I Love You Because...

the best way to spoil me

dinner at one of the best resturants in Atlanta (local three) + spending time with our best friends + on our way to the best show ever (Les Miserables) = THE BEST SATURDAY NIGHT and A VERY HAPPY GIRL! 

To Love Another Person is to See The Face of God.
J 

Hiking w/ Grandma

After being cooped up in a hospital room all week we're enjoying the beautiful Springtime weather with a Sunday afternoon mini-hike with Grandma... and it's making me excited for Waterton this summer! 

 

Hudson Bay Point Quilt

I have been planning Owen's Room since before he was born but as soon as we moved into this house I already had a lot of the decor ready to go. The thing I didn't have was the perfect quilt. Owen's room has a Waterton/Canadian Parks theme and the only appropriate blanket I could think of was a Traditional Hudson Bay Point Blanket. (When talking about it to friends hereI learned that most people in the South have never heard of them. Seriously!) The problem with the Hudson Bay Blanket was that 1) it's wool... which means it's not only harder to clean with a 3 year old using it regularly but it's also itchy and frankly it's not until you're an adult that you start to really like it. 2) Thos puppies are expensive! I had to hold back and remind myself that this was for a 3 year old and spending $200-$600 on a non-washable bedspread might not be the brightest of all ideas and 3) we don't live in the canadian rockies (huge problem), we live in Georgia... the need for a super warm (HOT) wool blanket is pretty much zero. So with my heart set on a real/authentic Hudson Bay Blanket I had to get creative.

The month before we moved in my Mom come out for a visit and I had her help me bring my idea to life. 

Just a 1/4 yard fabric in the classic Red, Yellow, Green and Black with a cream Queen Size sheet and The Hudson Bay QUILT came to life in just one night. (Remember? I told you my Mom was amazing? This is just more proof of how insanely talented she is.)

This was another one of those projects that made Husbandface feel like I was crazy or he didn't get the concept of it until it was actually done but 1) that's becomeing a trend and 2) he doesn't have the same love for Hudson Bay Blankets as I do so of course he didn't get quite as excited.  (We actually did this the same week as we refinished the chairs and we were packing so to his credit, the timing was a little bit questionable.)  In the end I'm pretty sure Doug loves it just as much as I do.

This quilt was super simple in concept/design but it's the little touches and small details that make it perfect.

Like the Custom Gold Embroidered Patch...
(that name it an official Wallace Point Blanket from the Boundary Bay Company)

And the 5 points added to it, making sure everyone can see the authentic quality/status...

And the AMZING quilting done by the BEST machine quilter I know. ... Mom came up with the idea of maybe putting a reference to bears in the quilting and Dixie (the Quilting genius) came up with these!! 

Hundreds of 'hidden' bears quilted onto the entire quilt! It absolutely made it spectacular and now not only do I love, LOVE the finished project, but so does my Baby Bear!! 

There you have it! My First Custom Designed Quilt. 

Thanks for reading!
J 

 

We got Annie!

I love, LOVE going to live theatre productions... It's my weakness and moving in closer to the city has really brought the addiction passion to new heights. Last night I splurged a little and took Lorali to Annie! We planned to go with a few friends and it was such a fun girls night out!  

We stopped at Cheesecake Factory for a quick bit then it was stright to The Fox Theatre. It was such a great production made even better by Sally Struthers starring as Miss Hannigan. I love her! I mean, Hello?! What self respecting Gilmore Girls fan isn't? She did a wonderful job and stole the show. My favorite part wasn't in the production though... it was when I looked over at my daughter singing along with the music with the biggest smile on her face ever! TOTALLY WORTH the late night to this pregnant lady who loves her sleep. ;)  I think I'll make a theatre lover out of her, yet! 

Bear Hollow

I think I've been consumed a little too much this spring. Consumed with the move, worried about the transition, consumed with my own loneliness and my own depression and consumed with unanswered questions. This past week I've been trying to force myself out of it. No more self destruction, no more negativity and no more staying stagnant.... both emotionally and physically. 

In an effort to do just that, last Sunday afternoon we decided to take the kids on a little hike. The weather was perfect and we know that our weekends are going to get crazy in May/June so we thought we better take advantage of it while we still had time. Not only that this location is close to us now- once we move it will be too far for a quick Sunday afternoon nature walk. If you live in the Athens area and haven visited Bear Hollow Park then you are missing out. We've taken the kids here a bunch before but it had been a couple years and Owen hadn't seen THE BEARS yet so we knew he'd be in heaven. 

What we didn't anticipate was that he wouldn't want to leave the bear viewing area and go on the rest of the hike (note to self; next time the animals need to be at the end.) Nor did we anticipate Lorali bringing her 'field journal' so that she could take notes while we were out. Even after she brought said journal we didn't think she'd drop the notebook accidentally.... in the bear enclosure... nor did we annticipate the bear clawing its way through it, tearing it to threads and seeing Loralis' little 'secrets' (Abel ast me to be his gurl frend at skul toda.) One thing is for sure, it was certainly a memorable day!

Once we pulled away from the bears, had a potty break, discovered caterpillars... it was FINALLY time to start the hike. Doug and I couldn't find any maps but we figured the park was small enough that we could just pick a trail and trust ourselves not to get lost. We picked the trail that we couldn't see anyone and we were on our way. WE ALL LOVED IT! Overall it was a wonderful afternoon and something we need to do way more of. I'm not sure there is anything in this world that makes me as happy as hiking with my family. 

To live would be an awfully big adventure.

 

For Christmas Lorali and I gave my best friend and her daughter tickets to Peter Pan. They had never been to a live production of any kind and I was so excited to take them to a show that was sure to be a theatrical experience like none other. Today was the big day and trust me, the show did NOT disappoint. If you live ANYWHERE even remotely close to Atlanta you need to come see this show. It's playing in Pemberton Place now through March 20 and I promise it is something you will not regret. It was AMAZING! 

Besides the show being inspiring, which it was, the company was just as wonderful. I loved seeing the show through the eyes of someone who was totally unfamiliar with the storyline and it was great to see it through the eyes of a 5 year old (Mom, I want TinkerBell to come over here and let me fly with her too!) and an 11 year old (Why are they so scared of growing up?).  MAGICAL! 

I love the theatre! The next show we have tickets for is The 39 Steps... anyone want to come with?!  

 

 

Snowed In 2011

That's the way things happen on The Polar Express!

This is the event that makes me happy to live in the South. Every year at this time I am homesick, I am missing family and I and struggling everyday with the fact that I don't live out west. Then I take my kids to a once in a lifetime memorable event that only exists here and I feeI better. Seriously, if you live anywhere in the South and have young kids this is one holiday event that you totally do NOT want to miss!! Last night Doug and I took the kids up to Bryson City, NC to see (according to Owen "The real-live Polar Express!". 

After a 2 hour drive and a quick change into new Christmas jammies we were ready to present our Golden tickets to the Conductor for punching . We were off in a vintage first class dining car ready for an adventure! 

The staff greeted the kids by grabbing them to dance and sing.

Then it was time for the all important Hot Chocolate!

and pastries... and marshmallow treats... and cookies. (Because apparently the kids needed to be even more hyped up for the ride!)

This is when the kids stopped even noticing the grown-ups and really did enter their own magical world. 

Or maybe it was the the grown-ups turned into kids themselves.

 And just when the kids were getting bored... the train ho-bo showed up! 

And the frost set in.

The stage was set for something very magical to happen. 

And someone very magical to meet. 

Do you Believe? 

We do!

If that doesn't get you in the Christmas mood nothing will!

 

*We took the kids to this back in 2007 and I have to say it was WAY better this year! The bells were better, the staff was better, the souvenirs were better.... and most importantly Santa was better. So kudos to GSMRR for up-ing an already amazing experience.*

 

BREAKING NEWS! WHITE OUT SNOW STORM IN BETHLEHEM!

We don't get the same snow storms here that I got growing up. My kids will ever have the joy of getting white washed daily by the cute boy down the street when they get off the school bus, or experience the delight of making morning snow angels in December and they will never get to have a snowball fight with their Georgia cousins and neighbors....  well, unless they come over the day Grandma's annual Christmas package comes because that's the one day a year we're guaranteed to have a snow storm. 

(For the record; Doug saw the mess and thinks I'm crazy....)  

(and for the record; I heard the giggles and didn't care about the clean up.) 

(well.... until about this exact moment. The phone rang. It was  the realtor. She had a family that wanted to come by and look at the house asap.) 

Why I love living in Small town Georgia.

So Doug got this great new job 3 months ago and I've been pouting about it almost daily ever since. He was supposed to come with us on our trip to Baltimore but couldn't because he had just started, he used to come to every single one of Ethan's Therapy appointments, he used to have flexible hours, he used to only commute 20 mins, he travels a lot now... the list goes on and on. Mainly it was because we were living in Georgia and a new job here meant being here longer. I felt like I'd never get to move out West again. I hated my life here and I needed and wanted a change... and didn't even want to be in the same state to do it. To me living in Georgia represented Doug leaving the church, Doug's family feud, Ethan's Autism, Ward Drama and a million other things that made me miserable. 

In the last 3 months I've learned a lot. 

I wasn't miserable. My life just wasn't what I had planned and it wasn't because of living here. In fact, in the months we been preparing our house to be put on the market there hasn't been a day go by that I realize how wonderful and amazing our little house is, or how lucky we are. I'm not sure why we have been here over the last 6 years. We certainly didn't expect to be here that long and there have been times I felt like it was sucking me in.... But, I know that there has been a reason for it.

 

I love our house that we've improved on so much, I love the paint, the wooded lot, the backyard, the kitchen... I love our small started home and it's going to hurt me to leave it behind.

I love, LOVE our school! Our teachers and the staff. They are so open to learning and seeing the potential in the kids, It's taken a lot of hard work on all of our parts but, I have seen the benefits firsthand of fighting for your kids education and getting amazing results.

I can't believe I'm saying this but.... I love our ward and it's quirks and it's growth and the friendships that have been there all along. I love the chance that I've had to grow- even though I was forced into it, I really think it's the only way I could have pushed my way through the last couple of years and still come out as active and strong as I am.

I love the Magnolias in May... LOVE!

I love living in the cul-de-sac. No traffic, quiet and the perfect place to have the neighborhood kids come play. 

I love the weather that automatically grows a garden- even if you have a black thumb!

I love our Therapists. I love the Autism community around here and I lvoe the support that we've all gotten in our ward, at our OT's and through Babies Can't Wait.

I love our neighbors... well, most of them. I love that Ethan's found a best friend, I love how patient they are with him, I love that Lorali now has friends in the neighborhood and I lvoe that my house is turning into the neighborhood hangout with kids asking to do craft projects, or to help bake here and to come play.

I love my scrapbook room. I should be cleaning it and I'm avoiding it by writing but.... I love it. I love the family space it's turned into, I love the view into the backyard, I love that I'm able to work so easily...LOVE.

I love our local farm stand. Today the kids went and jumped on their bounce house while I picked through apples and pumpkins that had been harvested less then 24 hours earlier. 

I love my doctor. I told Doug from the beginning, if we have anymore kids after we move from here, I have to come back specifically for him. 

 

.....Actually as it turns out there are several reasons.