then: