The Year In Review 2010

2010 was definitely a crazy, amazing, wonderful, awful, scary, long, short... basically a year filled with every emotion imaginable. I can honestly say I am beyond ready to leave 2010 behind and start fresh with 2011. Here is a quick, condensed review of our year. I picked 1 major thing that happened each month. It was so hard to pick from the hundreds of pictures we took this year, but these are a bit of our highlights!

JANUARY
This month was filled with lots of playing, swimming lessons, preschool open houses, and finishing getting ready for a new baby. Little did we know what the year had in store for us.

FEBRUARY
February we were SO happy to welcome Nora Jo into our family. We are so blessed!

MARCH
In March we ended up in the hospital with Nora for 3 days due to a fever. This was a crazy month, Nora was sick and Molly was starting to show more symptoms of something being wrong.

APRIL
April was the hardest month of our lives. Molly fainted again, and since we had all ready been to so many doctors to try to figure out what was going on, they sent us for an MRI, which found a lime size life threatening brain tumor. (see the story here) The month was filled with the PICU, brain surgery, and recovery.

MAY
We are SO amazed we are home from the hospital. Molly couldn't be happier to be away from the doctors and hospital and LOVES being back in her pink room. We are relieved to have all 4 of us under the same roof.

JUNE
In June we were pretty busy. But one of the most memorable and important parts of the month is having Nora baptized.

JULY
In July Molly's doctors appointments were finally starting to die down... and then she fell and broke her arm. She was rocking a pink cast the rest of the hot summer.

AUGUST
In August we went camping with family. We usually go on a few camping trips, but with the crazy year this was our only trip. Nora loved camping, and Molly always loves being outside!

SEPTEMBER
This was the busiest and truly humbling month. Molly started preschool twice a week, and turned 3! (We can hardly explain how amazing her being here for those things was). We also were blessed with the amazing support of family, friends and the community, as they held Molly's Miracle "Fun"draiser. We are so lucky to have so much love and support!

OCTOBER
What can I say, Fall is my favorite time off year. We made it to all the fun October activities in West Michigan. And on Halloween, I think I had the cutest Pirate and Parrot ever!

NOVEMBER
Thanksgiving was great this year, filled with family and a lot to be thankful for!

DECEMBER
Hard to believe this was Nora's first Christmas. It feels like she has always been a part of our family, and we can't image life without our girls.

Hope everyone has a great end to the year, and hope and faith for a great 2011

Hope Your Christmas Was Merry!

Hope your Christmas was filled with love, family, health
(even though you can see Nora's cold in this picture)...

Happiness, Joy, Miracles...
(We are SO grateful for Molly's Miracle this year)

Coziness, Grace and Peace!
(Nora loves her new cozy pillow)

Candy Cane Mittens!

After my Mother-in-law made Candy Corn mittens for my girls this fall, I just knew I needed some Candy Cane ones for this winter. Seriously adorable! We are so lucky she loves knitting for my girls.

Molly modeling her new Candy Cane mittens!

And a little pair for sweet Nora. Poor girl has the worst cold right now! Hoping and praying she gets better before this weekend.

Nativity Plate

I love Nativity scenes, and think they are the best Christmas decoration to help remind us of the reason of the season. I used the Silhouette I won to cut this Nativity scene in black vinyl, and then put it on a white dollar store plate. So easy, but really pretty. I saw this idea over at Craftiness Is Not Optional, along with a million other great ideas!

If you want to see more great Nativity sets, check out the Nativity Parade at Crap I've Made. I put Molly's Nativity in it. Merry Christmas!

"Wrapped" in the Spirit

If you need a quick gift for a teacher, neighbor, etc. I thought this idea was great, who doesn't need extra wrapping paper this time of year.

And we added these fun tags, "Hope your getting "Wrapped" up in the spirit of the season!"
I found this idea over at Nannygoat, head over there to print off her adorable tags.

Tissue Paper Tree!

When I saw these fun tissue paper trees, I knew I had to make some. Then, when I read the tutorial and saw you used lots of hot glue, I was in LOVE. Most of you know about my addiction to hot glue. :) I used green tissue paper I had left over from wrapping presents to make this fun tree. It was super easy to make, but took quite awhile to do. I just put Love Actually in the DVD player and got to work.

Head over to Spunky Junky for an awesome tutorial on how to make these great tissue paper trees.
And take this tip from my soon to be released new book, Confessions of a Hot Glue Gun Addict; if you get hot glue on your skin resist the urge to wipe it off right away or your skin will come off too! If you wait a few more seconds and let it dry, then you can peel it off. You may have a little blister, but not the open wound you would have had!

(P.S.- I am not actually writing a book, I am just in a crazy mood today, heehee)

Christmas Tree Onesie

I made up this cute Christmas tree onesie for my friend's sweet little girl. It is SO easy. I used Steam-A-Seam to applique the fabric to the onesie, and then just top stitched around it. I am totally addicted to applique.

Personalized Bags!

I always love fun and functional wrapping. So I made up some fun re-usable bags to put my friends and family's Christmas gifts in. I picked up a bunch of nice re-usable bags from Pier 1 and Micheal's for only $1 or so a piece. The picture below is what the bag looked like before. Then I simply cut out there last names in white vinyl and put it on the bottom of the bag. I think they turned out so so so good! If anyone needs a quick easy gift or bag, definitely try these!

BEFORE

I'm Linking This Project Up To:
Under the Table and Dreaming Sunday Showcase
Whatever goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts

Santaphobia!

It's Nora's first Christmas so I was excited to head to our favorite store to get free pictures with Santa. Nora on the other hand, wasn't so excited!!! Where is my cute 3 year old Molly's picture with Santa you might ask... well, she wouldn't get with in 20 feet of Santa without having a melt down. Needless to say, the only picture I have of her this night was hiding behind dad in the corner. Ah, fun new memories!

Snowman Ornaments

Today I made these fun snowman ornaments. I had a lot of glass beads around the house from making magnets, so I thought these ornaments would be perfect to use some of them up.

Here are the supplies I used:
-Glass Ornament
-Glass Beads
-Hot Glue Gun
-Paint Markers
-Fake Snow

First I just hot glued the glass beads onto the ornament. I stacked 3 high to make a snowman. Next, I used a paint marker to draw on a face, arms, and buttons. And finally, I took the top off the ornament and filled the bottom with fake snow.

Seriously, that was it! SO EASY! I think they are really fun!
I hope you like this quick Christmas ornament. :)

I'm linking this project to:
Under the Table and Dreaming's Sunday Showcase
Whatever goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts

Easy Christmas Lights Kids Craft

Today Miss Molly made up some of these fun Christmas light gift bags to fill with treats for her cousins. This was a huge hit, since she loves any craft involving paint!

Basically I just used a black sharpie to draw a black light strand with little black ends for the "lights."

Then I gave Molly little plates of red, blue, yellow and green paint for her to paint the lights onto the strands.

Ta Da! Super cute kid made gift bags! I saw the light painting idea over at Meet the Dubiens.

Christmas 2009 Favorites

Here are a few of my favorite crafts and projects we did last Christmas season.

Snowman Boxes

Reverse Applique Shirts

Ornament Wreath

Kids Bow Wreath

Hand and Foot Print Reindeer

Wordless Wednesday! Oh Dear!!!

Oh Dear! How did we get SO busy... I need more hours in the day!

For more great Wordless (or almost wordless) Wednesday pictures,
visit 5minutesformom.

Poinsettia Pens!

I made up some poinsettia ink pens to use for the holidays. I love how they look like decorations but are pens too. I made them just like these sunflower ones from the baby shower. (Here is a great tutorial on how to make them.) And put them in the same pot. Coffee beans smell so good!

Sew Something Saturday! Buttercup Bag

This week I made a Buttercup Bag to try out the pattern. I LOVE it so much, I am thinking of making a few more for Christmas gifts for my friends. I'm think maybe black outside with print inside.

My favorite, favorite part is the pleats on the front and back. It's kind of hard to see in a picture, but they are super cute. Oh, and I love the fabric, but I like crazy prints, and was so excited to find a use for this one I had. :)

The inside is pink and has a cell phone pocket. It also has a metal snap, this was my first time putting in a snap, I was nervous, but it turns out it is really easy. I downloaded this pattern from Made By Rae, she is amazing, if you want to make one for yourself head over here and get a copy of the pattern! Happy sewing!

P.S.- After the new year I am thinking of starting a Sew Something Saturday linky, is anyone interested? You could link up any sewing project, tutorial, or picture.

Wordless Wednesday!

First Snow of The Year

December 1, 2010

For more great Wordless Wednesday pictures, visit 5minutesformom.

Reindeer Rootbeer / Beer

I made up these "Rootbeer Reindeer" for Molly's gymnastics teacher gift. I saw the idea over at Fingerprints on the Fridge and just had to make them. I think they are so super cute!

I made some to add to my brother Scott's gift too, but used Guinness instead.

I just wrapped brown pipe cleaners around the tops of the bottles, and twisted smaller pieces around to make antlers. Then I hot glued on googly eyes and red pom poms on, easy peasey!

Peronalized Lap Tray

This weekend I have been crafting like crazy trying to get a lot of the Christmas gifts I am making done. Here is a tray I made for Molly. Last year my sister gave her one and she LOVED it, but after using it nonstop it broke.

So I bought this plain pink tray with my coupon at Hobby Lobby. Then I just used paint markers I borrowed from my mom to write her name and a few fun flowers. I think it turned out great, and the paint is totally washable and waterproof.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

This year we truly have a lot to be thankful for. Amazing healthy!!! children, and a family, friends, and community that have shown us unbelievable love and support. Thanks!

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

For lunch we celebrated with Randal's side of the family, and had a wonderful time. Molly had a blast crafting with her cousin Heidi.

And Nora played so hard, she laid down ready to sleep in the middle of the living room floor!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Thanksgiving! We are heading out to dinner with my family, and I am so excited. I love Thanksgiving, and am so grateful we get to see our families today. And, I am looking forward to games, movies, corndogs and the Raspberry Stoli tradition. :)