life is beautiful ~ a little nap-time craft

Callan woke up at 7am today.  Not unusually early, but I was still pretty groggy since I stayed up until just after midnight to kiss Travis goodnight (when he got home from work).  As Travis stayed in bed for a few more hours of sleep this morning, I shuffled after Callan's energetic pitter-patter of feet down the hallway.  I started a pot of coffee, as usual.  Callan played with his trains for a few minutes until he was ready for breakfast.

I turned on Pandora (At Your Name [Yahweh Yahweh] Radio).  As he ate, I got a little sewing done.  After he was finished eating, I cleaned him up, turned off my sewing machine, and sat down on the floor with Callan to play with his trains.

"Oh Happy Day" (by Fee) came on Pandora.  Callan went into the kitchen (that's where the laptop was) and just stood there smiling.  We started dancing.  10 minutes of dancing, smiles, and giggles.  Then we laid on the floor.  He looked over at me and smiled.  I smiled back.  My heart over-flowed.  It's these moments that make this life absolutely beautiful.  Snippets of momentary perfection.

"Let Faith Arise" (by Chris Tomlin) played in the background.  I closed my eyes.  I covered my face.  I sang along, in my head.  A prayerful song.  A song of thanksgiving.  Life is not always easy.  Sometimes we struggle.  Financially, emotionally, hiccups along the road, but my faith in Him gets me through.  Every time.

God has blessed me with one heck of a beautiful life.

"I lift my hands to believe again

You are my refuge, You are my strength

As I pour out my heart, these things I remember

You are faithful, God, forever"

- "Let Faith Arise", Chris Tomlin

When Callan went down for a nap, I made this little reminder.

Hand-painted on a plank of what once was a barrel out in our backyard.
It found a place to rest up on our mantle.

Life really is beautiful.

Savor life, it's too beautiful to just let it slip by.

we made Valentines

When I saw this idea on Pinterest, I knew we had to try it.  Callan is still young, so it's hard to come by crafts that are [almost] 15 month old appropriate (at least in my experience).  

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought why not send out a few "made by Callan, with love" Valentines.  It may have taken us, only, about 5 minutes to make them, but the boy had a ball - and we got some cute pictures while he was stamping away. 

I've never been a fan of Valentine's Day - it's so cheesy and commercial.  But now that I have a little guy, it's fun to acknowledge it and make it a special, memorable day for him.  :)

Are heart shaped, sprinkle filled pancakes on the menu?  You betchya!  Will Callan even realize it at this age?  Probably not, but we're building traditions here, people, and I'm all about that.

a crafter's quandary

I found myself browsing etsy.com today.  I came across some unbelievably adorable crocheted products, however they are beyond my budget at the moment (or at any moment).  Luckily, the "shop owner" not only sells the finished products, but the patterns and instructions as well!  The patterns are only a couple of bucks and are e-mailed within 24 hours in PDF form.  Hmm...  My only question is, can I handle it?  Am I able to follow a crochet pattern?  The skill level is "easy", but that means jack crap if you've never crocheted before.  Or does it?  I'm tempted.  I'm very tempted.  How beyond cute would our little guy look in these chunky knit loafer booties and newsboy beanie?

Should I?  Shouldn't I?  Ahhh!  I can't decide...

(It's not a matter of do I like the finished products enough to purchase the patterns, it's a matter of would I actually be able to make these products myself given I have no crocheting experience...I really want to say YES, like, times 10.)  Stay tuned, I guess, to see what I decide!

image borrowed from

image borrowed from

image borrowed from