Last day to enter!!!!! You know you want to :)

The winner will be announced tomorrow (thursday) morning.  That is if I can figure out random.org.  Or I might have to put all the names in a hat and let Stella pick, so then it would be tomorrow afternoon. :)  This is so fun.  I wish I could do this every week!!

PS... ( I know, this should go on the bottom, but most of you have read this whole post and I didn't want you to miss this) Did I mention that up to 25% of each item sold from Summer's shop will be donated to St. Jude's Children's Hospital? Yeah, amazing.  Here's a little clip from Summer's blog in case you missed it...

after i lost my dad to cancer (march 26th, 2009), i tried to figure out a way to make a difference. mashing my passion of creativity with my dads passion for st. jude childrens hospital (a hospital geared towards helping kids with cancer), i came up with this idea. handmade jewelry & handmade items {i'm obsessed with letters & numbers & blue & antique vintage things}... donating up to 25% of each item sold to st. jude childrens hospital. every little bit helps.

Thanks again, Summer!  It's so awesome to be a part of this!  

OK, carry on with the giveaway...

It's giveaway time!!! 

I was SO excited when Summer, from the firefly moon, contacted me and asked if I'd do a giveaway on my blog.  Of course I answered her with a big fat YES!!  Her shop has adorable stuff.  And guess what?!  Summer's nice enough to want to share some of it with one lucky reader.  Here's what you'll get if you win... 

A super cute flower pillow cover 

and

this adorable vintage flower tea towel 

and

a set of burlap tags 

and

cute numbered magnets 

and

a set of glittered clothes pins !

Here's my plan for the clothes pins.  Just imagine the window frame is a nice distressed white, thanks.  And also imagine the clothes pins hanging more than two random photos. :)  It's going to look great!

Cute stuff, right?  If you want to play in this little giveaway, listen up.   You can have a total of 2 entries for this giveaway, here's how...

First, visit Summer's shop, www.thefireflymoon.bigcartel.com , then come back here to my blog and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite item is at her store.  The comment left on my blog will be your entry.  

For the opportunity for a second entry, you need to visit Summer's blog, www.thefireflymoon.blogspot.com and become a follower.  Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me you are following Summer's blog.  That will be your second entry.

And to fill you in on a little secret, I highly suggest you become a follower of her blog, she may just be having a little giveaway there also if you become a follower... word to the wise. :)

Easy peasy, huh?!  Good luck my friends!  I'll be using (i think) random.org to pick the lucky winner in 3  2  1 days.  I hope you all play, friend or stranger!

Thanks, Summer for this amazing opportunity!   

 I {heart} the firefly moon !

good things are coming

There might be something special coming on this old blog of mine.  If you like pretty things, I suggest you come back reeaaalll soon.  Call me crazy, but I have a feeling you might like it and you might like the chance to win it.  I'm just sayin'....

And since I told you good things are coming, I thought I better share this photo of Caleb.  His chubby legs and feet are good things to me. :)

Stay tuned.

world's greatest dad

I did a little interview with Stella, Jonah and Ava on how awesome they think their dad is.  It went a little something like this...

What do you love most about dad?

Stella: "That he cares for me and he loves me."

Jonah: "He plays soccer with me and I love 'em."

Ava: "He makes waffos (waffles) with me."   she may be on to something here... :)



What makes your dad special?

Stella: "He has a wife and we all love each other."

Jonah: "He's good at basketball and soccer.  He is mom, he can bounce the ball behind his back."

Ava: "waffos (waffles)"



If dad were a super hero who would he be?

Stella: "Superman."

Jonah: "Dash, cause he runs fast."

Ava: "waffos (waffles)."




What is your most favorite thing to play with dad?

Stella: "football"

Jonah: "soccer"

Ava: "make waffos (waffles ;)"

I'm so thankful for the fathers in my life and the father and grandfathers in my children's lives.  I have the most amazing family.  Period.  I am beyond blessed.

Happy Father's Day

baby legs

They don't get much better than these.  Caleb's got legs that might make other mom's jealous.  I could squeeze them All. The. Day. Long.  Apparently my sister produces heavy cream and from the looks of it, Caleb enjoys every last drop.  I couldn't be more thankful. :)

look who I've been playing with

Yep, my nephew, Caleb.  He's happy to see me.  It's been a long 3 months, but we're together again.  I don't think I'm going to let him leave.  Do you see that drool?  He does that for me because he loves me.  Hugs and kisses, Caleb.  I'm so glad you're here.  And I'm glad you brought your mom and dad with you too. 

she didn't get the memo

She could blame it on the fact that she can't read, but we all know she has ears.   I'm pretty sure I've heard Stella yelling the exact same words that are on her note. :)

I totally won!

About a month or so ago I happened upon a photographer's blog I follow.  She was having a friendly little giveaway and I thought - why not?! - so I entered.  The prize was an adorable pair of earrings.  In order to enter you had to become a fan on facebook of the amazing mastermind behind the cute stuff, Jessica from Allora Handmade .  I didn't end up winning those earrings, but because I was a fan on facebook I learned of another giveaway and this one was even better!!  The Queen Bee Market was having another Allora Handmade giveaway and you better believe I was going to try and win.  Not only were they giving away the adorable earrings, but also a super cute headband and (my favorite) a necklace!  And guess what?!  I won!!!  I never win.  I was so excited. 

Here's what I got...

A headband in teal.  

A gray necklace and a gold one.  No, I didn't win both of them.  There was a little mix up in the colors, but seeing that I LOVE gray I kept it and bought the gold one also :)  Two's better anyway...right?

The cute earrings in robin's egg blue.

  Thank you Queen Bee Market for the giveaway,  and thank you Jessica, from Allora Handmade for the amazing stuff.  I love them!

may was busy

Here's the low down on the month of May....

I had the privilege of taking some maternity photos.  This one was my favorite.  I'm sure there are other photographers out there that have done the same shot, but I have never seen them.  So I was happy when the idea in my head came to life and actually worked! 

That same week as the maternity photo shoot,  I got to take some of a mother and daughter.  I called this photo my Tara Whitney moment.  I don't know what it is about it; maybe it's the colors.  I don't know, but I love it.

 

Also that week, I was invited to a pirate party for a little 3 year old girl.  The party was ridiculously cute and so was the sweet little girl, and her outfit.  It was an honor to take photos that day.  I'm not sure my photos did the cute decor justice, but it was fun trying. :)

Then it was on to taking photos of these two sweet families.  The blonde boy and the little baby are heading to Haiti in a few days.   The Grandma wanted to capture some moments of all of them together before they left.  Even the baby looks like she may be smiling...she's actually screaming. :) 

Then it was off to Puyallup for some FUNKY JUNK with my girls!!  Erin flew in from Indiana to meet up with us Washington girls.  I love my friends.  I've never met more amazing women.  Jorden, who just had a baby, let us all pile in at her house, which was just minutes away from the sale.  She's amazing.  I'm pretty sure I was comatose weeks after having my kids!  Thanks, Jord, it was SO fun!

I didn't take any photos inside, except for this one.  I'm kicking myself because the cuteness and shabbiness was enough to make your head spin.  Bri , the cute one on the end with the apron, was the one who I first heard about the Funky Junk sale from.  She had a booth of her own, with a couple other ladies, and it was adorable.  We all walked away with something...some walked away with more than others! ;)

While at Jorden's, I had the opportunity to take a few photos of their sweet, new, baby boy, Trenton.  He was the BEST baby, so laid back and yummy.  I don't think I really heard him cry the whole time I was there.  He was so sweet.  Jen bought this awesome blue chair at the sale and let us use it for a prop for baby Trent.  He liked it and looked so very cute on it.

In case you were wondering what I bought at the Funky Junk sale...oh man, you should have seen my car!!

A cute pink cabinet that still needs to be hung in the upstairs bathroom.  I'm thinking about painting the bathroom first, so it might be awhile before it gets hung.

A lovely ladder back chair.  I LOVE old chairs.  One day my dining table will be surrounded by them.

This little baby needs some love.  I hope to give it love soon.  I'm thinking either the same white as my dining chairs or maybe even a nice yellow.  

This is one of the things I bought from Bri's booth.  It's a cute little fabric banner (?).  Its home will be in Stella's room, hanging above her bed.

I almost didn't buy this little bedside table.  I'm so glad I did.  I love it.  I get happy when I crawl into bed because it's so cute.  

This little number is going to be hung in my bathroom.  I have plans of hanging my jewelry on it. 

I love funky junk, but I loved spending time with my friends more!!   I can't wait to go to the next one!

Lastly, I got older this month.  I think I turned 29 again. ;)  I've lost track.

I like May.

3 gifts

Being a mother is probably the greatest gift there is, and at the same time, the hardest job I think I'll ever have.  Stella wants to know why there isn't a daughter's day.  I told her when you're a mom you get special things like eyes on the back of your head. :)  I love being a mom.  Sure there are days when I think being a mom is for the birds, but I think the sweet moments, when my heart feels like it's going to burst because of the love I have for them, are the days I'll always remember.  I wish they could stay little.  I love the things they say... "her is..." "so dose (gross) "bubbers"...  and just their sweet innocence.  I'm going to miss that when they're older, but I do look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for these three.  Stella, Jonah and Ava, I'm so thankful for you and I am so blessed to have you call me mom.

Happy Mother's Day

dear blog

I miss you.  I feel like I haven't visited you in weeks.  Is anyone still reading you?  Hello?  Anyone there??  I wish I had an extra 10 hours in the day.  I have so much to share.  Until then...

p.s. ava's cute headband is from, none other than, little lesiw :)