Camping Themed Baby Shower

Mark and I celebrated Jase with our closest family and friends at the beginning of the month. I wanted something new and different for our shower theme and fell in love with an outdoors/camping theme. All of my inspiration came from here. Here are a few of our pictures...

Our centerpieces consisted of a campfire, trail mix, balloons, and a camping bear table number

Here is a table with the balloons. They were made with tulle instead of string.

Trail Mix

The table from a different perspective. The party favors were AVON lotion tubes with flowers on them. Every table also had a rustic silverware package and a Baby Bingo Board.

Silverware Package... I used brown lunch bags and got 6 packages out of 1 bag. I then stamped them with words like 'enjoy', 'dig in', or 'eat'.

Baked Potato Bar 

We had chili and chicken and dumpling soup to go along with the baked potato... and it was a cold snowy day... perfect for the two!

'Jase Thomas' onesie banner I made using my cricut

Guests were encouraged to write daddy a little message on the diaper to make him laugh during his late night diaper changes!

Some of the messages were so funny!

                                   

Our Wishing Tree: Guests were encouraged to write a wish for Baby Jase, mommy and daddy!

Here are some handmade gifts that I received and absolutely LOVE... I know some very talented people!

This probably has to be my favorite gift and it was made by my dad! I love, love, LOVE my tree bookshelf. It will fit perfectly in Jase's room. (He even made a little tree stand to go with it!) Thanks Dad!

Rachel, my matron of honor, made me a baby quilt out of the bridesmaid dress she wore in my wedding. The material from the dress is the dark blue patches... love this more than ever! It will be a forever keepsake!

Christy and her boyfriend's mother, Lynn, made Jase crocheted football helmets... here is the Bengals one and there is also a Dallas Cowboys one for when he is with grandma and grandpa.

My mom, dad, sister and brother had many personalized onesies and bibs made... This one is from Christy and says "If you think I'm loud you should hear my aunt"... another one says "If you think I'm cute you should see my uncle". They even made a bib that has a picture of Ruby, our dog, on it and it says "Best Friends Forever"

Another gift from Rachel... she made a 4-Wheeler diaper cake. I wish we had gotten a better picture of it!

Mark and I are so blessed with such wonderful friends and family! We love each and every one of you and appreciate all that you do for us. We can't wait to welcome Jase Thomas into the world and introduce you all to him. We know you will love him as much as you love the both of us! Thank you for all of your gifts and well wishes!

March Craft Night

With Easter just around the corner what better way to decorate than with some colorful string Easter eggs?

For our March Craft Night we followed Alissa's directions from Craft Endeavor to create our centerpieces. The directions were very easy to follow and the craft was a huge success. A bit messy... okay very messy, but the eggs turned out great!
Thank you to all the ladies who came out and a special thank you to those who provided the snacks, devotion, and door prize!

Now let's see how everyone's eggs turned out! Pictures please :)

Mari decided to hang hers as garland over the fireplace!

Trista has all her eggs in a basket :)

A Wedding Ornament

So one of my very close friends got married this weekend and I was able to make another invitation ornament. I have to say... this is kind of my 'go-to' handmade wedding gift. Its so easy but yet looks so nice and is a great keepsake for the bride and groom.

Materials:
A clear glass or plastic ornament
The wedding invitation
A paper cutter
A pencil
Ribbon to match the colors

 Step 1: Find the wedding invitation... (And make sure you copy down all information so that you know where the reception is and what time both the ceremony and reception start...)

 Step 2: Using your paper cutter, slice the invitation into strips. Each strip should have only one line of text on it. It doesn't matter if some are thicker than others... you won't be able to tell. I also only use the strips with 'wedding' text (For example if the invitation gives directions I don't include the directions or information like that.)

 Step 3: Using a pencil, loosely wrap each strip around to form a curly-q. (Yes, that is a technical term.)

 Here is what you will get. Don't worry if it looks to 'tight'. They will loosen up and expand once in the bulb.

 Step 4: Place each strip into the ornament. I found that rolling it in a small circle then poking it through the top works best. If you feed it through, one end to the other, it tends to uncurl.

Step 5: Add a ribbon to the top and there you have it! Now the bride and groom have a copy of their wedding invitation and an ornament to remember their wedding by every Christmas!

What are some wedding keepsake ideas you use?

Why I Love My Husband

This time of year I really start to think about my love for my husband. You can find our Love Story here but here is a Cliff's Notes version... Mark and I 'met' in seventh grade at youth camp. The boys from his church roomed with the boys from my church and they became friends. I on the  other hand, wanted nothing to do with the boys from his church. Fast forward about 15 years and we started casually talking on Facebook. That January he was working at Seneca Lake Youth Camp and I went as a chaperon for our girls. After spending a little time together that weekend he asked me for my number. He called the NEXT day... he was such a gentleman that he did not need the whole 3 day rule!!! Our conversations from that night on were at least 3 hours... every night. 2 weeks later he came up to Poland, from Louisville KY, for our first date. Due to the snow that date ended up being a weekend and by Sunday I. Was. In. LOVE. Monday on the phone he asked me if I wanted a silver or gold ring! Wow... So, why do I love this man?

1. He has such a love for God! Many of our conversations revolve around loving the Lord and trying to be faithful to his calling for us as a couple.

2. He is so funny! Just yesterday he had me laughing so hard I was crying... and it wasn't even trying to be funny! He sings, he dances, and he just likes to goof off and have fun!

3. He is my rock! He has gotten me through many ups and downs. With him by my side I can accomplish anything.

4. He is faithful! I love knowing that he only has eyes for me. He makes sure I know that I am the only one for him.

5. He is oh-so-SEXY! Especially in his Bengals jersey and hat turned backwards... Hubba Hubba!

Now I could go on and on but for times sake I would say that this is why I love my husband! Join me over at Happy Wives Club and link up your post on why you love your husband. 

Home Organization Week 1 Challenge: The Kitchen

While I don't necessarily believe in New Year's resolutions I do believe in starting the year off on the right foot. In preparing for baby Wimbish, and just wanting to have a more organized house, I have decided to join the lovely ladies here and complete the Home Organization 14 Week Challenge sponsored by A Bowl Full of Lemons. This challenge takes you through room by room, helping you organize each nook and cranny of your house. I can't wait to start Week 1: The Kitchen! Will you join me?