Mantle Makeover for summer

Ever since we took the Christmas decorations down my mantle has looked like this...and as much as I love my yard sale lemon trees it was time for something lighter for summer. So I went "shopping" around the house for things that felt beachy or summery (glass jars from the kitchen, starfish from Nathan's room, sand from the kids sandbox, shells from our trip to the beach last year, sign and statues from our bathroom, etc)...I added some "summery" pictures and it ended up like this...

I love it and it didn't cost me a cent!!

Updates...

Yikes, it's already May...how did that happen?!? We have been working feverishly to finish up school, we did our achievement testing last week and are on track for our last day of school to be next Friday. We are so looking forward to some lazy, summer days...

We had our 3 month post-placement visit last week with our social worker...that was the last item needed for the county to issue our "golden ticket" Final Decree of Adoption and we will be able to post some pictures. Samuel is doing great...growing and changing every day. It's amazing to see him turn into a little person, laughing, smiling, and recognizing who we are. I feel so blessed to be a Mom to 3 on this Mother's Day!

Our garden is doing great and we have been picking lots of...

Yes, strawberries!! I got 2o plants free last year from a deal online and laughed when these tiny seedlings arrived at my door...I remember thinking we would have strawberries in about 5 years...was I ever wrong!! They really took off and we have been picking a big bowl of berries every day! We've picked 4 lbs since Sunday!

I spent a little time on the deck while Samuel was napping watching the kids swim and made this cute pillow with the leftover scraps from our birthday banner. My Dad gave us a hammock we are planning to hang up this weekend and I thought it would be cute in it.

and finally, a pic of this big kiddos swimming...we filled the pool over the weekend and this kids have been enjoying their afternoons out there!

Birthday Banner

I'm back for my once a month post!! We are all doing great...loving our new little guy to pieces! Samuel is doing great, he turned 3 months old last week. He's rolling over and smiling and laughing like crazy! Our 3 month post placement visit is later this week so hopefully pictures will be coming SOON!!

Em and I worked on a project the other night while Samuel was napping and our boys were at a church activity. I have wanted to make a reusable birthday banner for a while now, something neutral that can be used for everyone's special day. We got out some scraps of fabric and denim, some ribbon and no-sew tape and made this together! It turned out super cute and gets to stay up all week since a special little girl turns 10 this weekend!

Busy...Busy...

Yikes, has nearly a month really flown by since the last time I posted?!?!? I told you this blog would be on the back burner!! Things have been busy around here...we had company last week from Dave's Mom, sister, and aunt and are getting ready for another visit tomorrow from Dave's Dad and stepmom...everyone is so excited to meet Samuel!! Speaking of which...he is doing great!! He turned two months old yesterday and is such a sweet and good baby. Last week he started smiling at anything and everything and just melts my heart. He is a BIG snuggler and LOVES to be held, which no one around here minds at all. He just fits so perfectly into our lives!

It feels like Spring may finally be arriving after a very long and cold winter. We've had a chance to play outside and take a few walks this week which has been wonderful. Dave's work is getting busy, which is always a sign that warm weather is coming. We just finished up our third quarter of school and are looking forward to our Tapestry of Grace end unit celebration next Friday. We spent several weeks studying Ancient Greece and are having an Olympic Games event.

I have no home projects to show you and have spraypainted nothing in months...and I couldn't be happier about it!! Although, I did paint a dollar tree frame robin's egg blue the other day and it turned out pretty cute! Have a blessed weekend...hopefully we'll be back soon with some pictures!

February...

It's hard to believe the month of February is already half over! My blog is definitely sitting on the back burner for now as we settle into our new routine. I'm sure I'll be back in full force once Samuel's adoption is finalized by the state and we are free to post photos of him. For now we are enjoying every minute of these sweet newborn days. He is doing wonderful! We went for his one month checkup yesterday and has grown an inch and weighs 10 pounds! He is such a happy boy and we are so blessed by him! He was definitely worth the wait!! He got his feet into a little pink ink the other day and made some Valentine cards for all his special people!! We are keeping busy with school, plugging away while the weather is still so cold...we only have around 55 lessons left until summer break (not that we are counting!). The kids have also been addicted to the Olympics and we made this chart to keep track of the medal count for our favorite countries.

SNOW DAY!!!

We got a real treat this weekend with about 5 inches of snow!!! We have been snowed in since Friday and enjoying every minute of it! Dave has been taking the kids up to the big hill to sled while Samuel and I stay snuggled up inside by the fire. Here are some fun shots of them sledding! Yes, those are pool floats we use as sleds...they work great!

Settling In...

It's hard to believe that this time last week we were anxiously awaiting the phone to ring to hear news if Samuel would be ours forever and now he is part of our family! We were just saying last night how it feels like he has been here for much longer than just a few days. He is such a good baby and we are so blessed by him! Nathan and Emily have been the most wonderful helpers, I knew that they would be anxious to help but had no idea how willing and helpful they would be. They are doing a great job fetching diapers, helping make bottles, and loving on their new baby brother. They have a love for him that is so deep it can only come from the Lord. Emily calls herself "sissy" to him and Nathan refers to himself as "big brother." It melts my heart to see how much this little guy has increased the love in our house!!

We still will not be able to post any pictures for a few weeks, but if you would like to see our little guy just send me an email and I'll send you a private message. For now our dishwasher looks like this every day...
and we just did our first load of "little laundry"...loving every minute of it!!