Handmade From A Friend

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:14

We have a good friend in Emporia who made us some amazing baby gifts for Silas....I love them all!  Personalized gifts are great to give and receive.  A lot of time, thought and love went into each one of these great gifts.  Thank you Regina!

The onesie Silas is wearing in the picture above, the burp cloths below...

"Popee's Fishing Buddy, Silas", "For this baby I have prayed.", 

"Train up a child in the way he should go." Proverbs 22:6, and " Lil' Wildcat"

Shirts for each of my kids... These are going to be a lot of fun for them to wear!

Sarah - "biggest SIS Sarah", Silas - "little BRO Silas, and Phoebe - " big SIS Phoebe"

Bags for the girls...

And a small bag that fits perfectly into my purse... it holds one diaper and a container of wipes.

Thank you again Regina!  All of these will get lots of wear and use!

Cute Kids

Yes.  Yes, I do have three cute kids.  I know.  They are cute.

Eric likes to tell Sarah and Phoebe, individually... "We need to have a talk." (very seriously) Then, one of them will walk over to him... thinking they are in trouble for something.... (and again completely serious) he says, "You have to stop being so cute."  Then little girl laughter and more cuteness follows his comment.

Silas has the cuteness too and the blue eyes... a deep blue... so cute.

And, yes, that is the results of drinking a leaking bottle and drooling on Silas's shirt.  (Silas drank the bottle and drooled.  Not me.)  But, I am not in the running for mom of the year, so I did not change his wet shirt right away, or maybe not at all. Instead I decided to take pictures of my cute kids and then blog about how cute they are.  The end.

Silas * 1 Month Old *

~ Silas Paul ~ One Month Old ~

"Don't Forget Where You Came From"

You're so fresh from heaven there's still angel dust on you

I am so amazed God sent you here

Every time I hold you I am thanking Him for you

So baby let me whisper in your ear...

Don't forget where you came from 

Don't lose sight of whose you are

Take after your Heavenly Father 

He will take you far

Wherever you go, whatever may come, little one

Don't forget where you came from.

I know the One who made you made the planets and the stars

And so I guess I should not be surprised 

But it still takes my breath away how wonderful you are

So baby as you grow and live your life...

Don't forget where you came from 

Don't lose sight of whose you are

Take after your Heavenly Father 

He will take you far

Wherever you go, whatever may come, little one

Don't forget where you came from.

a song by: Carolyn Arends

The Toads

This week we found two toads in our window well.  After Eric rescued them, Sarah and Phoebe began following them around our front yard.  It wasn't even one minute before Sarah had one of them picked up and was carrying it around the yard.  She had just said to Eric and I, "It is slimy."  When it peed on her... Eric and I looked at each other and silently we both decided not to tell her it had peed on her.  Neither one of us wanted her to never hold a toad again.  I quickly said, "Oh, he slimed you."  She just said, "Eeeww", and kept right on holding it.  GO SARAH!

(She came at me with it a couple times to show it to me... I told her to stay back.  I could see it fine from where she was and I didn't want to take any chances of it leaping out of her hand directly onto me... I have never held a toad and the thought of one flying through the air at me or even in my general direction makes my stomach turn.  I don't do reptiles.)

Phoebe decided she wanted to touch the toad too.  She stuck out her little pointer finger, got within a foot of the toad and lightly touched it with the tip of her finger a couple times.  She never did hold it or express any interest in wanting to hold it.

Notice Sarah has on her shirt that says "Princess".  "Princess" Sarah did hold the frog, but did not ever attempt to kiss it.  (We do not need any Prince Charmings around our house for at least fifteen more years...)  Sarah told us the toad felt squishy and bumpy.

After awhile Sarah tracked down toad #2, picked him up and carried him around for awhile too.  It also slimed her.

I did eventually tell her that the slime was pee and that she needed to go in and wash her hands.  She thought it was a little gross, but it didn't seem to bother her much.  She told me she would still pick them up.  I like that "Princess" Sarah sometimes is not so Princessy.  

Cooking With Grandma

We may be onto something... a Saturday morning show for kid's, 

"Cooking With Grandma" ~ starring Sharon Hendrickson.

While Sharon was here visiting us Labor Day weekend, she mentioned to Sarah cooking a dessert food with her, (Chocolate Sheet Cake - one of my faves).  Sarah did not forget about cooking with Grandma, but she did pick out a different recipe that she and Phoebe like even better than chocolate sheet cake... Angel Kiss Cookies.  (These are the peanut butter cookies that have a Hershey's Kiss on the top.)

First we all went to the grocery store.  Sarah had a list of the ingredients that they needed.  She, Phoebe, and Grandma walked around the store and found them together... along with a few other items that the girls "talked" Grandma into... ice cream sandwiches, string cheese, new kinds of yogurt, and new boxes of cereal.

When we all got back home Grandma helped them each get an apron on and then they got to work in the kitchen... measuring, stirring, mixing, and tasting, and baking.

Phoebe thought that the mixer was too loud and covered her ears the whole time.  Sarah thought it was great to get to help use the mixer.

Both girls really liked licking off the beaters, and taking many samples of the dough right out of the mixing bowl!  Sarah kept saying... "Just one more taste".

Both girls also helped roll the dough balls in the sugar before putting them on the cookie sheet to bake.  Each time Phoebe rolled her dough ball in the sugar, she also flattened it out.

The girls also ate a lot of plain Hershey's Kisses.  (So did I.)  We wouldn't have wanted all the extras to go to waste.

The cookies were delicious and it was a great thing for Grandma and her granddaughters to do together!

Angel Kiss Cookies

1/2 C. softened butter      

1/2 C. peanut butter

3/4 C. packed brown sugar

1/4 C. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1 3/4 C. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

Beat first seven ingredients until light and fluffy. Add flour and soda; thoroughly blend.  Shape into balls.   Roll balls in sugar.  Place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.  Immediately top each cookie with a Hershey's Kiss upon taking them out of the oven, carefully pressing down firming.

Time With Grandma

Eric's mom, Sharon, came to visit us over Labor Day weekend.  Here she is meeting new grandbaby, Silas, for the first time.  Silas makes four grandchildren for Sharon... two girls and now two boys.

Sarah and Phoebe had fun with Grandma Sharon.... playing with puzzles and games, shopping, reading books, going to the water fountain park, and making cookies.

Eric, Sarah, Silas, Sharon, and Phoebe - All ready to go to church Sunday morning.

The girls and Grandma, reading some stories before going to bed.

Sharon got to go with us two mornings to drop Sarah off at school.  Here we are one morning right before taking her to school.

We had all had a nice time Sharon.  Thanks for visiting us!

Silas ~ Weeks 2, 3 & 4

Silas is four weeks old today! These are some pictures from over the last three weeks....

~ Week two ~

sitting and sleeping in the bouncy sit

Phoebe only asks to hold Silas every once in awhile and when she does hold him it is only for a minute or less.  She does enjoy sitting next to someone else who is holding him and just looking at him.  She always notices and likes to tell us when his eyes are open and he is "awake now".  She also likes to touch him gently with her pointer finger.  She is a good little helper with tasks like throwing yucky diapers away, getting a pacifier for Silas, and putting dirty clothes in the dirty clothes basket.  She likes to call him "baby Silas".

Silas already LOVES his Daddy!  Eric seems to have the special touch of getting Silas to calm down when he is crying and gets him to fall asleep much easier and faster than I can.  Silas especially enjoys laying flat out on top of Eric to sleep.  (Eric says that Silas sleeping on him hurts his back some, but I think secretly he loves that this cute, fragile, baby boy of ours snuggles up on him and falls asleep.  Really, who wouldn't love that a little bit?)

Here is Silas wearing one of his cute new outfits from some of our friends at church.  Thanks Ladies!  And, look!  A rare moment where Silas happened to fall asleep resting on me.  (Thanks for capturing this moment Lindsee.)

The Big Sisters and their Little Brother... Both girls have been great with their new baby brother.  It is especially cute at night, right before bedtime, when both girls have to hug and kiss, and tell Silas "Goodnight", or "Gunight" as Phoebe pronounces it.  Sometimes they might forget, and need a reminder, to hug and kiss Mommy or Daddy goodnight, but never Silas.

~ Week three ~

And, here it is... our most recent big purchase... The SWING!  I did not have one of these big, take up a lot of space in any room you put it in, pieces of baby equipment with either one of the girls, but last week it seemed like this was a must have.  It still seems like a must have, and both Silas and I are loving it.  He likes the forward and back motion, and I like that the forward and back motion helps to cease and eliminate any crying that might be going on.  It is a win/win for Silas and I. (Two thumbs up for the Fisher Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle'n Swing!)  Now, if they only made these in adult sizes....

~ Week four ~

More sleeping on Daddy...

Putting his feet into the backyard pool water... He clearly did not like it one bit.

Having a new baby around the house is always a new adventure and a joy.  Babies sure can help us to realize how strong love and family bonds are.  Even with the lack of sleep that I am experiencing now, and the grouchy pants I have on half the time due to the lack of sleep, I am totally in love with this new little guy, my cute girls and my hottie of a husband.  My heart is overflowing... and I am very grateful for these blessings in my life.