Fits.

As my 3rd graders would say back in Saipan, "You get what you get, so don't throw a fit!" LOVED THAT SAYING! And now I am having to practice that with my sweet almost 10 month old. Today H was soooooooooo tired and just would not relax or let me help her... so to the crib she went, where she cried and she played and then finally passed out... and this is what mama found...

Hatley my love, "You get what you get, so don't throw a fit!"

and PS: Mommy Loves You!

Chirp. Chirp!

For Christmas my mom got me this adorable and vintage-esque metal calendar... I loved it from the moment I saw it at one of my fav. little stores, High Country Orchard, which is located in one of my favorite places in the world, Green Bluff, which is just north of Spokane. Anyway, I loved this from seeing it in the store, and when I opened it for Christmas i was so excited. However, I got the point, where it continued to sit on my dinning table, asking me "When and Where are you going to hang me?"

Now the end of February, I have found a home... however it was with help.

 

In the center you can see the Metal calendar... surrounding it is other bird decor, which I picked up at Prune Orchard, a sweet little boutique located on Main street in Pullman.

 

 At Prune Orchard I picked up a pack of 4 sweet little gift tags, containing some sweet pictures of different birds, and sweet little canvas print with a bird, of course. My problem though, was what am I going to do with these tags? Well after a trip to the 99 cents store, and a little painting of the frames, my tags were ready.

 

 They look so sweet in these now black frames, with a little green scrapbooking paper behind... 

Time to finally hang the Bird Calendar.

 

 See it on the wall with two of the framed Tags?

 

 and two more tags with the canvas bird print on the shelves in the kitchen.... I didn't really have it in mind to go with a bird theme in my kitchen, but I am starting to like it =)

 

What new ideas and do-it-yourself projects have you been playing with to spice up your home decor?

PS: Thanks mama for the beautiful calendar and the inspiration for a fun new kitchen!

Is it Spring Yet?

 So this last Friday we had a glimpse of Spring, and It was LOVELY! The Sun was shinning, people were out walking their dogs, and there were Robins everywhere! Our trees in the front yard and the roof line of the house was covered... and it was beautiful! They are sooooo chubby!

 

That was, we had a sign of spring until today.... and today, we have had a dumping of snow. Still beautiful, but what happened to our spring?  They said we were going to get about 2-4 inches of snow today, and so far we have gotten about 5 or 6.... will it keep going through out the night? We shall see! Stay warm everyone! 

 The snow on the railing is what we had received as of 4 pm this afternoon.

A Special Gift.

A Special gift for a Special Girl, from an Amazing Nana.  Hatley is spoiled. My mom is an amazing cross-sticher. I remember as a kid, mom always working away on a special project... I havent seen it to much in the last few years or so, but I guess it just takes a special girl to get her going again. Not only did she cross-stitch it all, but she also did a great job in picking out the frame. 

Thanks Nana Judy, for a beautiful gift that a sweet little girl will cherish the rest of her life.

 

 Look at this beautiful Antique finished frame!

So glad my mom has the patience to do this, each little stitch would drive me nuts =)

Its Been a Long Time Coming...

Blog Stocker. Okay, that makes it sound horrible, I am not a blog stocker... okay, well maybe a little, especially when it comes to a blog that I love, and take fabulous ideas away from... LemonTree3 is one of my favs. A gal that Mark and I went to Slovenija with, back in 2004 with Campus Crusade for Christ, has this blog with a couple of her friends. I first found it on facebook, and have followed it ever since. 

One of the things I have come away with from this blog is the project I am about to show you... which I stole from them, which they stole from someone else, which that person stole from someone else, are you following me? Anyway, as a note, this was not my idea or my genius, though I wish I could say it was... The original idea came from this blog site: Living with Lindsey (or atleast I'd like to think the original came from here =)

I started our shopping at the Dollar Store. I already had the Hot Glue, Glue Gun, Ribbon, and some left over paint from college, but all those you can find cheaply at Michaels or Joanne's, probably even Walmart. At the Dollar store I purchased a styro foam 10" wreath, and two books. So really in all this project, if I had purchased them all together, minus the glue gun, probably cost me around $10. Not bad...

When I arrived home, I painted the side of the pages with the paint ( I used a brown, but I am sure you could use any color... it just adds a little pop!) I then ripped out each individual page...

I then began rolling the pages in any which way I could think of and hot gluing them down onto the wreath. (PS: if your thinking making this, go to the tutorial LemonTree3 followed: Living with Lindsey. They have a step by step, detail by detail tutorial =)

Continued to roll and glue, until my wreath was full from the back to the front, from the inside to the outside....

and....

TA DA! 

My Book wreath! Now the problem with our house is that it is a small older home, built in the early 1900's. So the walls are small. I intended for this to be hung in our living room, but from whatever way you entered the living room it looked like I giant ball of fluff sticking out of the side... so, I found the perfect, and the only place to hang it in our home. In our bedroom we have a little inlet in the wall, and it worked perfectly, plus I had been wondering what in the world I was going to hang there =)

So, my giant ball of fluff, yes I was disappointed at first, has come and proven itself to me. It was fun to make, took forever, but I do love the end results. Thanks Lemontree3 for stealing the idea and sharing with the rest of us!

Oooofta.....

Yesterday Mark and I began the 30 day shred... and all I have to say about today and yesterdays workouts.... 

OUCH.

My Valentine

I have always had a Valentine, my sweetheart Mark. However, this year we both got to have another Valentine in our lives... our sweet Hatley-roo, or as her cousin Trent (2 years old) would call her, Hatley-Roo-Roo.

We also have been blessed with a great sister, sister in-law and auntie, who takes some pretty amazing pictures, and has been willing to take pictures of H for her newborn shots, 3 months, 6 months and now 9 month. Yes, I said 9 months... My sweet girl is 9 months old... and as excited as I am about how adorable this pictures are, and how H is learning and exploring EVERYTHING, i get a little worked up when I think of her next photo shoot, 12 months... meaning 1 YEAR! Mommy No Like...

Anyway, here are some adorable and amazing shots, by Marks Sister Angela!

Thanks Auntie Ang & Happy 9 months Hatley Roo!

A Must read for Mommies.

For Christmas my mom gave me a book... I like reading, but I dont do it very often, because of time, and usually I honestly forget about reading... but the last few nights before I go to bed I have looked at my pile of books sitting next to my bed that I have wanted to get through for a very long time... to show you how long, I have a book by Sophie Kinsella that has been sitting on my night stand since we moved into this house... even longer, it sat on my night stand for the whole last year in Saipan... when did I start reading it? The summer we came home to visit, yes summer of 2009... and to make things worse, there are only like 30 pages left of the book and then I will be done ... sad I know...

Anyway, to get back to the bright side of this post, I was looking at this book mom gave me for Christmas, and I am not really a person for "self-help" books, but I picked it up the other night and gave it a try and it is AMAZING! Here is what the back of the book says:

"As moms were love to serve and nourish our families. But if we don't learn to rest and recieve, we run on empty and end up not being the moms we so desperatly want to be. Taking care of the ME in Mommy will show you how to take care of yourself: spirit, body, and soul."
I just made it through the introduction, and the first point in the book: Your spirit; Breath in God, Exhale his spirit... this point was all about incorporating his word into our daily lives, but not making it another thing to cross off on our to do list... for example, finding a verse about your lips or mouth, and relate that to lipstick. Put this verse on your mirror and as your putting on lipstick in the morning, read it... not only will you see it everyday, but you'll end up memorizing it without even trying...

I know I havent gotten to far into the book, but so far, I am in love, everything I have read so far, I know I can incorporate into my life without making it part of my do list... I am sure I will be sharing more as I read... please pray I keep reading =) hehe.

If your a momma, I recommend this book to you!

If you are going to be a mama, read this, and you'll be on top of it once that little bundle arrives!

and Thanks Mom for such a good read!

IF YOU WANT TO GET THIS BOOK, check out http://www.2ndlookbooks.com/ My mom works here it is a used book store that has pretty much any book you are looking for.. sometimes they are out of stock, but they can put your name on the list and once it comes in, its yours!

I am in LOVE.

This last weekend Mark, Hatley and I were able to travel to the Tri-cities for another amazing Young Life conference. The last one we were at was 3 years ago, when Hatley was a twinkle in our eye. It was an amazing weekend. We were able to catch up with so many close friends we havent seen since we moved to Saipan, and introduce our little Coconut to them too!

Hatley and I were in and out of the seminars and main talks due to nap times and bordem, on her part. BUT I was so blessed by one of the talks I was able to stay in. Don Myers, who trained Mark and I when we were on teacher staff while living in Kahlotus, gave an amazing talk on belonging. He talked about how teens (and I totally remember the feeling) want to belong, and they will do anything.. He went on to talk about how we are here to help those teens find a place to belong, Gods arms. It touched my heart so much, thinking of all the youth Mark and I have worked with, and how badly they need Christ in their lives. At the end of Dons talk he played this music video by JJ Heller... and WOW!


Not only did this song touch my heart, make me think, and want to reach out even more to the youth, but it also made JJ one of my favorite artists, and showed me a song TOTALLY worth sharing...

I hope this touches your heart like it touched mine. =) ENJOY!

What Would You Do?

On the way to work this morning, the radio was talking about what moms say they would do if they had one hour (consecutive hour) to themselves. Didn't think much about it, but as I drove home, I began to wonder, if I had one day, that went by SLOWLY, and money wasnt a problem, What would I do for one day? Now, I am the type of person who kinda likes to do the same thing, I love adventure and new things, dont get me wrong, but if I am going to spend my one and only day doing something, You betcha I am going to do something I have done before, that I know I will love and enjoy... so enjoy a ride through My Dream day.....

1. I would wake Mark and Hatley up really early to catch our first flight...

                                   

2. Once arriving Saipan, and due to the time change, we would head up to one of the highest points on the island and into the village of As Teo and sleep in our King Size bed, in the middle of the jungle, in our beautiful home.... ( Miss you house)

                                    

3. Would meet up with my favorite girls on island and go get a Mani-Pedi at Kira Kira.

                                   

4. After the Man-Pedi, Mark, Hatley, and I along with our closest friends on island would enjoy a delicious champagne brunch at the Hyatt.. mmmmmmm. My mouth is watering.

                                    

5. After brunch we would run back up to our island house, pick some fresh mangos off of the tree in the yard...

                                    

6. We would take these Mangos to Mandi Spa, and eat them while we also enjoy lounging by the 5 pools, soaking in the warm pool over looking the lagoon, and getting a 2 hour massage. Face it, by the time one hour is over, you were just getting comfortable and relaxed. Might as well go for two.

                                    

7. After a day at the Spa, the ladies and I would meet up with Mark, Hatley and their men at the Hyatt for Happy Hour on the beach. Where we would enjoy Mai tais, and Mint Margaritas!

8. To finish off my day, we would go dine at my absolute favorite resturant, which non in the states can compare too. ANYONE from SAIPAN reading this, I will pay you to go to the Thai house and ask them for their recipe in making their Cashew Chicken, its horrible here in the states! I really will pay!

That would be my perfect day, a day I can dream about and go to a happy place =)....

What would your perfect day be?

A Mover & a Shaker... 9 months old!

On January 30, Hatley turned 9 months old! Hard to believe for her Mommy and Daddy... but wether we believe it or not, she is, and she is a mover... No she isn't crawling; she can get up on all fours, thinks about it, then lies down =) We not only have a 9 month old, but we have a stubborn little girl =) She LOVES to stand, with anyone that will hold her hands or anything that will hold her up. I am wondering wether or not we will just skip the crawling and go to walking, we will see soon enough I guess...

Here are some fun pictures of our Mover and Shaker!

 Lets just say Hatley's 9th month of life, hasnt started so nicely for any of us, but especially her. On Monday night we got home from church and while still in her car seat she began puking... gross. from there it led to puking on: her first set of PJ's after the carseat (then we took a bath), then her 2nd pair of Pj's, 3rd set of Pj's, Daddies clothes, mommy and daddies bed, Mommy's clothes, 4th set of PJ's, and finally the kitchen sink. Oh poor girl! She puked 9 times in one night! Ugh! Of course I felt horrible for her, but had to snap some sweet cuddle pictures of her, these rarely happen in our house as I said, she is a M & S.

 Well to say the least, Tuesday morning rolled around and we had decided to already keep her home for the day, and she was her normal self. Smily, happy, giggling, and MOVING. the only not so normal thing was she really wasnt that hungry, but can you blame her? Either way, since she had made such a mess the night before, she and Daddy spent much of the day folding the laundry that mommy had washed the night before...

 Finally she was back to herself and the nastiness of Monday was gone... or so we thought. Today, Wednesday, I got up to get ready for work, Mark was already gone bus driving, and I hear her, she was sweetly sleeping in our bed as I got ready, when I go to check on her, she is PUKING again! and proceeded too two more times! So Daddy is gone for the day, and mama is here... cuddling with my girl... today has been a quite day in the Sawyer house.. Hatley has slept most of the day on the couch next to me... until her bottom wanted to compete with her mouth, yes, diareha, but I am going to leave it at that. So now, she is quitely asleep(again) in her crib... my poor girl. I feel soooooo horrible for her... and at the same time am loving all this cuddle time! Havnet cuddeled with her this much since she was a newborn on Saipan...

Well I guess I should go take advantage of my day home, and a sleeping kiddo and get some things done. Hopeing to get this elegant and beautiful project done that I have been working on for about two weeks, here and there when time allows. Have been wanting to blog about it, but just not ready too. So hopefully tonight I will finally get it finished and ready to share!

Pray for Health in the Sawyer house! We are headed to the Tri-cities this weekend for a Young Life Leadership Retreat, and back to good old Kahlotus, where our family started! We are excited to see friends and introduce hopefully a happy little girl!