MIA and a little DIY project

Hi Guys;)

 I've been MIA for the last week or so. I decided to take a little blogging break. I've had lots of little projects around the house that needed my attention, so I did my best to stay away from the computer for a while, and focus on my "to do" list. 

I seriously have a LOVE/HATE relationship with the computer. I love Facebook, blogging, and pinterest, BUT they are also REAL time zappers. 

I sit down to just "check" something and before I realize it, a half hour has gone by--ugh!

 Balance is the key and something I don't know that I have found quite yet--sigh.

Anyway, while the computer was OFF for the week, I was able to focus, get organized, and cross off several things on that ever growing "to do list"!

One of those little projects I completed was a jewelry organizer.

 I kind-of wish I would have taken a picture of how my jewelry looked before I organized it, but just take it from me...it was  a total and utterly, embarrassing disaster area.

well...not any more;)

What you need:

Empty frame, a scrap of material, chicken wire, S hooks, a staple gun, wire cutters, scissors, and ribbon for decorating.

Seriously y'all, this was the quickest and most rewarding project EVER...

First--staple a piece chicken wire to the back of an old frame and then secure your fabric the same way. 

 Add ribbon and hang.

That's IT!!!

  Oh, and while we are talking about organizing jewelry...

I saw somewhere--probably on Pinterest;) where they used a paper towel holder to organize their bracelets. 

Brilliant and a perfect idea!

Happy Monday Y'all!!!

Our First Fundraiser;)

To All My Sweet Friends in Blog land,

Many of you have been following our family blog for several years now. You rejoiced with us as we journeyed through Sophie's domestic adoption a little over three and a half years ago. You followed along as we welcomed our first foster daughter, Miss A, into our home, and cried with us as we said goodbye a few months later. And now, as we prepare to welcome our newest little one home from China, you have loved, encouraged, and supported us with your kinds words and sweet comments. 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! 

Yes...in just a few short months, Shane and I will board a plane and head to the other side of the world. This summer, our lives will forever be changed as we meet our newest addition for the very first time. Little Miss Yu Hu Ying (soon to be Adelyn Kate) is waiting for us in an orphanage in the Shaanxi Province of China. She will be turning two on June 2nd--just three days before Corban's 9th birthday! My mommy heart is praying that we will have her in our arms ON or even before her second birthday, but we have to wait several more weeks before we know our travel information. Needless to say, our hearts yearn to meet our little girl and our arms ache to hold her close, but we trust the Lord is keeping her safe and comforting her little spirit until the time comes for us to be together.

When our family decided to embark on this exciting journey, Shane and I agreed that we would have to get creative in order to come up with the money necessary to fund this adoption. The Lord had already proven Himself faithful to us as we walked through Sophie's domestic adoption a few years ago, so we had no doubt that He would do the same for us this time around too! This adoption will cost us around $24,000.00. However, a portion of that will be given back to us in the way of the Adoption Tax Credit, and Shane is also eligible to receive an employee adoption credit from his place of business once our adoption is finalized. After those credits are in place, our family will still be responsible to come up with about $6,000.00. We talked about doing different fundraisers, but nothing seemed to be the right fit for our family...until now. We were just recently introduced to Coupaide.com and the wonderful fund raising opportunities they have available for adoptive families. To us, this type of fundraiser just seemed like a win-win for all involved. Basically, for ONLY $20 you will receive a $50 E- gift certificate to restaurant.com. These gift certificates can be redeemed at over 18,000 restaurants nationwide. For every purchase made, our family receives $10 which will go directly into our adoption fund. You can check out our web page at www.coupaide.com/adelyn for more information and to see a list of participating restaurants. 

We totally understand that you may not be able to purchase a gift certificate at this time, and that is fine. We would then ask you to consider passing our web site information on to others you know who may be interested. Above anything else though, we truly covet your prayers for our family as we prepare our hearts and home for Miss Addy-Kate!

We are humbled to be on this journey and thank each of you from the bottom of our hearts for you willingness to partner with us!!

With Much Love, 

Shane and Jenny

Corban, Riley, Sophie, Hudson and (soon to be)Addy-Kate 

Valentines Fun (take 2)

 On Monday morning, the babies  and I hosted a "cousins" Valentine party. My sister-in-law Sallie, and my sister B, each brought their kids over for a morning of LOVE and FUN! Of course, Sophie and Hudson couldn't wait for everyone to arrive and they spent the entire hour before the party staring out the front window.

Once everyone arrived, Sophie and Hudson greeted them with GREAT big bear hugs, and then led them into the kitchen where they could begin working on their crafts.

Coffee filter butterflies...

 and paper plate heart wreaths kept their little hands busy for a while.


Before long,  it was time for our "Valentiney" lunch...

and dessert;)

As soon as they were finished with lunch, they were off and running around and playing.
Playing trumps eating ANY day when cousins are around;)

Soon it was time to exchange their little Valentines.
What a fun morning it was--spent with the ones we LOVE most;)

And since this post is already all about Valentines, I'm going to go ahead and post pictures from our February 14th.

Here are my two (still very sleepy) valentines, enjoying their cinnamon roll heart breakfast before school.

And here are my two littlest loves--before we headed out the door for Bible Study on Tuesday morning.

When Shane arrived home from work that evening, he had with him a single pink rose for his Sophie girl. 

She was over the moon---to say the least!!!

That girl LOVES her daddy more than anything in this world...and I'd say the feeling is mutual;)

Oh, and don't think Shane forgot about this girl on V-day.

 Bless his sweet heart...but Valentines Day for Shane is two-fold. Not only does he have to celebrate the day of love, but it's my birthday as well. 

Chocolates, a beautiful card, and a new Garmin running watch were my birthday/valentine treats from my man;)

And would you take a look at all those sweets in the picture above. Oh my heavens...those were ALL my birthday/valentine gifts brought over from some very precious friends. Yes...I am one blessed girl:)

Valentines Dinner wasn't spent eating at a fancy restaurant.

 It was a simple and quiet one spent at home with the people I love and adore. 

Oh, and my gift to Shane...was this silly Valentine shirt I purchased from etsy a few weeks ago. 

He liked it;)

I really DO love my husband;)

Just some Valentine FUN!

Saturday was a FUN-filled, LOVE-filled, SWEET-filled day for our family! 

We started out our busy day by heading to our local mall for a Valentine party.  About twice a month, our mall hosts some really great family-friendly activities. If you're a part of the "kidget" program, which our family is, then we can attend all these great events for FREE! 

We totally love anything FREE! 

We met our good friends, the Robinson's, at the mall for a morning of nothin' but pure Valentine sweetness.

And speaking of sweetness, check out these yummy cupcakes the kids decorated.

With lots of sprinkles and treats to choose from, theses cupcakes not only looked pretty, BUT tasted quite yummy too!

 

The babies enjoyed decorating their treats, but of course, they were definitely more excited about tasting them.

Getting their face painted was another fun activity.

Sophie wanted a "beautiful pink flower" on her cheek---just like Leah's,

and Hudson asked for a "race car that goes BERRY fast" for his.

This picture made me smile.

I LOVE how everyone is looking on and admiring Hud's blue "berry fast" race car;)

Riley had a hard time deciding on what he wanted. 

He wanted something that was bright and colorful. 

After thinking and thinking, he eventually chose a rainbow...can't get anymore colorful that than huh?!?

I guess, boys who are over the age of seven, are "too cool" to have their face painted anymore, so Micah and Corban opted to just have their hand painted instead. 

After the kids were all painted up, they jumped on the "Love Sac" for a quick photo.

And yes, Shane convinced me to hop on the "Love Sac" with him as well. 

(GRIN)

The kids spent the rest of the morning making special "get-well" Valentines for kids in the hospital AND decorating sweet Valentine frames. They ALL were having so much fun that groans of disappointment could be heard when we finally told them it was time to head home;)

Saturday evening, we held our own little family Valentine party!

After everyone was bathed and dressed in their pj's, they headed downstairs for the "party"!

We enjoyed pizza, games, and some yummy fondue fun for dessert!

After dinner, Shane and the kids went into the living room for a few silly Valentine themed games. While they played, I cleaned up our dinner and got ready for the fondue.

How about a round of see-who-can-toss-the-conversation-heart-into-the-bowl, OR...

a rousing game of Valentine leap frog--ha!

With the chocolate melted, and the ingredients required for dipping ready, the kids headed back into the kitchen for dessert.

Yup, I know EVERYONE would agree wholeheartedly that this was the BEST part of our night!!

I mean, seriously...

is there anything better than chocolate covered...

well, chocolate covered ANYTHING!?!?!?!?

I am ESPECIALLY fond of sweet, little,

 chocolate cover fingers;)

The Sweetheart Ball and Cupcakes

 Friday evening, Shane went out on a date with...another woman;) 

The "other woman" was quite lovely too. 

She wore a gorgeous red dress, had beautiful blond hair, and had the biggest blue eyes you'd ever seen.  She was a true knockout;) What a treat it was for Shane to spend the entire evening with that girl by his side. And let me tell you, THAT girl was extremely excited to spend the entire evening with him too. 

(Grin)

Our good friends, the Robinson's, invited Shane and Sophie to go with them to the Sweetheart Ball hosted by their Christian school this weekend. 

I'm not sure WHO was really more excited about the night...Shane or my Sophie-girl;)

In order to get ready for the BIG night, Sophie had a little manicure. 

We painted sweet little hearts on each one of her fingernails. She LOVED it and couldn't wait to show her Daddy her beautiful nails.

When Shane arrived home from work on Friday evening, Sophie was already getting ready for her big date. 

She was so excited to put on the new dress she picked out and model it for her adoring Daddy. 

I actually stumbled upon the dress a few days ago while shopping at my local consignment store.

 

I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and thought it was perfect for the Sweetheart Ball. 

Thankfully, Sophie fell in LOVE with it too!!

She looked so sweet and couldn't wait to head out the door with her handsome date;)

Each family attending the dance was asked to bring a little treat to share during the night. 

I came across these sweet Valentine cupcakes that I thought were not only super CUTE...
 but SUPER FUN as well! 

"I CHOO CHOOSE YOU!"

We made sure we had plenty of cupcakes to share AND a few left over for the boys and I to enjoy while Shane and Sophie were at the ball. 

And while Daddy and his princess danced the night away, the boys and I had quite the night of our own planned.

Cupcakes and a little Kung Fu Panda 2 was all that was needed for a successful night on the home front!
These boys are so easy to please;)