Happy Birthday, Grammy!

This post is a day late, because I did not want to post a picture of Grammy's birthday present before she got it! At any rate, Happy Birthday, Grammy! We are immensely blessed to have you in our lives, and we love you very much! I am so thankful for the godly example and legacy that you and Papa have left to us all! Thank you for all you do!

I wanted to post some pictures of the gift I made Grammy, because I just recently discovered this craft project, and I am in love with it! What a great gift idea for your mom, grandma, friend, or just to do for yourself! It is the chipboard album. Now, maybe you are all familiar with these, but until a month ago, I was not. A good friend helped me do one for my mom for Christmas, and I loved how it turned out! They sell these at Hobby Lobby in words like FRIEND, LOVE, FAMILY, and BELIEVE. However, I've found a website where you can order a custom album to say ANYTHING you want! What a fun idea to do one in your child's name, or one that says SISTERS, or your mom's grandmother name! As you can see, the possibilities are endless! What I like about these versus a traditional scrapbook album is that they're made to set out in your house, and they're much smaller than a scrapbook, in how many pics they'll hold. Because of that, you could really devote just a week's worth of nap times to this project and have it completed! The only supplies you'll need are:

chipboard album
spray adhesive
scrapbook paper (1 piece/letter in your word)
brown or black ink pad (to distress the edges)
exacto knife (you'll glue the paper to the cardboard, then "trace" it with the knife on a cutting board)
ribbon
hole punch

and voila! You end up with this beautiful finished product:

I ended up writing the verse, "The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him." on the green paper.

I used my awesome new scrapbooking machine that Grammy gave me for Christmas to cut the paper into the neat shapes you see.

There were 2 other pictures of all 4 kids on this page.

This is my favorite page.... =)

What do you think? Are you inspired to tackle this project? If you have any questions on how to do it, let me know!

MPM: Decisions, Decisions

We make decisions daily. Some good, some not so good. For instance, my decision to blog right now, when I actually am quite sure I could be doing something slightly more productive. I make quite a lot of these type of decisions... doing something fun over something useful! Don't worry, though, I also make decisions to do productive things! In fact, due to my Secrets of Homemaking class that started its new semester last week, I have been very productive this past week, as I was challenged to clean out my hidden spaces and organize those closets and other places that are unseen by guests. I'm good about keeping the parts of the house that you see clean and spotless.... not so much in the closets and under the beds, though...

Any way, back to the topic at hand. What is a great decision I've made this month? Easy! A few weeks ago, we put down a deposit on a trip to Gulf Shores. We're going in May with our good friends (and neighbors...) Abby & Joseph!! We found a condo for DIRT cheap, and are all anxiously awaiting our relaxing time on the beach! I am so excited for Allie to see the ocean for the first time and am anticipating her to follow after her mother's footsteps and fall in love with it! It's been far too long since my toes have been immersed in the clean, white sand that only belongs to the Gulf of Mexico! The decision was a very timely one, because now we're locked in and are unable to cancel due to... hmm... things like needing to cut back and save money for a new baby, so yes, I'd say it was a GREAT decision! We may not have made it, if we knew then what we know now, but do I have any regrets? Definitely not!! Doing Disney next month while preg may be a slightly different story.... but so far I'm feeling good, and we'll make the best out of it!

So, Apparently I'm....

Yes, it's true. How can this be? You may ask. Trust me, I'm thinking the same thing! And for those of you who are thinking it.... NO, this was definitely not planned. Not in our plans, at least. But, apparently, God had something different in mind.

Now, I don't know for sure how far along I am, so we don't have any exact due date yet, but it looks like they will be approximately 16 months apart. WOW. Can I handle that? I hope so.

My mind has been racing over the past week. First I was in shock and denial. I really didn't even want to tell people, because I just didn't want to talk about it. Then, I moved on to freaking out. Thinking of all the things we need: a new crib/nursery furniture (I'd originally planned to just use Allie's, since we were planning on the 3-4 years-in-between-kids plan); a double stroller (ugh); cleaned out closets for storage space for toys, etc., since we'll no longer have the "play room"; more hospital bills, etc. Then, I went on to stressing about recovering from a C-Sec and not even being able to pick up Allie. The question even crossed my mind, "With two kids that close together, what will I do with them while I do things like, hmm.. take a shower?!"

I think I'm finally at the stage of acceptance. Afterall, children truly are a blessing from the Lord. And, I really do know that even though right now, I just can't really picture my life with an infant and a 16 month old, there will be a day when I won't be able to picture it any other way!

So, there you have it. Surprise.

Oh, and if you know anyone who is wanting to get rid of a double stroller and/or crib/furniture set, let me know. I'm in the market for a deal!

MPM: Favorites

Hmm... it's hard to pick just one. I mean, sure my black boots are a staple all winter long; then there is my new favorite pair of jeans I got for Christmas that have already gotten quite a bit of wear; and, of course, my sparkly, polka dot florida tshirt might just make the list, too. It really is hard to pick just one. But, after giving it a lot of long and hard thought (not really...), I think my favorite staple for the fall and winter this year has been....

pashminas!

I wish I had one in every color! As it is, I do have green, purple, and pink. I think I like them so much, because they give a little added flair to an otherwise boring outfit. They can dress up or down, which is nice, too! So, there you have it! What would you say is your favorite piece of clothing?

A much needed reminder...

"Those who talk a lot are likely to sin. But those who control their tongues are wise."

"But no one can control the tongue. It is an evil thing that never rests. It is full of deadly poison. With our tongues we praise our Lord and Father. With our tongues we call down curses on people. We do it even though they have been created to be like God. Praise and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it shouldn't be that way. Can fresh water and salt water flow out of the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives? Can a grapevine bear figs? Of course not. And a saltwater spring can't produce fresh water either."

In my quiet time the other night, a sentenced jumped right off of the page to me. It said:

"One of the best compliments that can be given a person is that she has never been heard to speak ill of anyone. This person is the image of Christ, and she will draw others to the Cross."

I confess that I'm afraid this would just not be the first thing to pop in someone's mind when thinking of me. We all have our weaknesses, and I am afraid this is mine. Boy, do I need a good daily reminder from the Lord to learn to hold my big, fat tongue!

Eating Out

Allie has always been good at restaurants. We've only had one time when she was about 2 months old where she screamed for about 20 minutes, and I'll admit, that was embarrassing! Other than that, she loves eating out! She loves looking around and taking in the sights. She has just started sitting in high chairs at restaurants, and she really loves that, along with her new treat - water through a straw! She just can't get enough!

If only going out to eat with kids could always be this easy... I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I'm betting this phase won't last forever!

Mystery Post Monday

Welcome to my very first Mystery Post Monday! The idea behind this is to give a fun topic for me to write about each week! I also want to invite you to write about Monday's topic on your blog (feel free to copy and use my MPM banner!). Whether you're lacking inspiration, like the week's topic, or whatever your reason may be, I invite you to join. Don't have a blog or don't want to do a whole post on the topic? Feel free to leave your own "mini post" on the weekly topic in the comments section here!

Today's topic, chosen by random.org is:

Best & Worst Recipes You've Tried

Well, I got to thinking about this. Best and Worst. Hmm... I mean, I can't really think of many recipes I've tried that I've just hated. Whenever I do try new recipes, I generally get them online and make sure they've got good reviews, before I attempt them. Now, don't get me wrong... I'm no Paula Dean or Julie Stiles or Pioneer Woman, or whoever you consider the current cooking expert to be. I guess I'm just not a very picky eater. There are lots of BEST recipes I could think of.... but unfortunately most of them are baked goods. Chocolate is my weakness... what can I say?

So, to find a solution for my problem, I decided to seek help from the hubs. As you can imagine, he was very cautious before answering my question of "Honey, what do you think is the worst recipe I've made...". He's a smart man. But after assuring him that my feelings would not be hurt, and I indeed did need an answer for my post, he (after not thinking long or hard at all) decided that my chicken pot pie recipe was definitely the WORST one ever. This is a little ironic, because my chicken pot pie actually goes down in my book as one of the best! There are few things that I just love eating as leftovers, but this one just seems to get better and better each day!! Unfortunately, in our household of two very non-picky eaters, I was aware that this wasn't one of E's favorites, so it is definitely not a staple in the Kendall household. So, I'll leave it up to you to decide. Here's the SUPER easy recipe. Try it, then come back and tell me is it a best, worst, or just somewhere in the middle?

EASY CHICKEN POT PIE

1 can chicken (next to tuna) I should note, this is the ONLY recipe I'll use canned chicken in. It actually is good.

2 cans mixed vegetables (I usually use frozen)

1 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of celery, mushroom, whatever you have on hand)

3 dashes sage

salt and pepper to taste

2 deep dish frozen pie crusts

- Drain chicken and vegetables. In a large bowl, mix the first five ingredients.
- Place mixture into pie crust and top with second.
- Crimp edges together. Make 2 or 3 slits in top crust and bake according to pie shell directions.

Is that easy or what?! Hmm... maybe that's why it made it to one of my favs... haha!

Baby, It's Cooolld Outside!

For those of you who don't know, it 12 degrees in Memphis today. 12!

Today, more than ever, I am anticipating our trip to the sunny state next month!

A New Blog Idea....

In order to spice things up a bit, I decided I'd try something new. Each Monday, I am going to begin Mystery Post Mondays. What is that, you may ask. Well, I am in the process of compiling a list of funny, interesting, weird, educational, or embarrassing blog topics. Each Monday morning, I will select one of them at random, and proceed to post on that topic.

This is where you come in. I need your help coming up with fun topics that you think should be "thrown in the pot". Then, I'd like to invite anyone who's interested to join me in Mystery Post Mondays. The topics should be generic enough that anyone who wants to can do their own "Mystery Monday" post on their blog.

Any topic given will be added to the list (unless I deem it inappropriate, so please none of those). So, be creative. List as many as you'd like. Let's have fun with this!

To help get you thinking, here are a few of the topics I've listed so far:

- Blog about something crafty you’re working on or have just finished.
- Blog about you and your spouse’s (or boyfriend's) love story.
- Create a “how-to” blog post explaining how to do something that you are good at, that you think others may want to know how to do.
- Post a giveaway.
- Blog about something embarrassing that you’ve done or said lately.
- Write a review on something (your fav product, restaurant, store, movie, book, etc.)

I really appreciate your ideas, and I hope you'll join me next week in Mystery Post Monday!

We're Going to Disney World!

Without Allie. Ha! We've been wanting to go for quite a while, but haven't gotten around to it yet! So, we figured, we might as well go now and enjoy it ourselves, then take Allie several years down the road when she can enjoy it. Personally, Disney world and an 8 month old just don't really go together that well. So, thanks to Jannie & Smokey and Mimi & Pop, we'll be leaving our little one behind, and enjoying 2 days of Disney, 1 day at Busch Gardens, and we may even squeeze in a beach day in a quick, 4 1/2 day trip!

Since, we're not doing the all-out-week-long-Disney-extravaganza or anything like that, I need help from you Disney experts to know how we can get the best possible Disney experience in two short, but wonderful days. What should our game plan be? Park Hopper for one or both days? What are the secret tips? What are the "can't miss" rides/shows/experiences?

Maybe it's because I haven't been to Disney since I was 10; Maybe it's because I haven't gone on a vacation in a year and a half (since vacationing didn't sound so appealing when I was miserably pregnant for 9 months), but I am super excited about this trip!

Your helpful hints would be greatly appreciated!