CHANGE:
to become different; to become altered or modified; to pass gradually into

Pretty much defines my life lately.

I know it's been awhile again since I've blogged, and I apologize to any of my 'adoring fans' (haha) for that!  Since the last time I posted, SO many things have happened! Here's a short, condensed list of some of the main things.
-We found out I'm expecting another baby (!)
-We went on at least 3 weekend trips to visit family and friends
-We took a long Christmas vacation to the Midwest
-My baby turned 1 (!)
-We found out that we will be moving across country soon (!)

   So yes, you could basically say not much of anything in my life will be the same in the next few months.  If you haven't noticed yet, this has also affected my website.  Because of the busyness of life even just in the last year, I have updated and added new products very little.  Now, with all the craziness of life coming up, I have decided to close up shop...at least for now.  I plan to keep this blog going (as well as I am able) for the time being.  At some point in the next 6 months or so, the URL may change slightly, so watch for that if you are interested in continuing to follow my life and the projects and crafts that I find time for in the future.  I have been crafting a lot lately, so hopefully soon I can post about those things.  This blog may become more 'personal' with more posts about my life and family, to keep my friends and family updated after we move.  I hope you keep coming and checking for updates, or better yet... follow me through the Google link or RSS feed.  
   Also, if there is something that I used to carry, or that I have blogged about, that you are interested in ordering, I would still be willing to take special orders.  Just contact me and we will work out the details! Thanks

   That would be me at the tail end of my pregnancy with Rystin in '10.  NOT looking forward to getting big again...but I'm getting there fast!  I AM excited to have another little blessing in the house and cuddling with a sweet little newborn.  Have been wondering if there will be some pink involved this time, but we will have to wait and see! :)  I am going on 23 weeks right now, so already over halfway there! Due June 9th
    This Christmas, we drove to the Midwest to spend the holidays with the friends and family we have there.  We were gone for almost three weeks, which felt quite long when my baby slept horribly the whole trip! :(  Otherwise, it was a fun time... my baby turned one, and my hubby found a 'job' while he was there!  His dream of being a farmer in MN is coming true.  We plan to move in about a month and a half and I will try my hand at being a dairy farmer's wife!  Both exciting and nerve wracking.  Right now, the biggest stress factor is that we don't know where we are going to live for sure.  That makes it hard to plan ahead (both for our living arrangements, and for the coming baby).  Keep us in your prayers that God will lead us to where He has planned, and will guide us through all these new changes.  It will be a huge change in lifestyle, as you know if  you have visited (or lived) in both the Pacific Northwest and the Midwestern parts of the US!  We are excited to start this new phase in life, and be able to call a place 'home'.

  Thanks for checking in!  I hope to continue to be posting about some of my latest projects in the next couple weeks.  Have a wonderful week and God bless your day!

So it's been WAAAYYY too long since I last posted, I know.
I guess that's just the way summer is, hey!?
It seems to fly by no matter what you do to stop it.  I am having a real hard time seeing all these 'fall decor' ideas and crafts on various websites and blogs!  NOT ready for that yet! I suppose part of the reason for that is the short season of summer we had this year in the great Pacific Northwest.  :(

So I tried to take advantage of the nice days, though I think I made it in our pool about 4 times all summer.  How sad is that?!

I DID get a few little projects done here and there, but didn't get pictures of them all.  We had a baby explosion in the area, so I've done a few little things for some of the local babies that have been born recently. 
Here's a little skirt/onsie outfit I made for a friend's baby, Shiloh Eunice.

Poor Rystin is still my little model, no matter what gender is needed.
Sorry, little man!
The greenish fabric on this outfit that I used for the skirt and flowers is actually a re-purposed sweater.  I love re-purposing things into something new!

Now that all these babies are around, I may have different models if need be.  I just sewed something fun tonight, but it's a Christmas gift, so I probably won't be able to show it for awhile!  I have lots of projects on my mind for this winter, though, and the sewing bug is coming back with the cooler weather.  I guess I CAN find some positive in it! :) 
So hopefully I'll be here a little more often, with some new projects, ideas, and if I really get ambitious, some new products!

Thanks for keeping up!

I realized I never really shared with you the way we made our announcement when we were expecting Baby #2 (Rystin).

I simply painted a onsie for Skyler to wear when my family came to visit.  I also sent a few pictures to people of him wearing it.  I added a few little buttons and such (most of which are hiding behind his arm!), and on the back put the month and year I was due.

It has been such an awesome experience to have two little boys!
They love each other SO much!
My  heart grows so much more each time that I...
...hear them giggling their little hearts out at each other!
...when the first thing they both like to do when they get up in the morning is see each other!
...when they give each other hugs!
...when Skyler tries to take such good care of his baby brother!
:)
Even now that they are old enough to interact and play, they take each others toys, accidentally hurt each other, and so it.  Boy stuff.
SO SWEET!
I had been fairly sure I was having a girl (both pregnancies!), but my boys are the treasure of my heart and I would do anything for them!

I love you, my sons!!

That is my recently organized pantry. 
It's nothing overly fancy, and could do with a few more changes, but from what it started with, I'm pretty thrilled with the way it turned out!

Unfortunately, it was another one of those projects where I didn't think to take pictures until I was halfway into it.
Well, I'll start at the beginning. 
We are currently renting an older home from someone we know through our church.  We've been here for over two years, and we're happy with the place overall.  The decorator/creative/organized side of me has loads of ideas for this house, but the practical/cheap/lazy side of me says, why bother!? 

I finally called our landlord and asked if painting was ok (I had hoped to repaint my boys' purple bedroom at some point....more details there later).  She said yes, so I immediately whipped out the paintbrush and went at it. (Ha!!)  Slight stretch there.  It was probably a couple of months and I started spring cleaning my kitchen.  The pantry was in some major need of TLC, so I emptied the whole thing onto the counters, stove, table, and any other available surface, (see above) and started scrubbing. 

I started brainstorming as I scrubbed (yes, that IS dangerous), and recalled a couple of neat pantries I've recently seen in blog-land such as the ones from Delightful Order and House of Smiths (not to mention all those on Pinterest!).  So I went and checked out the touch up paint cupboard and discovered this pretty shade of blue that was leftover from one of the bedrooms!  THEN I whipped out the paint brushes! :)

My sweet, smiley little boy had a wonderful time watching me work. 
My wild, fun-loving little man thankfully spent most of the day outside!

Here is the completed paint job.  It isn't really a 'walk in' pantry, but more like a 'step in'.  There is room to take about one step into it, then there are shelves on three sides.  The white shelves needed painted badly too, so that also got done.  So bright and clean looking!! 
Too bad I don't have a before shot :(

After adding a few decorative touches... it seemed to be coming together well.  I painted the 'Thank You, Lord' as a reminder of where the blessings of food (and everything else) come from, and to thank Him for them each day.  The white canisters I got for $3 at a garage sale- SCORE!!
The wire baskets are from Ikea, but I got them for I think $4 each at another garage sale.  And lastly, the tall, glass jar was a couple bucks, also at a garage sale. I love the look of glass jars to organize pantry items, so I have been on the lookout for them lately.

Here is the 'after' shot.
Top shelf: Fancy glass serving dishes that don't often get used
2nd Shelf: Canisters with things such as corn meal, pancake mix, and such;  Tupperware containers for chips, crackers, and snacks; and the tall jar with noodles.
3rd Shelf:  Cans and condiments
4th Shelf: Cereals, oats/oatmeal, syrup, etc
5th Shelf: Paper products, drink mixes, pitchers,
Floor: Potato bin, chips, napkins

The white baskets on the left side I got from Walmart for a couple bucks each on the Easter clearance shelves.  One holds candy/goodies, another holds Jell-o mix, and the last holds partially used bags of noodles.  Otherwise you can see the assortment of things stored here.

The right side is mostly for appliances such as the griddle, extra coffee pot, waffle iron, and so on.  The drawer holds individual serving sized containers for my husbands lunches and for leftovers.

I had a lot of fun doing this, and other than getting a bit crowded after a shopping trip, it has stayed in a somewhat organized order since then.  The original cleaning project blew up into a bigger job, but it was worth it!  My husband probably still laughs at me that the PANTRY was the first 'room' in the house I painted, after finding out it was ok! :)

Thanks for stopping in! Let me know about the storage and organizing ideas you use in your kitchen!

I also linked up at this party (thanks DaNita!):

3 Years ago today, I made this commitment...

I take you to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.

Lord, thank you for the last three years.
The blessings you have given are incredible.
Help us to stand true to our promises and continue
in our love for the rest of our lives.
amen.

Remembering that special day

I'd like to make one of these for our home...

That would be another pinterest find :)

Yes. 
I said those words.
Ever since I was preggo with my first bundle of love, I have considered going the cloth diaper route.
I've compared prices...
read chat forums...
researched...
asked friends their opinions...
and so on.

I have found that...
there are LOADS of different types of Cloth Diapers...
there are SO many aspects to consider in price...
 and convenience...
you'll get as many opinions as people you ask!!

SO I've been too chicken to just go all out and try it, but I did get a couple of these...

That is my little guy in a gDiaper.
Basically it is a cloth liner with a thin plastic 'shell' that you can use either (spendy) disposable inserts, or cloth inserts in.  You just change the insert every time you change the diaper.  They are quite easy, and not even that inconvenient.  And it's not nasty and gross like the ones in the old days were. But they still kinda scare me.
I've gone a week or so using them, but don't have a large enough supply of either the diapers or inserts to keep up for too long.
And I'm still going back and forth on if it's worth it or not! :)

Have you ever used Cloth Diapers?
What is your opinion?
(you know...so I can get a few more people's ideas...lol)
WOULD you ever try them?
Why or why not?

I'd love to hear from you!

It's the new thing!
(or maybe I'm just way behind.)
And SO fun!
And SO addicting!
And SO useful!
Introducing you to...PINTEREST!!!

Basically, it's a brilliant way to organize all your favorites; from recipes, to clothes, to websites, to photos. 
Pretty much, you have 'bulletin boards' that you categorize, then you can 'pin' anything and everything onto any of your bulletin boards for future reference from any computer.  The pin saves the website info from where the photo originally was found, so you can go back and visit that site just by clicking on that photo.

Pinning a photo is super simple.
Once you get a pinterest account, you drag the "Pin It" button (shown above) to your favorites toolbar.  Every time you're on a site or see a photo you want to remember, just click that button.  A chart of every picture on that page will appear and you just choose which board you'd like that photo to go on.
Check out the About Pinterest Page for more info
All boards are public (somewhat of a bummer, but I'm hoping there is the option of having private boards in the future, as they are still updating and changing the site).  So another fun (and addicting) thing is to check out other people's boards (you can 'follow' each other) that have similar interests as yourself.  For example: 'future home' is a popular category and oh so fun to browse!
I'm not even sure where I ran across this site, but I know others have blogged about it, so maybe that is where I got it. 
I've gotten so many ideas and found so many neat things on Pinterest, and I love the organized way of keeping track of things online.  
Here are a few things I have pinned lately...

Aren't they sweet!?! :)  I'm sure Skyler would love to have these for breakfast some day!

This is one of my favorite desserts...layer upon layer of it!! I'm gonna have to try this recipe someday! Sooner than later I hope!

Talk about darling nursery idea! Especially for a smaller house that didn't have the extra room for the littlest little.

S'more Cookies!? Really! Yes!!

There are SO many crafty ideas and tutorials as well!

And organization!? Endless!

Dream home... I think YES!

Isn't it just fun!?
All of the photos above I "repinned' from others' boards, I didn't even have to go to oodles of different websites to get these neato ideas! 
To join Pinterest, you must have an invitation from someone who already has an account.  If you're wanting to join the excitement, send me an email and I'll return it with an invite!  Then I'd love to see what kind of ideas you come up with on your boards!

WARNING: This site can take up more time than any other site there is! You know how on Facebook and one picture leads to the next comment which leads to...you know. And blogs... they just keep coming! This. Is. Worse.

I plan on sharing some of the neat things I pin on a regular basis in the future.  Happy Pinning!

A few months ago (yes, I'm a bit behind in my blogging, so bear with me!),  I needed to find something fun for Skyler to do on those rainy winter days. 
I'm SO excited to have those behind us (?!?!)... maybe not, this IS the Pacific Northwest after all!
Anyways, Skyler wasn't quite two yet, so I wasn't sure how he would do with it, but he loved it!  He is still a bit young to know how to make things, but he likes to just dig in with various kitchen utensils. 

I found the recipe here, but didn't follow it 100%.
It was super easy and took probably ten minutes to make.  It makes quite a lot too, so if you want, you could divide it and make a few colors out of one batch.  I knew they'd all just get mixed up and turn that nasty brown color if Skyler got a hold of them, so I just did green.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour
• 2-4 tbs Cream of Tartar (because I made three batches, I only had enough for 2 tbs in each and it worked fine)
• 2 tbs oil
• 1 cup salt
• optional – 10-20 drops food colouring (depends on the colour you want to achieve)
• optional – 1/2 – 1 tsp of fragrant or essential oils (you may want to skip this part if you are worried about kids eating it, but it’s a really nice touch. I used watermelon for the pink, bubblegum for the blue and lemon for the yellow.)
• optional - body safe sparkles
• 2 cups boiling water

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and blend. Add fragrance and colour. Pour boiling water over dry ingredients and stir with a big spoon. I’m sure you can do this in a stand mixer, but I didn’t think of it at the time. If you are making several batches at once, add the boiling water to all of hem, then stir each one, taking turns. The mixture is really hot at this point, so it’s not safe for little helpers yet. Leave the lumpy mass to cool for a little bit, and don’t worry if the color isn’t at all mixed in yet. When it is cool enough to handle, knead until it makes a soft, smooth dough and all the color is mixed in.

I would give this recipe 5 stars in texture, speed (to make), and fun for kids!
Go try it for your littles, and thanks for popping in at Whispers of Joy!

I had to try them :)

Skyler turned two in April and I decided to do cake pops for his cake this year.  They are SO yummy and quite easy once you get going.

After looking at a few recipes and tips on various sites, I got started.  I learned quite a few things in the process:
-Dip the sticks in the melted chocolate/candy melts before sticking them into the cake ball.  This helps keep them secure while dipping them later.  My mom and I made some more cake pops for my brother's birthday a month later and this was a must!
-Don't add too much frosting to the cake, it will make them soft and hard to dip! Also learned this the 2nd time around!
-Don't add ANYTHING to the melts! I used almond bark and tried to add food coloring...does NOT work and ruins it completely!  If you want color, get candy melts instead.
-Keep the cake balls in the fridge and only pull a few out at a time.  Otherwise, they start to get too soft and fall apart.
-Test your base first and put all the holes in before you make the cake pops.  I tried pushing mine in as I went and ended up bumping them into each other and making a mess. Plus, the foam I was using was very tough and I couldn't make holes very well using just the sticks from the cake pops.
-Keep your melted dipping 'stuff' (almond bark, chocolate, candy melts) in a warm water bath, and stir often to keep soft.

I wrapped the foam in wrapping paper and then created a road to put cars on when the cake pops were all in.  Notice 'Cake Boss' in the background...for inspiration of course! :)

I ended up with plain white for the outside (because of the failed food coloring), so I dipped them in different sprinkles, or added M&Ms or Red Hots to the top. Nothing to professional, but it was a fun learning process and I would for sure do them again!  They are very addicting to eat, so beware!

Happy Birthday Skyler!  I thank God for the two great years we've had together, and look forward to many more! You light up my life with your smiles and giggles!

After attending a wedding this weekend, I've had this song stuck in my head and wanted to share the neat lyrics with you.

Battle Hymn of Love
I will pledge my heart, to the love we share.
Through the good and bad times too.
I'll forsake my rest for your happiness:
'Til my death I will stand by you.

With God as my witness, this vow I will make;
To have and to hold you, no other to take.
For rich or for poor, under skies grey or blue,
'Til my death I will stand by you.

There are wars and there are rumours, of wars yet to come.
Temptations we'll have to walk through.
Though others may tremble, I will not run.
'Til my death I will stand by you.

I will put on the armour of faithfulness,
To fight for a heart that is true.
'Til the battle is won, I will not rest.
'Til my death I will stand by you.

With God as my witness, this vow I will make;
To have and to hold you, no other to take.
For rich or for poor, under skies grey or blue,
'Til my death I will stand by you.

'Til the battle is won, I will not run.
'Til my death I will stand by you.

Memories of my own wedding :)
Sorry it's been awhile since I last posted!
I've been digging through my packed to the brim house trying to weed out the things I can live without!  Ok... that would be lots more than what I actually decided I could spare!  We're having a garage sale at my house this Saturday so if you live in the area come check it all out! :)