Crafting Before Crazineess!

So after weeks of not knowing what in the world was going on with the house that we were buying we FINALLY have a closing date! We will be closing this Friday and moving the following weekend. The next two weeks will be busy with packing, moving, end of the school year festivities, Father's Day, my little Professors birthday, my hubby's birthday, and whatever else pops up. Yesterday I decided to get some crafting that needed to be done out of the way, or at least that was my excuse! I put together end of the year presents for my sons teacher and bus drivers. My dad was in town visiting, so I took the opportunity to make his Father's Day present. After a quck trip to Michaels and some fun with spray paint on a windy day, this is what I came up with! What Grandpa doesn't need a way to display pictures of his grandkids! Especially with a new granddaughter on the way! (My sister is having a baby, not me!) I got the idea off of pinterest, but it was too girly, so I made it more "grandpa" then "grandma"! The smileface stickers are scrapbooking stickers that I stuck on with wood glue to make sure they stayed! It was a nice little break from cleaning and packing and doing moving things yesterday. Now I can hardly wait to get in the new house and unpack and get ready to enjoy the summer!!!

To My Friend....

One of the things about military life is that your friends up and move every few years. It is the one part of military life that I like the least, and I don't think it will ever get any easier. I have been very blessed with a great group of girlfriends a girl could have! We have laughed, cried and threatened to run away from it all together! I really think that if we put our heads together we could take over the world!

In a few weeks I am saying, "see you later" to one of my best friends, Karen. Karen is the most welcoming and kind person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing! We moved to Ft. Meade at just about the same time, so she has been a constant through all the ups and downs these years have held. She reached out to me after only meeting me once. I went to a game night at her house, and about a week later I ended up in the hospital, and she took the time to call and offer to bring me ice cream....it has been friendship ever since. She is the glue that has held our little band of friends together. She has tiredlessly hosted playdate after playdate, and game night after game night. She has come to my rescue to help with my kiddos time after time. Anyway, what kind of present do you give a person like that? We put our heads together and come up with this picture:

I saw this idea on Pinterest and immediately fell in love with it. So with my friend Rachel's help we did our own take on it! We included all of our kids, so that no matter where Karen moves, she will have a reminder of all the people who love and cherish her friendship in Maryland.

A Much Needed Break

Things have been a chaotic around the Cole household lately. We are moving to Columbia, MD in a few weeks, so packing has started! Plus, I have had many photography jobs, and have been able to volunteer at my little professors school. This weekend was a nice break, we had very low key plans and it was so nice! On Saturday we got to hang out with my friend Brooke and her gang! She has two little boys which Roo has taken possession of, calling them, "my boys". She has also taken possession of the rest of the family, but really, would you expect anything different of a 2 year old?

It was an evening that was filled with the happy chaos that you get when you add four kids, one dog, four adults, water to play in and some really good food! Sunday was a day around the house. I did some much needed laundry, and was able to start my week with empty laundry baskets, well at least the first few hours of the week! Yesterday that kids and I made a quick trick to Hobby Lobby in the morning. I needed some lighter fabric to make Roo a lighter blanket and pillow for her bed, as fleece isn't really summer in MD friendly! She picked out Tinker Bell fabric, she has really gotten into Tinker Bell and fairies lately, and I have really been enjoying it!

It was my first time sewing with "shiny" fabric, it was a bit of a challenge, but she was pleased with how it turned out. She even took the scraps to make blankets for her dolls! I let my little professor tackle the task of baking his first cake. It was from a box, but he had alot of fun. We took a basic white cake, and when it was cool, poured some red and blue jello over it, to make a patriotic cake for Memorial Day.

He decorated it is as well, and it was a perfect dessert to end the day with. Speaking of my little professor, he is turning 6 next month. With all the packing and moving that will be taking place shortly, I wanted to make sure to get his pictures in before the craziness started, so I dragged him outside yesterday morning for a quick photoshoot!

We used some props, and got pictures that really reflect him at this age! My dad got to come yesterday afternoon. The kids really enjoyed playing with him, and getting some grandpa cuddles!

We also spent some time in the backyard enjoying the water table and the hose. The kids were grateful to grandpa who knocked down the spiderwebs! They had a ball chasing each other around with the hose and watering the weeds!

It was a really wonderful weekend, and now I am ready to attack the week!

I Got to Say "YES"!!

Lately I feel I have been saying "no" from the time I wake up, till the time when my little angel go to bed. "No you can't play on the computer", "no you can't play with the toilet water", no you can't change your own diaper", "no you can't use your brother as couch"....well, you get the picture. Yesterday my day was blissfully free of "have to's". I had no errands that had to be run on any type of schedule, and while there was cleaning that needed to be done, I scattered that through out my day, so I had some time just to play with my little girl. I took her to the lake near our house, and I wanted to focus on saying "yes". "Yes you can sit on every bench that around the park", "yes you can feed the ducks", "yes you can sit and look at the water as long as you would like". I even let her carry my bag that help her juice and other things we had taken along (plus the 5,000 sticks she had picked up along the way). Motherhood is tough, it is easy for me to get overwhelmed with the responsibility of raising my children, and forget to take time and let them have fun and just be kids! I still won't let my little Roo do everything she wants, but I need to make sure to take time to let her be her, as long as it is safe and won't result in her taking over the world!

My Ebenezer

In the Old Testement the idea of "building an ebenezer" is brought up. These were piles of stones ment to guide and remind the Children of Israel of God's past help and faithfulness. Last year, on May 9th I had the most terrifying day I have ever experienced. That was day my little Roo had her biggest seizure episode. She had to be sedated for about 5 hours, intubated and flown by helicopter to Children's Hospital in DC. As the anniversary was getting close alot of the feelings I felt that day were starting to pop up. I remember the fear, the helplessness and despair. However, I have decided that instead of being a slave to those feelings, I would choose to use this anniversary to "build an ebenezer" of God's faithfulness. While those horrible feelings that I had were real, there were also an overhwhelming peace, a peace that is beyond understanding, a peace that could only come from God. I have chosen to do my best to focus on those feelings instead of the negative ones. So yesterday, on the anniversary we threw a celebration bbq, in a way celebrating my ebenezer, a party celebrating God's faithfulness. While the dads looked kinda shell shocked at the noise and confusion of it all, all the moms weren't fazed...it was the controlled chaos that happens when you but a TON of kids in one place.

It was indeed a celebration! All the kids played outside, apprently there were tons of ladybugs out there, and they were on a mission to catch them! All the kids looked tired and dirty as they were leaving!

I am so grateful to my military family. Last year they cried with me, this year they celebrated with me!! As I watched my little Roo play and be a kid (including getting hurt multiple times and giving mommy heart palpatations!) I couldn't help remember how small and helpless she looked last year. As I watched her run around I remember how scared I was that she would have physical limitations. I am so grateful for the miracle that is my daughter!

Busy Busy Busy

Things have been really busy around here lately. We are in the midst of buying a new house, we have had some sickness around here (my little professor had Scarlet Fever and I had the flu, and my photography business is thriving. Other than being sick is has all been good busy, but it is still tiring! This weekend my photoshoots got rescheduled because of the weather, so we had a free weekend! It was a wonderful time to sit back and relax a bit. We were still very productive around the house, but it was nice to not HAVE to go anywhere or do anything. Saturday was icky, so we spent sometime in the house. The highlight of the morning was playing "Duck Duck Goose" with the kiddos. I wish I had pictures, but I was too busy playing to take pictures! My little Roo didn't quite get the hang of the game, it was hilarious to watch her pat us on the head, say "duck, duck, duck" and then take off running and giggling! And my little Professor relaxed enough to just enjoy the giggles and he didn't get too upset when the rules weren't followed to the letter! I also tried my hand at ladyfingers on Saturday. I love tiramisu and would love to make it, but I want to make it from scratch and in order to do that I need to master ladyfingers. The taste was delicious, but next time I will make them a bit thicker. I made up some chocolate buttercream frosting and made really yummy sandwich cookies for dessert! Here is the recipe I used: Ingredients: 4 eggs, separated 2/3 cup white sugar 7/8 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Line two 17 x 12 inch baking sheets with baking parchment. Fit large pastry bag with a plain 1/2 inch round tube. 2. Place egg whites in bowl and beat on high until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and continue beating until stiff and glossy. In another bowl beat egg yolks and remaining sugar. Whip until thick and very pale in color. 3. Sift flour and baking powder together on a sheet of wax paper. Fold half the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Fold in flour, and then add the remaining egg whites. Transfer mixture to pastry bag and pipe out onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes.

We also had bananas that needed to be used, so I found a recipe for Marbled Nutella Banana Bread. I doubled the recipe and used it to make "cupcakes" that I then frosted with the left over buttercream frosting. So yummy! Marbled Nutella Banana Bread 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1/2 cup Nutella Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together banana, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy and well combined - about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs until well combined - about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until just combined. Divide 1/2 of of the batter into a medium bowl; stir in Nutella until combined. Alternate spoonfuls of batter into loaf pan until all of the batter is used up. Swirl batter gently with a knife (not too much!). Bake 1 hour or until well risen, deep golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into bread comes out with moist crumbs attached. Makes 1 loaf

Sunday the weather was much better so after naptimes we took the kids up to the fountain near our house to play.

We came home had dinner, with cupcakes for dessert!

It was a wonderful weekend and I got enough downtime so that I can attack this week's to-do list!!!

Getting in Touch with Nature

Yesterday I had the privilage of taking a friends pictures. We decided to check out Patapsco State Park. We were hoping to find the waterfall, and while we didn't find it on this trip, we did fine some awesome train tracks, a swinging bridge and a little beach area. I really enjoyed the time outside. I haven't explored a state park in a very long time. I came home sweaty, dirty, stinky and tired, but so happy and energized! While I was there to take pictures for my friend, I was able to capture a few pictures of the beauty that surrounded us.

We saw these flowers creeping their way down a hill. I think they are a type of phlox, but please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. It was so pretty to see their bright little faces standing out among the dirt and tree trunks.

Here is a picture of the swinging bridge we found.....it was really fun to walk across, you just felt a bit uneven! And the photo ops by the bridge are endless!!!

I snapped this picture as we were getting ready to leave, I was standing under the railroad tracks. The light was so pretty! I can't wait to go back and explore some more!!!