Open House on Sunday

Ok Bloggers... we are still looking for the right family to buy our old home. Yes, I know, you are all thinking woah! We have had a couple snafus where it just didn't work out. I have felt peace about this, knowing it just wasn't right and the Lord will deliver the perfect family for the home we love so much!


Recently, after our set backs we took it off the market and are showing the house ourselves. This will allow us to sell it (hopefully quicker and ) at a much better price. We have shown it with good success recently. This Sunday we are having an Open House!






It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with lots of great details.


The kitchen is recently updated with new countertops and antiqued cabinets!

The family room has pitched ceilings and walks out to the back deck and fire pit.


The master suite has good closet space & tray ceilings.

We love this home and the neighborhood is quiet and full of good families. Sunday 1-3 pm @ 11 Rose Lane. Please pass this on to anyone looking!!

Flashback Friday! & MD apt

I saw a couple people doing this and was excited! I opened up my infinite amount of pictures and looked for the date closest to today's- minus a year. Some of you know I have pictures of almost every week of my child's life! Overkill? I think not! It was awesome looking back and got me even more excited for Leah's arrival!

I found a 3-2-08 file and here are a few of my faves...

Ok- folks, seriously, it only makes me more mad that its darn near freezing still and here we are one year ago at the park.... withOUT jackets nonetheless! (PS. Isn't she cute) Ayla is almost 10 mo in these pics. I believe this is her first "real" trip to the park. You know the other times were for mommy to walk, but this time Nope! Mommy & Daddy took her to swing/slide for the first time. She definitely had a great time.

In this folder, I came across a few videos from this trip to the park also. MAN it reminds me how fun and exciting the little things in life are. I am so excited to do these with Leah! I can honestly say watching the videos and looking at the pics took me back to that day. We weren't planning on leaving the house, I definitely wasn't dressed for taking pics, but Spring was in the air. I then thought I don't talk about Leah very much. Its so easy to concentrate on what you can see. Though if many of you have seen me lately, you can definitely 'see' Leah's growing. Dr apt went very well. I get to meet with him in 2 weeks then every week to watch since Ayla came at 36 weeks. He even said he would check me next visit to see if I have had any changes. My belly has grown leaps and bounds and I feel bigger than I ever did with Ayla. I am SO tired, have tons of pressure, etc. She is a crazily active baby. I don't remember Ay being this way meaning maybe we're going to have an active newborn on our hands. I say, Bring it On!

Coming to an end...and a tough decision

Well, my dance season is coming to an end. Another year gone! Wow- its gone fast. The girls I had this year we alot of fun. Very different than some I have had in years past. These girls were all very new to the competition scene, so I felt like a mother hen. We had a productive year with alot of ups and only a few downs.
Now its time to say goodbye to this season and look to the future! Every season I wonder how or if I can do it. Physically, it takes alot of time from my family and from my body. I enjoy mentoring, laughing and learning with the girls. But, with mommyhood of 2 quickly approaching.. I wonder "can I really handle this" and "is it fair to my family". I know God has put me on the path of coaching for a reason.
Please pray for me as I make this tough decision. What is amazing is my husband loves that I coach and is very supportive. And he is the one who "suffers" when Im gone! Im a lucky girl! Whatever I decide will be great... I have a wonderful family that I can spend more time with or I have my family plus my extended dance family whom I love very much!

Pretty in Pink

Hope you all had a fantastic Valentines Day.

Here's a few snapshots of Ayla opening her goodies from Mommy & Daddy.

She was too cute... "WOW", she'd say.

Then kisses for us both and stickers for Leah. :) What a good girl!

New Love: Passion for... err Fashion?

Ha. Im weird. But, admitting it I am sure it the first step. Right?

Ok.

This is my new love. I love making little love gifts for my friends and family. It started out with a uber cool website and a love for monogramming, well anything. I started with blankets as Christmas gifts for my dancers with their initials... cool. Then once my friends started popping out babies it went on to blankies.. even cuter. Then a special first birthday gift for lil Meredith Bean, a "one" shirt. I just can't stop.

I L.O.V.E. them. :)

This is the latest. A sweet piece for my Leah.

You like?

Seriously. Wow.

Jeff and I have been completely blown away with the generosity and compassion felt all weekend through our blog! I had no clue what to expect, and actually told Jeff, I would love if 3-4 people linked to our page. People are still posting (which is awesome)! Last time I checked 20 people linked, with others leaving very sweet comments. Seriously. Wow. I know this has touched my life and those of you who posted shared how much the Knepp's story touched yours. Its amazing how God gives us little glimpes in our lives that make us reevaluate what is important. Andon did just that for me. As I did anxiously await seeing his face, I know I will one day when it is my time. Until then THANK YOU, everyone, from the bottom of my heart for letting me be apart of such an awesome experience with you all. If you do not know Chelsa- she has updated on her healing and thoughts on this weekend. It sounds like your stories and dedications really gave them something to remember! Please go and check it out and lift her up!

I will be closing down the Mr. Linky soon (prob tonight or tomorrow). That does not mean you can not continue to show your love and laughter for Andon & his family, you will just not be able to link to my page.

Celebrating Andon

Today I am celebrating Valentine's day with my family. It reminds me that not everyone is with the people they love. My friend's the Knepp's recently lost their little boy Andon, who was born sleeping at 34 weeks.

Through this time, Chelsa has shown us all how a Christian should be when facing times we don't understand. But, most of all Andon has taught me more than I could imagine without even uttering a cry. God's plan for this little boy was far too special for this temporary earth. And his story will surely touch people for a lifetime.

Today we celebrate this day of love in honor of Angel Andon. This family knows love, grace, & faith, and most importantly lives life according to God's principles. Even though they do not pretend to fully know why Andon is not here, they know he is in a far better place. So today we invite everyone, everywhere to celebrate the love of life.

Once you've created your post link my page so others can view all those who are choosing to honor Andon. (please link the post from today, not your total page) Then come back to my page and use Mr. Linky to allow others to come to your page. If the link isn't working, simply leave a comment with your blog or thoughts on the day.

Our day with Andon

We took advantage of our last day of warmer weather to go outside and play. I love watching Ayla play outside and explore. This is one of the best ways we enjoy life! I spent some time talking about Andon and how he was in heaven with Jesus. Though Ayla is young, and does not fully understand yet, I know she will appreciate one day that she got to say "See ya in Heaven" to a friend she will one day meet!



We got some balloons to play with and attached a note for Andon to recieve. We released in our them in our backyard with the warmth of the sun peaking through the clouds. It was beautiful!

Shout it from the Mountain: Andon's Blog Memorial

Go Shout in on the Mountain that Andon's blog Memorial is tomorrow. See previous post for all details

The Knepps & I are inviting Everyone, Everywhere to join in our celebration of life in memory of Andon Joseph Richard Knepp. I am so excited to see what everyone does in honor of Andon. I will set my post to start early tomorrow am. I signed up for a Mr. Linky and hopefully that will allow everyone to link to my page and then we all can see who joined in for this celebration.
If there are problems with the Linky then just plan on leaving a comment on my post so everyone can go to your page and view your posting.

So, c'mon blog friends and let everyone know about this wonderful day!

Big Sis in Training

A daily activity for us is to go into Leah's nursery and talk about what we're going to do when she arrives... what she'll wear, changing diapers, rocking her, etc. Ayla really likes this and I think its starting to make her feel more into what is about to "rock her world". :)

She gets out her babies and loves on them continuously. She is such a little mommy, my big sis in training. I know this next phase in our life is going to be truely monumentous. I love that we'll be sharing our love with another sweet girl. And I love that we can show Ayla that love in a totally different way than we do now.




Oh and she made dinner too... its duck. HA

Show your love for life in memory of Andon Knepp

As most of you know Chelsa & Ryan Knepp recently lost their little boy, Andon before his birth. We all came to know Andon well around here. Chelsa's blogs were always full of hope and fun details of their wonderful family. Since his passing, I sat many times wondering what I could do or say. I couldn't think of anything. But, I could think of what I would want if I had lost our child. I would want people to celebrate... life, family, God's grace. And on Saturday, February 14th that is exactly what we are going to do in honor of Andon and the love of his family & friends.

With the permission of Chelsa & Ryan- I am planning a blog memorial for Andon Joseph Richard Knepp. What better day to show our love for this Child of God than on Valentines Day?

On Valentines Day, we would like to invite everyone, everywhere to celebrate little Angel Andon. Celebrate by showing us all how you & your family enjoy life... by taking a walk, playing in your superman cape, dancing to loud music, praying with one another. Please share with us how you enjoy life in honor of the life lost. You can do this by dedicating your post to Andon with pictures or journals of your day! I will try to get a link site so everyone can link their blog to mine on Saturday. Let's see how many people we can get to celebrate this beautiful little boy! If there is someone who does not have a blog but wants to join in let them post to your site or I will open mine up to anyone who sends me their journaling.

I will post more details soon.... until then feel free to pass this post on or link up to mine so others can read the details and plan Saturday in honor of Andon.

Valentine

Can you believe its mid-February already! Wow. I have been planning a couple things for my loved ones for Valentines day. We started last week making daddy's card. See previous post Then yesterday Brittany & Mer came by after naps to start on a couple cards for our grandparents. Ayla & Mer weren't totally "into" it like us mommy's were. I guess its their age?

Regardless, we had a good idea. And despite what Brittany says about not being "crafy" she did awesome! One of my fave cards Ayla & I made says... "some bunny loves you" we made this by using her thumbprint for the head of the bunny and her finger prints for the ears. SO cute! :)



On Saturday we will be making brownies for our family. Im going to let Ayla use heart shaped cookie cutters to make them extra special! Jeff's brother and our SIL will be in town with our nephew Ridge. We love spending time with them, but rarely get the chance. But, Saturday will be extra special to us in alot of ways this year. You will understand more with my next post.

What are you doing special for your family?

Welcome to the new & improved playroom! Awhile back I posted about switching the playroom into where the guestroom was. I briefly showed you a few pics from the move over, and as usual I was just not satified with how it looked.
Something just seemed unfinished or dirty or something, who knows. I vowed once we moved stuff that was it- HA After batting my eyelashes & pouting a bit (what?! hehe) Jeff agreed to paint the room for me. Believe me, I would totally paint while he was at work, but Im too busy carrying our lil baby in my belly. I doubt she'd enjoy the fumes! I settled on a neutral, sage green. Love It. :)
The room is not totally done yet. But I had to post a couple pics bc I am just so happy with how its looking so far. And give mad props to my hubby! We are still on a hunt for a couch and it needs a few touches (including a cool photo project Im working on- stay tuned for that!)
Definitely feeling really crafty lately. I Love nesting. We have got so much done lately around here. Since our last post about Valentines, I have worked on a small craft table for Ayla. See photos I wish I had a before pic. I found this table in a antique shop for $5. Dirty, dusty, full of potential. After some TLC- it has become Ayla's fave spot for snacks, coloring, etc.

Things we are looking forward to this week... making more Valentines with our friends, Mer & Brittney, finishing the awesome photo project for the playroom, going to playgroup finally after being quarentined for 3 weeks!, and traveling to Eville for some shopping & lunch with friends...

PS. YAY for this weather. My seasonal affective disorder is melting :)

Craft day

Oh the life of a toddler.... its so fun watching Ayla learn and explore through the activities of her life. She seems to be growing up so much! She loves to unload the dishwasher, handing daddy the plates (which is scarey) and knocking on the droors for someone to open them. So smart- I swear she knows where the silverware, plates, and tupperware all go.

Today we worked on some crafts while soaking up some "sunshine" from the windows. All in all it was productive. It was fun to see her choose colors of crayons and what stickers she found interesting over the others. She's definitely a girl!


She is so precious!


Just tasting the merchadise.. no biggie!


Note the paci- its nap time! It was the only way I could get her to show off one of her masterpieces for her daddy. Shhh, don't tell. There is still another week before the big day!

Hopefully, I will be able to spend time like this with her forever! Be on the lookout for more Valentines coming your way in the week ahead...

Update... and more

**New Update**Chelsa's friend Misty blogged today on their behalf today. So sad... please remember to keep praying over everyone around them, the doctors & nurses, family & friends, big brother brycen, and of course Chelsa & Ryan. We do have to rejoice that our prayers are being heard...Chelsa is recovering!



For updates on our friend, Chelsa & her family you can go to her SIL blog...
http://threepreciousgifts.blogspot.com/

My heart still aches for her, but I am so overwhelmed to see the amount of people in her life and out that are getting on their knees for them! Thank you prayer warriors. The tough road just begun- with Chelsa needing healing physically & mentally.

A tragedy has struck one of our friends. Please pray for them & their family as they struggle with the situation. For now, no details, for their privacy- when they are ready to come forward and talk. Until then God knows their pain and their situation. Please pray for peace and understanding.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah41:10

Dance...

We had another great weekend for dance! All four of my girls and I packed up and headed to Bloomington for one of our last competitions of the season. There were over 110 performances that day, with incredible talent from all across the state. We were in a division against 14 other teams, and came in 8th. The prior weekend we brought home 2 first place trophies in a smaller division. I was very proud of them! Its hard coming from a small school. We are still trying to make our name in the dance world- ha
Next weekend is our last season performance. Then on to Regionals!

Again... another post on my lil bird being sick. Believe me... I wish I had more to write about, but it seems her little immune system has taken a kick to the gut! Its tough. Some of you may know Ayla was born a bit early, so she may be still playing catch up? Or maybe she's just going to be puny for awhile? We def had a rough last winter also, so we are not too surprised.
Once Ayla finished up her round of antibx for her tonsilitis she quickly developed a cough, which worsened over a few days. She now has bronchitis, which is pretty typical. I pray now that it doesn't worsen! I keep trying to keep her coughing, so that junk doesn't stay in her lungs. We do not want pneumonia again!!
Fortunately, you can't always tell she is feeling sicky. She has been such a good lil girl!!


There's not much a Choc Chip cookie can fix :)