A Much Needed Break...

I've been busy, real busy. My days have consisted of laundry and cleaning and organizing and cooking and packing, along with my other daily activities.

You see, tomorrow I head out of town by myself. All alone. No husband, no boys, no baby. Just me...well for two hours. Then I meet my dear friend Jen, and head on down to Hilton Head Island. There we will join 6 other of my dearest friends all from seminary. This is the first "reunion" since we left 4 years ago. Some I haven't seen even longer than that!

Except for the few babies that are still nursing, and Haleigh is not one of them, it is just the girls! Four whole days of rest, relaxation, the beach, the pool, eating seafood, possibly reading, and yes the countless priceless conversations we will have ALL.WEEKEND.LONG! I love it! And I haven't even been yet!

The best part about the weekend is that not only are these girls some of the best friends that I have, but they are partners. Being in full time ministry is just rare. And when you have others who know exactly everything you face, the role you are in, the ups, the downs, well, it is just priceless!

So, Girls, I am SO READY! See you tomorrow! And well, for the rest of my family, pray for them!

This is where I will be all weekend! Or at the beach...I can't decide!

Easter

Was Easter really 2 1/2 weeks ago? Well, I couldn't let it pass without sharing some pictures because we have some treasures!

And yes, Caleb was with us on Easter, but we didn't get any pictures of him, because he was sleeping when we took them all! But trust me, he looked adorable!

We RARELY get good pictures of Micah because he hates getting his picture taken. But this one turned out really good!
And I must say my little darling looked so sweet! I made her dress and was really excited about it. I actually made it with her dedication in mind, but decided to let her wear it for Easter to get another wear out of it! I found it on Etsy for like $35 and made it for $21 ($10 for the monogramming). So not a bad deal!

Wordless Wednesday

Yup! That's my Dad!

Haleigh's Room

Well now that Little Miss is 5 months old, I guess I should show you her room! I've worked really hard and have had LOTS of FUN doing it! We've got two more things left to do, and then it's complete! I say we've, because those are things my amazingly gifted hubby is doing!

Here's her bedding...and it is my favorite. I found it on a website for like $400 and then found the fabric elsewhere, and my mom made it, all for a total of $150. Not a bad deal! My mom is brilliant and I think it looks awesome! It turned out just like I had it pictured. Mom made the bumper and I made the crib skirt and matching valance.


I made this pillow to match her bedding and to spruce up this VERY OLD hand-me-down chair.
Ed's cousin sent this painted can along with a matching framed print. She made one for the boys that was shorter and had Lightning McQueen on it. I use the boys as a trash can, but this one is taller and it took me a while to decide what to use it for. So I decided on this...I'm not sure yet if I like it! The jury is still out on it! What do you think?

This is a dresser that was passed down to us. Originally it was honey-stained wood with big round wooden knobs. When Caleb was born, Ed built a frame on the top to use it as a changing table. Then we painted it navy blue and put those nickel drawer handles on it. I really liked the Pottery Barn camp collection and modeled it after that. It was a piece I was really proud of, but had no use in Haleigh's room, being that it was blue. So we had to repaint it to match her room. I still really like it, but I do miss the navy blue one!
This is the infamous bow holder. I get so many comments on it, just because of all her bows. However, I KNOW there are many many people with a TON more than her! You know who you are! They've got one to match every color in every outfit!
I saw a ton of bow holders on the internet I liked, but I decided to make mine! I thought it turned out cute and it was VERY easy to make, and cheaper!When I get the last two pieces complete, I will show you the room as a whole and those pieces!

Family Fun Night

We have recently made it a priority to have a planned Family Fun Night each week. Most recently it will fall on either a Tuesday or Friday night depending on the week. And sometimes...both nights. Ed and I try to plan something fun and special for the kids that we don't normally do. The last two that we did was building a fort and home movies.

One Friday night after dinner, Ed and Micah built a fort in the living room. They built it so it included the tv. So when they were done, we ate popcorn (a necessity in the Martin house), and watched Horton hears a Who, a new family favorite. Caleb was scared at first, but eventually got used to it. Haleigh even joined the party later when she had to eat...have you ever tried nursing in a fort? Pretty tricky! I know, TMI!
(let's not talk about how AWFUL that picture is!)

Another night, we pulled out our unlabeled home videos...you're not alone Emily! And Emily, ours aren't combined with soccer but rather youth retreats, camps, and even skits! Here's cute little baby Micah, and there's a teenage boy acting like Dr. Phil! It kind of ruins the mood, don't you think!

Anyway, let's just say that mommy had a hard time with those videos. It was so hard to see my boys as babies! But it was fun and definitely will happen again. It also created a teachable moment about self-centeredness...is that a word? Micah just wanted to watch videos of Baby Micah, and so we had to tell him that his brother was just as important and just as cute as he. Not sure if it sunk in!

So, what do you like to do for family nights?

Recipe of the Week

In honor of my last brunch at CBS tomorrow, here is this week's recipe...

Sausage Cheese Muffins (what?! i didn't say it was good for you!)

1 (1lb) pkg ground pork sausage
3 cups Bisquick
1.5 cups shredded cheddar
1 can of condensed cheese soup (who would actually make cheese soup?)
3/4 cup water

-Preheat your oven to 375 and grease those muffin tins or line them with paper.

-Cook the sausage in a large skillet, stirring it until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Please drain it (let's be somewhat healthy...at least get off the fat that you can see!) and let it cool!

-Combine the sausage, Bisquick, and shredded cheese in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.

-Stir together cheese soup and water. Add to the well in the sausage mixture. Stir it just until dry ingredients are moistened.

-Spoon into muffin cups, filling to top of cups. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Yummy!

*They are best served warm, with a cup of coffee, and maybe even a bowl of strawberries. Now you know how I roll! I'm a dork.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm not even going to try to explain...we are just messed up parents!