Whirlwinds and Stretching.

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind.
The Red Barn Outdoor Market grew by almost three times what it was last Spring and it took so much more to organize and keep things rolling smoothly. It happened though; it was muddy and cold, but it did happen and we did have a blast!

Seeing the pictures reminds me how much I love this opportunity. I just love it SO much and am so thankful for it.

Once the market stuff ended, we began focusing attention to getting our house listed on the market. We're STILL working on that. We're hoping to find a space that accommodates all of our needs... one of those needs being space for another family member! We'll be welcoming another little baby to our lives mid-November. 

This pregnancy has definitely made itself a priority in my daily life most days as I have been extremely nauseous and exhausted. I finally started feeling less exhausted and haven't been too nauseous at all since about last Thursday. I do still have three other children, though, and they also make themselves a priority in my daily life. The last few weeks have just been trying and exhausting all around.

And today it all came forth. Everything that I've been pushing off, holding back, just trying to survive the days, all came to a sobbing mess today. I am not one that cries too often, especially not when overwhelmed... until it just gets to that point when I am REALLY overwhelmed. I was sobbing and telling the girls over and over that I just could not handle it anymore... and my five year laughed at me. Hmm... wonder where she picked that up from? Mother, I do not regret ever laughing at you when you were crying over some of the silly things you cried over, however, I was in your shoes today. So know that payback is taking place. I honestly think that she just had no idea what to do, so she laughed. It's okay, it gave me an opportunity to question what on earth was going on.

I had no answer, but I knew that SOMETHING had to be going on besides just being exhausted and sick and tired of the daily motherly opportunities I've been given.

And then I lost it again tonight. My heart was just heavy... and then I realized that it's heavy from the grief that this week bears.

May 16th, tomorrow, will be the 9th anniversary of my Mother-in-law's and youngest brother-in-law's deaths. The day, the moments, the phone calls are still very clear in my mind. May 16th, 2004 changed the direction of our lives in so many, many ways... 

May 17th, 2006 brought more heartache as I experienced the physical and emotional loss of our first baby through miscarriage. It never gets to me until this week... every year.

And my heart gets heavy. I don't get it. I am thankful for it... as it's always a perfect reminder of the sovereign grace that is so generously given out when most needed. And it makes me feel something that is not a normal part of my everyday life. And it makes me long for Home, in different ways than exhaustion and toddlers throwing tantrums make me long for Home. 

There's just a lot of "stretching" taking place around these parts tonight and my whole being feels it.

Adding to the stretching, two of Jacob's brothers are moving away in the next week or so; one is taking his pregnant wife with him as well! I struggle to write the words that would give some sort of explanation as to how my heart feels about this. It makes me so sad. Life certainly doesn't afford me the time that I used to be able to spend with them, so the times that I do have with them are really meaningful to me, even when it's just dinner or them just stopping by. I feel like the little widow we visit down the street just longing for a little more time each time. Being married to their older brother and not having my mother-in-law around these last several years has given me such incredible opportunities to love them in a lot of different ways and I do love them so much.

So, we'll see what the rest of this night holds in store... certainly not finishing off the bag of Black Forest Caramels I have... actually it may in fact be those little caramels time to shine. Though a glass of pineapple juice also sounds really delicious... we'll see who shines brighter.

LOVE is: Sister Snuggles

I have two younger brothers and while I'm sure we probably snuggled once in awhile as youngsters, I don't recall it and we don't do much of it now... as that would be kind of weird AND we all have plenty of other Loves in our lives to snuggle with.

However, I can't get enough of these two snugglers. I hope they always share an affectionate love with one another... mainly because it makes me completely melt.

Antiquing.

My sister heard about this great little shop, Bearly Makin' Antiques, in a small town near us, so she and I and a couple of her friends went to check it out. While browsing, Mary, who was keeping shop that day, directed us to another little magical place called The Copper Shed.

She's HERE!

I mentioned in my last post that a new little lady would be making her way into this world very soon and she was here the next morning!! She's the tiniest little person that I've ever seen or held and she is perfection. I would never put her down if that was an option. She's wonderful in every way. My sister did SO awesome (and I hear my little brother was quite awesome himself... which I love to hear) and she was feeling great and up walking around by the time we came and met our newest family member. 

Thankfully, she only lives about five minutes away, so anytime I need a fix I just show up on their doorstep... which of course, they love.

Cleansing.

This has been what my diet has consisted of this week... in juice form. For the last several months, I've felt as though I needed to do something to get my systems working properly again. I had watched a documentary called, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and was sold immediately on juicing. The main reason being that you were still getting all the good stuff from your vegetables and fruits, sans the fiber... which is the healing part to your digestive system.

It has been a good experience for me. I realized a few things about myself and my eating habits that will hopefully stick with me. My goal was to do a five-day cleanse, but I think I may extend it a few more days as I feel like there is still work being done. I began this on Monday, and Thursday afternoon was the first time I began to actually feel hungry. I have realized that consuming more water throughout the day definitely helps. We'll see how the weekend goes for me.

So, if you're out eating a delicious solid meal this weekend, eat an extra little bite for me!

OH! And big news over at My Yellow Umbrella today! There are some SUPER exciting things going on... like... A NEW SHOP!!! This is seriously very exciting as a lot of hard work has been put into this and the blessings of that hard work are already being recognized (which I'm just going to get a bit sentimental here and say that I am SO proud of Alina aka one of the Sisters in this new endeavor! She has worked so hard and I CANNOT wait to see where this leads!!!)

OH and more big news!!! My newest little baby niece will definitely be here very soon... VERY soon!!!! As in maybe tonight!!!! I cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a lot of exclamation points, but there's a LOT of excitement going on here!!

Have the loveliest of weekends!

{Maternity} Lisa aka One Of The Sisters

I mentioned recently that my brother and sister-in-law are preparing for their little baby to get here, so obviously we needed to get some pictures of Lisa before that happens. Her parents are the property owners of the land where The Red Barn Outdoor Market is held, and at her shower which was also held there, we were able to sneak in a few photos.

The little lady should be here by the end of the month and I CANNOT wait to get my arms around a little tiny newborn bundle again!

Have a lovely day!

"I Made That!" Monday: The Softest Baby Bed on Earth

Potato Soup in Bread Bowls and a creamy Pudding dessert specifically requested by Mommy... and it was delicious!

Each guest decorated a onesie for the baby.

My newest little Love will be making it's debut in a month or so, and it was time to celebrate! My brother and his wife were not planning on finding out the gender of the baby until the birth, but she ended up needing to have a sonogram so the secret was tucked away in an envelope for them to open if they felt the need to do so. And there are a few of us who were a bit excited about this, and even more once it was revealed at the shower that IT's a SHE! I'd have been just as excited for a little boy baby as well, but now I know just exactly the kinds of things to be stocking up on for Baby.

For one of the shower gifts, several of us chipped in for a little basket and bedding. I had planned on making a quilt, but then I found the SOFTEST fabric on Earth and decided to go another route. My sister had told me they were decorating with a blue and brown palette, so when the softest fabric on Earth was also the perfect color it was purchased and was a complete win-win situation.

I'm very excited for this little lady to get here and to see what she adds to the mix as she will be the FOURTH female added to my brother's world... hahahaha oh, I love it so much. And him. 

{He is an INCREDIBLE dad... it makes me tear up just writing that because he seriously is just such a great dad.} She will definitely be loved so much.

Lately...

It's been an interesting few weeks here lately...

For the last several months I haven't really felt like myself. I wasn't handling things the way I would normally handle things and just felt like a completely different person. So, I finally went to the Doctor. Blood tests came back fine, nothing too out of the ordinary except... oh yeah, he felt a mass on the right side of my abdomen and scheduled a sonogram to figure out what it was. The sonogram was almost a week later, and then the results weren't given to me until many days later than that. It was agony. However, the results came back fine with the sonogram as well. So, we figured out what it wasn't... but still no word on what it IS. I'm scheduled to see a specialist this next month to figure some things out, and hopefully we will. In that time though, it's as if a little reset button was pushed in my head and I all of a sudden was just back. It's very strange and so very interesting how our bodies work.

Through it all though, we were still working and creating and enjoying the beautiful Kansas days (which at times were slightly too warm for my taste in October)...

The girls are loving their school work and their minds are amazing to me. It's incredible how much they soak in... I am loving it as well.

My friend, Erin, made an Asian Coleslaw for Book Club and it was unbelievable. I loved it and gave it my own little twist (and by twist, I mean I put it in a egg roll wrap and flash-fried it to a golden, crispy beauty!) and I crave it daily. Perhaps a recipe will be shared soon.

That sandwich is just pretty. Those tomatoes are from my Grandma's garden and were the juiciest, most perfect things I've ever tasted.

My beautiful camera bag that my sister made me was also one of the things stolen in The Great Thievery and the one that I would like to replace it with is still over $300. So, needless to say that is still not an option when I can easily make something just as practical... but even more beautiful. That's an old purse that I had in my in-house Thrift Shop, aka the basement, which was given new life with some foam and Chevron stripes.

DIY Mercury Glass... coming soon... possibly.

So much to catch up posting about: a Baby Shower where it was revealed that I am having another NEICE!!!, a beautiful family photo session, a HANDMADE SWAP, and more to come this next weekend!

On The Menu: Zucchini "Spaghetti" and Marinara

That Zucchini up there was probably close to 18 inches long!

My brother and sister have a garden this year

(actually ALL my brothers and sisters have gardens this year... and I do not!)

and grew this gigantic one along with a few others.

So, several family members received some Summer goodness,

and they still had plenty for themselves.

This little guy hung out in the produce basket in our kitchen for a week or so,

because I wanted him to serve a great purpose and be used for deliciousness.

Then one evening,

we had different scraps of this and that but nothing to really be used together for a complete meal...

and then I looked over and saw him.

And we both knew the time had come.

I had just stopped by a local farmer's market for some tomatoes

so the creative juices,

as well as the tomato's,

began flowing.

Marinara:

Chop the tomatoes into small chunks and place into a quart pot. Add a couple minced cloves of garlic, basil, and salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. After boiling for several minutes, bring to a simmer and let simmer until sauce thickens. This could take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour depending on how saucy you are. Check and stir every so often until it is at the desired consistency.

Zucchini "Spaghetti":

Turn oven on to 350 degrees.

Use a cheese grater and begin grating the Zucchini*. Once grated, place in a bowl and add a little bit of olive oil, enough to cover the top or so, add some minced garlic, basil, salt and pepper to taste, and then mix together covering all the strands of Zucchini. Place in a roasting pan, and roast for 20-30 minutes, stirring once or twice in between. The strands will soften and the mixture will shrink considerably, and it will be perfect and taste wonderful. Once the strands are softened, remove from the oven and serve with the Marinara and Parmesan.

One of my other sisters recently made a meal similar to this (when my eyes looked over at that Zucchini, and my mind remembered how delicious her meal was, I immediately had to have it, so I used what was on hand to best re-create it!), however she just used sliced Zucchini. I chose to shred this to make my children (and my husband) think of it more like Spaghetti. It didn't work. I very much enjoyed it, though. It was a very light, fresh, Summery meal.

*TIP: When I do this again, I will peel most of the outer skin from the Zucchini. The pieces that were mostly the skin, became a bit too brittle and crunchy in the roasting process.

What are your favorite ways to use a giant Zucchini?

How We Spent Our Weekend...

{Babes} Baby B is SIX Months Old!

This little lady is movin' too fast for me!

She laughs now;

she rolls around;

she wears her hair in pigtails.

She is too much!

I can't wait until she starts talking and 

can tell me all kinds of secrets about my brother. 

{hehehe}

The Ticket.

The Little Mister and I getting our book signed by The Pioneer Woman.

About a month ago,

my sister-in-law was given a tip

that Ms. Ree Drummond

was going to be making her way here

for a book signing of her most recent cookbook.

She also heard that you HAD to have a ticket to get in.

Upon hearing THAT information, 

she literally dropped what she was doing,

jumped in her car and drove to the little book shop down the street

which was going to be holding this event

and picked up four tickets...

one of those being for me.

Yet just another reason why sisters are 

SO AWESOME

to have around.

Once I heard about this,

I immediately was on the phone with 

one of my other sisters

because I knew she would hate me for life

if I had this information and kept it from her.

She was able to get some, as well

(so all is fine on the sister front).

And so the night arrived.

We packed into the car and made our way over

to the renovated church-turned-theatre

which the book shop so wisely rented for the evening.

I've never been to a book signing.

And honestly,

I'm not one to get hyped up over someone or something

so much that I'll go stand in line to get in to take part in it.

But...

I frequent P-Dub's blog,

I've adapted some of her recipes on here,

it sounded like fun,

so I did.

Doors opened for seating at 5PM.

We arrived at 5:06 and the line was already down the street.

It was crazy, people, crazy.

As we finally were able to walk in,

we were told that the number on our ticket was our

signing number:

I looked at my number and was pretty happy about it.

Then I overheard someone say that their signing number was 1000...

and then I was REALLY happy about it.

Are you kidding me???

So, after a short presentation about how she began blogging,

and really all kinds of funny things

(she IS really funny)

I stood in line,

had my book signed,

had my picture taken,

and made my way out.

So, my first book signing was hit.

Thank you, Ms. Drummond.

And thank you for bringing your life to a halt

to get me that ticket, Sister.

AND thank you to everyone who rode with me for choosing

Chick-Fil-A for dinner.

A grand evening indeed.

Lace Fever

First...

A little sneak peek at what I've been working on this week.

If you can be in love with a curtain,

I am.

A few weeks ago,

some lady friends and I were working on these:

It's a jar

wrapped in lace and twine.

Seriously.

Find a jar,

get some lace,

hot glue the ends together,

and wrap some twine around it.

It can't get any easier

or more lovely.

They just add prettiness to the room.

I find myself wanting to don a petticoat and parasol

when I see them.

THAT'S how pretty they are.

Have a very lovely weekend!

My Bebe!

Okay, so she's not MY baby, per se...

details, details...

Anyway, I can't believe that I never posted

the little family's FIRST family photos.

And this was a few month's back,

so she's basically grown up now!

Being a cardigan girl myself,

I just LOVE her in her little cardigan!

Ah!

And of course, I have to throw this one in:

I love babies.

I love boys holding babies.

I REALLY love little brothers snuggling their OWN little baby.

Good grief, this is cute!

It's FRIIIIIIIIIIDAAAAAAAY!!

I'm not usually one to look forward to any 

one day of the week more than any other 

as I pretty much do the same thing everyday...

chase tiny little crazies around.

However, THIS week

those tiny little crazies (one in particular!)

have given me a run for my money!

Whew...

(stitches on a tiny forehead, toy room turned toilet... yeah, disgusting!

eating soap just for fun... ya' know normal stuff...)

I was looking around our house last night,

toys everywhere,

two-foot high stack of dirty dishes,

piles of clutter just kind of scattered throughout;

and then I thought,

"Wait a second...

tomorrow is FRIDAY!!"

Which around here is 

CLEANING DAY!!

You may think this is a joke,

but I am actually very serious.

Since beginning my lists,

I always look forward to marking off my Friday list

more than any other day.

I know, it's weird.

So, as I was relaxing last night

perusing the blogosphere,

I thought I'd do a little round-up of some

things that I've been loving lately.

(1) My Sponsors, of course (always loving them!):

Check out, Alina's highly anticipated DIY Wedding post,

you MAY see me or one of my Love's in a picture or two.

Abby is giving some love to the NutriMill,

which is the same mill I use as well.

Erin marked 2012 as the year to try new things;

go see how she's doing!

And Lori, who is ALWAYS amazing me

with her killer DIY projects.

(2) These pretzels!

Good grief they are good.

(3) This punch.

(4) And this mess.

I actually can't get enough of this blog.

Have a restful weekend, friends!

On The Menu: P-Dub's Pots de Créme

That Pioneer Woman sure has a knack for all-around goodness!

Oooh, and guess what???

She's coming here!

And my sister snagged us some tickets to see her goodness in person!!!

And then I text my other sister and she got in on this madness!

And then I called my other sister and got her on this train, too!

Obviously, I'm a tad bit excited about this.

Aaaanyway,

she recently posted a recipe for 

Pots de Créme a l'Orange,

but in it she also mentioned that it was an updated

version of a recipe she posted back in 2008.

So, I checked it out...

and then I made it.

OH 

MY

GOODNESS.

It is SO good.

SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD.

And when you see the ingredients 

and how simple it is to make,

you'll run to your kitchen 

and make it immediately.

So, here's what you'll need:

Oh... and vanilla, oops.

Or whatever kind of flavoring or Liqueur you'd care for...

this is where the l'Orange came in on her updated version,

she used Grand Marnier.

Pour your bag of semi-sweet chips into the blender,

add four eggs, a pinch of salt, and a couple teaspoons of vanilla,

then pulse to blend.

Mix well and then...

take your HOT coffee (8-10 oz.)

and pour into your blender through the little top lid 

while continuing to blend.

Once blended and melded together well,

empty into some really cute or fun

pots, bowls, glasses,

whatever suits your fancy.

I have these really cute little tiny mason jars

that I used for this project {fail}

that worked smashingly.

They managed to come off cute,

yet filled to the brim with sassiness

(hmm, sounds a little like someone I know...).

See what I mean:

This recipe filled 11 of these small jars,

and I added some homemade whipped cream

and the amount was perfect

as this concoction is SO rich...

and wonderful.

Enjoy!

Old Faithful and The New Gal

Have I mentioned lately how much I love having sisters?

Let me just put this into perspective here:

I grew up with two younger brothers

and lived with my dad from 14 on.

Yeah, me and three boys.

I married the oldest of five boys...

five very BOYISH boys.

I love boys

(especially the snuggly little piece of roundness

who looks like a baby version of his daddy!).

I love brothers,

I mean LOVE them...

like I can tear up just thinking about 

HOW MUCH I love them kind of love.

But then sisters started coming along,

and a whole other world was before me.

I also REALLY love having my sisters on Pinterest.

So, a few months back I pinned this camera bag:

{via}

Isn't it so beautiful?

Yes, it is.

It's also $309.00...

slightly over what I'm willing to pay for a camera bag,

just slightly.

Oh my, but it IS beautiful.

I'd look at it every so often and just smile,

having come to terms that we would never be together.

And then it was my birthday.

At my in-laws house, we have birthday dinners

(birthday person gets to pick the meal, dessert, 

the birthday table cloth is put on the table,

everyone sings and it's a jolly good time)

and then we get to open our gift.

No one had asked for any suggestions this year

(which I was actually ecstatic about because I 

LOVE surprise gifts!)

so I was looking forward to seeing what they had come up with.

Oh mercy! They did not disappoint.

The newlyweds

apparently searched high and low

and finally when the hopes of finding 

THE PERFECT MATCH

were almost gone,

my brother spotted this

(and it was on CLEARANCE!!).

My sister then MADE the form inside.

It is amazing.

AMAZING.

Check out her blog for the full tutorial.

The strap that came on it was just a tad thin

so I added Old Faithful,

who has been gracing my shoulder 

since my very first 35mm.

Aren't they such a lovely couple?

And we're still going...

First, pardon my design frenzy.

I think I may have a winner with this set-up...

but we'll see.

December has been 

SO FULL

of energy around here.

Before the month even hit,

this little lady arrived:

She's wonderful in every way possible.

And she's getting used to life on the outside.

Her and I have already had some great conversations;

and I can only hope that she continues

to come and talk to Aunt Nicole whenever possible!

And these two got hitched:

So, I now have a new sister out of the deal!

And the day itself was so lovely and perfect.

Of course, I love LOVE and weddings

so spending a day celebrating LOVE through a wedding

is obviously a perfect day for me.

There's also been a birthday;

four Christmas festivities celebrated, one to go;

and a lovey-dovey anniversary is happening this week.

All this, plus getting to see 

out-of-town family and friends

has made this month fly by.

It is truly the most wonderful time

of the year for us.

I love every minute of it.

What are your plans for the New Year??

I'm getting routines and schedules worked out;

menus made;

goals set...

I'm getting there, at least.

Have a beautiful day!

Give thanks

Sometimes there are moments

when I forget that this is not my home.

And sometimes I forget that

my Maker 

had even THOSE moments written for me...

with purpose.

So, today,

I'm thankful for hope;

for overwhelming joy;

for opportunities to actively exercise 

LOVE;

for undeserved grace;

for humility...

ah, yes, even humility.

I'm thankful for the new little 

purposed life that made her entrance 

into this incredible world

with a full head of jet black

Betty Boop hair;

for brothers who make me laugh;

for sisters who literally stop what 

they are doing and come rescue me;

for parents who taught me how to 

encourage others

by encouraging me...

always;

for getting the opportunity to 

not only know my grandparents,

but to actually live life with them;

for friends to love and be loved by:

and for big blue eyes

that make me melt.

Give thanks, friends.

A lovely day...

This was indeed a lovely day! 

The Kansas wind had a very brisk chill in the air,

which provided lots of opportunities to

snuggle and cozy up to one another.

We were also in an area which provided

the little guy A LOT of space to run around in and explore...

which also provided Dad with a great workout for the day.

Two birds with one stone...

I'm looking forward to this next week.

REALLY looking forward to it, actually.

Coming soon... as in TUESDAY!!

My SIXTH niece is making her debut 

(maybe... possibly... before then????).

I cannot wait.

CANNOT WAIT!!!

Oh yeah...

and there are some projects brewing around here;

our living area and small hallway WERE painted;

and I DID get that Spangles Pepsi

from one of the most awesome sisters 

ON THE PLANET!!!

Give thanks this week!!!