Running The Race

a project

In January of this year I decided that I needed to make a quilt for my brother and his soon-to-be wife for their wedding gift. Originally I wasn't going to make them one because I had a new baby and a toddler and I knew how much work it was going to be and... and... and... But at the beginning of the year I started to think about it and realized that I really did want to make them one.

You might be wondering why in the world I would want to make them a quilt? I mean it's not really something I do. In fact I most definitely wouldn't call myself a quilter. But I had made both of my sisters quilts for their wedding gifts and it just started to get to me that I wasn't going to do one for my brother too. So I changed my mind and called my very dear friend, Bonnie, who just so happens to be a talented quilter and helped me with the last 2 quilts.

If you remember, my brother got married in March. Now normally 2-3 months would probably be enough time to put together a quilt but I had a whole heck of a lot of other stuff that just so happened to be going on in my life at that time. So Bonnie offered to come to my place and help me get started one weekend in February.

To say we got started would be the understatement of the century. Between Bonnie and her 4 girls, we made rapid progress on the quilt. We bought all the fabric, sewed and quilted all the squares and started sewing it together.

I never imagined I would be anywhere near completing the quilt by Darrin and Kelsey's wedding but after that weekend, I knew it would be possible. So I did a lot of sewing and clipping over that next month and it started to come together.

Kelsey's favorite color is red and their wedding colors were black and red so I wanted to do a red, black and white quilt for them. I love the look of rag quilts and after talking with Bonnie, I realized it would be a good one to make in a short period of time. It's really hard to tell in the photos but it has nice frayed seams.

I was almost finished the quilt by their wedding day but since I was feeling a bit selfish, I wanted to save it to give to them in person when they returned from their honeymoon (which also happened to buy me an extra 2 weeks to finish it up).

The last bit turned out to be quite a bit of work. Jonathan was in his accident shortly after their wedding, just before they returned from their honeymoon. When they did return, my mom and dad happened to be visiting us so we invited them over for brunch one Sunday morning. So the night before, I decided I was going to finish the quilt. I sewed and sewed and clipped and clipped. The next morning I found the laundromat in town, took the quilt to be washed and rushed home without drying it, thinking I didn't have time. I threw the quilt into our dryer at home to try and fray up the seams while we ate brunch upstairs. Then I cleaned it up, put it in a gift bag and gave it to them.

I had to almost beg my brother to hold it up for me so that I could get a photo of it all complete.

It is intended to be a quilt they use on their couch but since my brother is over 6' tall, I wanted it to be long enough for him to cover up with. So the quilt ended up being a lot bigger than I originally thought it would be. It covers our queen size bed. I hope it's not too big for them.

The photos just don't do it justice, in my opinion. It looks so much better in real life.

Never in a million years could I ever have done this without Bonnie (and her girls). I am forever grateful for all their help. Thank you, thank you, thank you, my friends.

And now that all my siblings are married, I was looking forward to not making a quilt for a very long time. The only problem is that I decided I liked this rag quilt so much that I want to make one for myself now too.

Thank goodness for such wonderful, giving friends like Bonnie. Do you think I could convince her to help me yet again?!

She Says Vol. 1

I've been wanting to write down some of the things she says for a while now but haven't made the time and now that I've already forgotten a few of those things I figured I better get a move on it.

So this is volume 1. I'm sure there will be many more that follow.

1. We were out getting groceries and she was getting into lots of trouble. Finally as I was paying, she got into a tomato and made a huge mess. As we were walking to the van, I said to her, "Helayna, you did not listen well when we were shopping. You disobeyed Mommy and I am not impressed right now. We are not going to the park on the way home." Of course, tears ensued but we went home. After supper that night, Daddy took her to the park and when she came home, she needed a bath. So I was walking her up the stairs and she turned to me and said, "I got to go to the park. Are you impressed now, Mommy?"

2. Jonathan and I were having an argument a few days ago and she said, "Mommy and Daddy, be nice to each other!" Later that day, we were in the car having a discussion and she piped up, "Mommy and Daddy, are you being nice to each other?"

3. One day she was about to start eating lunch but realized we hadn't prayed so she started to pray but Silas was babbling away. She stops praying and looks over at him and sternly says, "Silas! That's enough. You need to be quiet when we pray."

10 Months

At 10 months old, Silas...

• weighs 19 lbs. 3 oz.
• has started pointing at things
• loves to eat finger foods
• has started using a sippy cup for water
• has started to spin around in little circles on his bum when he is trying to reach something
• is up once or twice per night
• is getting quite the tan on his hands, arms and face from being outside so much (he has his mommy and grandpa's skin coloring)
• hates wearing hats and will pull on them until he gets them off
• laughs whenever someone else laughs
• loves going down the slide with his sister at the park
• met his cousin Blake for the first time
• loves to eat paper
• went camping for the first time and slept in a tent
• had his first trip to the beach
• loves animals
• started clapping and waving

And just for fun, go check out this post. I think someone's grown just a little.

31 at 31

This photo makes me laugh SO hard. It represents us so well. Helayna is all about blowing out the candle and Silas just wants to grab the cake (he loves to grab our food) and I'm just trying to make sure nobody gets hurt or nothing falls on the floor. And yes, I do realize I may need to get some new candles.

Continuing on my theme from last year, here are 31 random things I believe to be true.

1. A child's imagination is an amazing thing.
2. I will never ever know everything there is to know about photography.
3. I did not name my son Sill-ASS. It's pronounced Sigh-lus (in case you were wondering).
4. Saturdays are my favorite day of the week because I usually get to sleep in.
5. I can't believe I've been married for 10 years.
6. I am really looking forward to the day we finally own our own house.
7. Two year olds can be downright hilarious.
8. Fresh produce from the Farmer's Market tastes so much better than store bought.
9. Checking the mail is one of the highlights of my day.
10. A mother's instinct is a pretty amazing thing. Trust it.
11. Meeting friends on the internet isn't as scary as it sounds.
12. Two year olds don't care if you can draw or not so get over it.
13. I am so much stronger than I ever thought.
14. Keeping up a photo-a-day blog is a lot of work.
15. Sometimes I wish the good things in life weren't such hard work.
16. It is completely possible to love your second child just as much as your first.
17. Good food tastes so much better with good friends.
18. Ice cream is still my favorite dessert.
19. Having 2 kids is so much busier than just 1 (I can't imagine 3 or 4 or more).
20. Life is so much better if I don't take everything so seriously.
21. Email is awesome.
22. Going for a run makes the world so much brighter.
23. Water is essential for life. I am so blessed to enjoy it in abundance.
24. I love to laugh.
25. It's never too late to say sorry.
26. In the end, it's all just stuff.
27. The world would be a better place with a whole lot less plastic in it.
28. I would much rather play with my kids than clean my house any day and the state of my house clearly reflects that truth.
29. Fresh air is a magical thing.
30. The laughter from my kids is the best sound in the whole world.
31. A bowl of popcorn makes any Friday night better.

For Today

My mom has been doing these Simple Woman documentations for a long time now. I keep meaning to play along but haven't gotten around to it yet. After seeing it on a few other blogs, I thought I should make time today.

FOR TODAY
June 25th, 2009

Outside my window... the wind is blowing like crazy, the stroller needs to be put away and my plants need to be watered.

I am thinking...about what we are going to do for a living situation at the end of August.

I am thankful for...that I've been able to nurse both of my kids. It has been one of the most beautiful things I've ever done.

From the kitchen...Pioneer Woman's Spinach Salad, my contribution to our dinner with friends tonight..

I am wearing...black yoga pants, a green t-shirt & barefeet.

I am creating...some meals to take to my sister, Naomi, this weekend.

I am going...to get off this computer and get some things done this afternoon.

I am reading...12 Simple Secrets Real Moms Know, thanks to my sister Melinda and friend Kim and the library.

I am hoping...that Helayna will get the hang of potty training really soon.

I am hearing...the Little People DVD Helayna is watching right now.

Around the house...there is a LOT of cleaning to be done.

One of my favorite things...is a sink full of veggies getting washed right after grocery shopping, ready to eat.

A few plans for the rest of the week...dinner with friends tonight, finishing up making meals for my sister tomorrow, and spending the weekend with my family celebrating Meadow's birthday.

A picture to share...a blurry one from Father's Day - the best I could get that day.

Call me Auntie Heather

On May 13, my sister Melinda and her husband Tyler welcomed their sweet baby boy, Samuel Steele into their family. He is their first and I'm heading to NYC this summer to visit them. I can't wait to meet him.

Then on June 21, my sister Naomi and her husband Jerry welcomed their sweet baby boy, Blake Rodney into their family. He's a baby brother to Meadow. We are heading up to visit them this weekend, celebrate Meadow's 3rd birthday and meet Blake.

I can't believe how fortunate our family is. My kids are so lucky to have cousins so close in age to them. I am just thrilled that 2 more boys arrived. Silas is one lucky little boy!

You can see more photos of Samuel on my mom's blog. She was just in Nova Scotia for the past week. And I can guarantee there will be some photos of Blake up sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning. She was going to meet him tonight after she left our place.

And for anyone who happens to be following along, I spent some time updating my photo-a-day blog. I'm not quite up to date but I'm working on it. 

And just because I have to share a photo, here's one I took of Naomi while we were camping one week before Blake arrived. She doesn't look 38 weeks pregnant, does she?! And she was tenting too! Amazing girl!

While We Were Gone

I just wanted to share some photos from our time away last week. We spent some time with both sides of our families and it was great.

We spent a couple nights with Jonathan's parents and got to see his sisters as well. As soon as his dad brought out the wagon, I had to get some photos with it. I always love seeing Lisa's wagon photos and couldn't resist trying my own.

I had to post both of these. I can't decide which I like better. What do you think? Color or Black and White?

After our visit with Jonathan's family, we headed out camping with my family. It was our first time taking the kids and they both loved it. Surprisingly they slept fairly well which was better than I was expecting. Thank goodness for big tents and grandparents and cousins to help us out! :)

It was a bit of a walk to the lake from our campsite but it was a great way to get some exercise and explore the woods.

Helayna could have spent all day playing in the water. She hasn't spent much time at the beach as we don't really have one close by so it was a real treat for her.

And this little guy could have spent all day eating the sand.

We already have plans to head out a few more times this year - maybe we can convince Gramma and Grampa to join us so we can have access to their camper again when it rains. :)

9 months old

At 9 months, Silas...

• has started using his little pointer fingers to move things around
• has been spending so much time outside and loves it.
• has his second haircut
• had a really bad cold
• is still up twice a night
• cut his second tooth (on the bottom)
• is eating most pureed foods now
• had Cheerios for the first time and they were a hit
• loves to eat grass, rocks, dirt and ants
• still naps twice a day (at 9am and 1pm)
• started drinking water from a bottle
• loves playing with keys
• loves standing up against things
• gets soooo excited when he hears the bath water running
• laughs and laughs when his sister dances or jumps up and down
• takes a while to warm up to people he doesn't recognize or hasn't seen for a while
• is LOUD!
• makes dada, gaga, baba sounds
• loves his bedtime story (I'll See You in the Morning)
• turns the pages of books when we read
• is perfecting his pincher grasp

lucky, lucky me

Yesterday Jonathan and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. 10 years. Wow. I can't believe how quickly the last 10 years have gone. When I look at all we've done and gone through I know it's been 10 years but inside, I don't feel 10 years older than the day I got married.

I truly am married to my perfect match. He has made my life so much better by being my husband, best friend, biggest supporter, and love of my life. He loves me the way I am yet encourages and inspires me to be more. He is faithful, committed, hard-working and patient. He has incredible faith and walks the talk. I am so very blessed and fortunate that he is mine.

I made him a little mini-album for our anniversary - is it just me or do we look really young in that wedding photo?! ;)

You can see the rest of it here.

Last night he took me to this very cool dessert bar called Nectar Desserts. The desserts were good, the London Fog I had was amazing but the best part of the night was the gift he surprised me with.

He surprised me with a scrapbook. I was totally and completely shocked and overwhelmed. He basically asked several of my friends and family members to help him create an album with 10 of his favorite memories of the past 10 years. He put together the photos and journaling for each page and had a different person create a layout using them. I don't know how, when or where he found the time to put it all together, creating DVDs and writing journaling and mailing it all off but he did. And he kept the whole thing a COMPLETE surprise. I had no idea. I guess there were a few close-calls but I think in my very sleep-deprived state I was quite oblivious.

I can't thank him and my mom, my sister Melinda, my Auntie Esther, Mary, Leigh, Jenn, Joanna, Shelby, Rhonda and Denine enough for this treasure. It is amazing. I laughed and cried and sighed while I looked at it. It is such a work of art.

So here are the pages (apparently there are some people who are quite anxious to see them ;) ). Each person was asked to create a page with the photos they were given and then a page with a memory or something they wanted to say to me.

The first page was created by Jonathan. For the journaling, he found a letter that I had written to my friend, Kerry when I was in college describing my "perfect guy". It's dated June 7, 1997, not long before I met him and it's actually a bit scary how perfectly he fits my list.

The next 2 pages were created by my Auntie Esther. She used our wedding photos on the first page and then a photo from her wedding (which I happened to be one of the flower girls for).

Melinda did a page about our honeymoon.

Then Joanna created a page about a trip we took to Vancouver island a year after we were married.

Shelby created a page about some memories of while Jonathan was going to school in Ontario.

My mom created a layout about a trip we took to Nova Scotia for Melinda's wedding.

 

Jenn created a layout about Jonathan's and my love for photography.

Leigh created a layout about a photo shoot and walk we had at Nose Hill Park.

Denine created a layout about my 2nd half marathon.

Rhonda created a layout about Helayna.

And Mary created a layout about Silas. 

And by request, I'm including a video of me looking through the album. I was laughing and crying and I kept saying over and over, "I can't believe you did this."

I don't know how to express my gratitude for all the work everyone did for this. I am so, so, so blessed to have all of you in my life. And to have the most amazing husband I could ever ask for.

Lucky, lucky me.

June Kit Reveal

June 1st marked the reveal of the next monthly kit from Scrapshotz. The June kit is full of the American Crafts Craft Fair line and it is so much fun!

Here are the layouts I created with it:

I did some handstitching on this one but it looks so much better in real life.

I wish I could take credit for this one but it's a total lift of this layout by Erica Hernandez. I had to lift it when I saw it. :)

And thanks for all the comments on Silas' haircut. Jonathan isn't crazy about it but I think it is so cute.