She Has Arrived...Welcome Sweet Little One!!

Meet Abigail Grace!

Feb. 25, 2010

She's here, she's here, she's finally here!!!

Just as I suspected, we were timing contractions by 5pm. They were 5 minutes apart for several hours and not lasting for more than 30 seconds at a time so we decided to wait on going to the hospital for awhile. I called the midwife at 7:55pm and at 9pm hubby and I were on the way to the hospital. We arrived about 9:25pm and by then, the contractions were one right on top of the other. Thank goodness we didn't wait any longer or we just might have had our baby girl on the side of the road! She arrived 2 hours later. There was no time for an epidural or anything so I am very proud to say that she was born completely naturally. It was very painful but truthfully, an experience that I would never trade for anything in the world. I've always had an epidural in the past so this was completely new territory. It was an amazing experience and I have a whole new respect for all of you moms out there who have done this naturally!

I want to thank all of you who left me such kind comments and prayed for us. As the day was going on and I was getting more and more anxious, reading your thoughts and prayers brought me to tears and were calming to me as well. Your kindness and thoughtfulness are overwhelming and I thank you all for that from the bottom of my heart!

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Thank you for your sweet comments about the table runner and chair covers too. When we arrived home from the hospital yesterday and I saw the table runner stretched across the table, I had to laugh at myself. I was so anxious that day that I made everything, I was working on them as if my life depended on it. I was praying and working so hard to try to distract myself and now every time I see the finished projects, I will remember that day from beginning to end and remember the special day little Abbey was born and the prayers of special friends who helped get me through!

God Bless you all and thank you for sharing in our special day!

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I'm going to run for now, the sweet little one is hungry and calling but I'll return soon to post more pictures and to get back to all of you individually. Thank you again for your support and emails!

xo,

Kathleen

Grain Sack Table Runner and Chair Covers

Well, as of now, no baby yet...however, I am so crampy today that I do believe there might be one very soon. My nerves are getting the better of me so I'm trying to keep my mind occupied by creating something I've been meaning to do for awhile. More faux grain sacks!

Only this time, in the form of a table runner and new chair covers.

Remember the technique used here?

Well, I applied it to burlap this time (I'm hooked on burlap lately, no?)

and here we have newly recovered chairs and a fabulous table runner!

I am so nervous...breathe and pray...stay calm and everything will be just fine. That is my mantra for the day! The pains are getting worse. Not unbearable yet, but I know what's coming soon. I have a feeling that by nightfall I'm going to be timing contractions.

Please pray for us if you get a minute, for a safe delivery and healthy baby.

I'll keep you posted!

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Still Waiting...

Tick Tock...Tick Tock...the clock keeps ticking and we keep waiting...


to fill these sweet shoes!
(seriously, I can't wait to try them all on her)

I've been going a little nuts with the shoes...they're just so darn cute, I had to take photos of some and put them in this post.


Can't wait...

to meet this sweet girl!

Today is the due date...and no baby just yet. We'll just wait patiently. She'll come when she's good and ready.

xo and God Bless,

Kathleen

Feelin' Crafty

Because of all the snow, my little ones missed a week of school and therefore also missed their Valentine's Day classroom parties. They rescheduled the parties for this Friday instead. One of my guys made a Valentine bag for collecting valentines in school as part of a class project, while the other one was just told to bring a bag from home. Of course, I haven't been able to get out much with all of them home from school and with almost 40 inches of snow on the ground. The only bags I could seem to come up with were brown paper restaurant take-out bags and they just wouldn't do. I thought "what am I going to do?" He can't take an Outback Steakhouse bag to school for his Valentines! He wanted something more Valentine-y. I thought I could make something out of fabric instead. Then I went to my fabric stash and had nothing really Valentine related or even red - what's a mom to do???

Then I found the leftover burlap from the lampshade in my previous post and... ahhhh...some red striped jute webbing. Red! Perfect! Not too feminine and if it worked out, I just might have a cute little bag when it's all said and done. It was so quick and easy and I was able to use what I already had lying around in my craft room so I thought I would share it with you all!

All you need for this project is burlap, jute webbing (or any other trim you prefer) and ribbon of your choice. I know the polka dot ribbon might be a little less than masculine (hubby pointed that out to me - haha) but hey, it's the kind of ribbon I had on hand. If I had solid red I would have used it. I tried to make a handle out of the webbing as well, but it was just too thick and I broke my sewing machine needle. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do right? I think he's probably going to be more interested in the candy that will inevitably be a part of the valentines than he will the polka dot handles anyway!

So the way I see it, after he brings all of his treasured valentine's home from school and enjoys the candy in them, I'll have a fun new bag to carry right? I say it's a win, win situation!

So here's to last minute crafting. Sometimes those projects created out of necessity turn out to be the best ones!

Enjoy creating your bags~

xo,

Kathleen

A Fun Monday Lamp Project

Want one of these?

I'll tell you how you can make one.

I love these burlap drum-like shades but they cost so much at those cute little antique boutique shops. I saw a lamp recently that I was in love with but you know what they wanted for it? $250.00

Yes, $250.00 - that's not a typo! Granted, it was larger than the one that I made here, but still...

Anyway, I immediately thought - I can do that!

So....
I gathered my supplies

a lamp of course - $6.99 at the Christmas Tree Shops

a shade

again, purchased at The Christmas Tree Shops for...yes...$1.oo

and a stencil, paint, brush and burlap that I had from another project shown here.

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First, I laid out the burlap and traced the pattern of the lampshade onto it.

Next cut out your burlap and hot glue it to the shade.

(Careful not to burn your fingers - trust me!)

Now that your burlap is covering the shade, it's time to get out the paint and stencil.

I put a little bit of paint on a paper plate and then positioned my stencil where I wanted it. Now, lightly dip your brush in the paint and then dab most of it off onto a paper towel. You're going to use a sort of dry brush tequnique when stenciling. As soon as you're finished painting, remove the stencil and there you have it. Your very own fancy-schmancy lamp with a French-twist burlap shade for under $10.00!
Enjoy!!

Happy Monday!

xo,

Kathleen

Happy Valentines Day~Sunday Reflections

Love is patient and kind, love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on it's own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Happy Valentine's Day my friends, may God Bless you all!

xo,

Kathleen

Let's Play a Game!!

Okay, here we go. First question: Look at the above photo. Can you tell where the 30 inch drop off is from our back patio to the grass below?

Okay, question two: Can you find the big wrought iron bench in the above photo?

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Here's a hint...here it is in the photo below, after the first 30 inches of snow but before the second blizzard 3 days later!

Ooohhh, here we go. Let's find the garden in front of our house. Oh, there it is, barely poking out above all the SNOW!!

Here's a double bonus...can you see the mailbox? Oh and ummm what about the car? Can't find the car? Me neither.

Hmmmm...now where did it go?

Oh look! I see the windshield wipers! Now for the fun part. Digging them all out.

At first this was fun. Kind of quaint actually! Umm now? Not so much.

At least one of my guys is enjoying it!

By the way, these photos of my little guy were taken after the first blizzard but before the second one.

Now, you can't even go out there. The wind is blowing so hard you can barely see and the snow has started up again as I type this!

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Please, Dear Lord, I keep praying, please do not let this baby come until AFTER the storm.

At this point, I don't even think we could make it to the hospital!

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone and stay warm wherever you are!!

xo,

Kathleen