Updates...

I am finished with Kirstyn and Malissia's rooms - bought and hung the last of the curtains last night!  Whew!  Now all I have left to do is finish my own room! I'll post pics of the entire rooms later, but for now here's a sneak peak at the wall stencils...




Malissia's room - Daffodil's




Please disregard the clutter on the table - everything was thrown onto it!



I LOVED the ribbon damask stencil - it was so easy!



You can barely see the stencil's on this wall for the sunlight streaming in - but here is her new bed set!


Kirstyn's jacket for her wedding dress came in and I picked it up yesterday.  It's so exciting, but hardly seems real, still. 

We purchased the cardstock and papers for Kirstyn and her sweet, crafty future mother-in-law to make her "Will You Be My Bridesmaid" cards next weekend.  She is so excited about that!  I'm posting a picture of what they are supposed to look like, although the colors will not be the same and she has decided to make the flowers out of paper instead of using silk flowers.



http://diy.weddingbee.com/topic/diy-will-you-be-my-bridesmaid-cards

 Last of all, here's  a picture of Bush, our sweet whiskered family member.  He woke Kirstyn up yesterday morning by jumping up onto the window sash and tapping the shade to make it roll up so he could get some rays.  This was before we were able to hang the curtains!  He's a cat that knows what he wants and knows how to get it! 



Bush

K.  Bye, now!

The Dress

I can't post pics here - but I can tell you that we found the DRESS!  Woo-Hoo!  It's amazing to me that you go in and try on dresses - so many beautiful dresses and most of them are so pretty on - and you just KNOW when you try on THE DRESS! 

I went ahead and bought the 3/4 sleeve bolero jacket, the bra and the slip and put a downpayment on the dress.  I'll pay it off in a couple of weeks!  It was very reasonably priced, so she is on budget!  We should have everything in by the middle of March.  She will have to get the neckline altered - it is a halter style front and is too low, so that will have to be fixed.

She chose a diamond-beaded style sash and a simple 2 tiered mid-length veil.  She was SOOOO pretty! 

I told her if the rest of the wedding goes as easy as choosing the dress did, we have it made! 

K.  Bye now!

GOOD NEWS!

This weekend was full of hard work, happy times and SECRETS finally revealed!  We have been painting all 3 bedrooms and it is taking soooo long (I am a bit of a detail freak).  I have one coat of paint (Windsor Greige-sandy brown) on the ceiling and walls in my room and Colby hung the new ceiling fan sans the blades.  I have a second coat to apply and then paint the trim.  I haven't decided if I'll paint any special details yet.

Kirstyn's room is turning out beautifully.  The walls and trim are finished.  Peppercorn (dark gray) on the walls and Black Magic on the trim.  The ceiling needs painted (Lazy Gray) and then we have a ribbon damask stencil to paint on 2 walls in the Black Magic, Fabulous Red and Dover Gray.  I expect it to be beautiful when complete.

Malissia's room is very Malissia-ish!  We painted the ceiling and walls in Steel Grey and she is almost finished painting the trim - it is Plum Burst (purple).  We have a dandelion stencil that is 44.5 inches tall - ADORABLE.  We will be painting dandelions along the wall in Plum Burst, Rushing Stream (Aqua) and First Kiss (Pink).  WOW!  As I said - VERY Malissia-ish!

Something very special and wonderful happened this weekend.  Colby proposed to Kirstyn and she said YES!  Woo-Hoo!  They have tentatively set a date for March 09, 2013 and I am very happy for both of them.  I expect this year to be full of high anticipation, abundant joy, and extreme frustration.  Keep us all in your prayers!  We do NOT want any bridezillas, or momzillas for that matter!  :)  BTW - we are going to try on wedding dresses tonight!  How fun is that?  I can't wait!

If you haven't heard of Pinterest yet, I suggest you look it up.  It's FABULOUS!  I'm too wordy to describe all the possibilities it holds, but trust me when I say - you will NOT be disappointed if you join Pinterest.  It's free!

In other news, the Valentine's banquet is February 11th, the next round of Game On begins February 13 and since I will soon be a Mom-in-law, I HAVE to play!  Our youth group is taking a trip to San Antonio March 15 & 16 and I get to be a chaperone!  Woo-Hoo.  Last, but not least, I am going to Round Top, Texas March 30 & 31.  OMW!  I can hardly sit here and type I am so excited!

Bro. Scott Kerr, Jr. will be starting a revival for us on February 12th.  I am looking forward to many great things.  We began our new bus ministry a few weeks ago.  Last week we had our first child come to Sunday School by bus!  It was so exciting.  This week, she came again and brought her 2 little sisters!  AND 6 more came, too!  One was a 14 year old girl and another a 18 year old boy.  What wonderous news!  The boy must have some religious background because he knew all the songs we sang.  He cried throughout the entire service.  It was very moving.  Please join me in prayer for these souls that God has so much in store for!

I was so excited last night to find out that the children chose to pray for Malissia last night.  Each Sunday night they pray together in the Choir wing.  They usually choose an older young person to single out and pray for - 1 boy and 1 girl, if I have my facts straight!  It was so good - Malissia worshiped all service!  You may not think much of that, but Malissia has quite a bit of pride and it is very hard for her to let her walls down, to let God in and to let others see that joy when it bubbles up.  Last night was different!  Praise God!  He is so good!  I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her.

On another note, I am missing my Ryan.  He doesn't get to come visit very much, he is very busy with school and work.  However, he is in my thoughts and prayers always.  He is due to graduate from high school this Spring and is hoping to join the Coast Guard.  I pray God's divine will in his life.  I pray that no matter what comes, God will direct his footsteps and that Ryan will one day find it within himself to follow God's will and re-dedicate his life to Him.  I know he has a desire in his heart, a tenderness if you will, towards the things of God and I am thankful for that.  I pray that this world does not callous his heart while he wonders around trying to find his purpose in life.  Please keep him in your prayers!

Well, folks - that about brings us all up to date since my last posting, which was forever ago!  Hopefully I will have some pics to show soon - maybe of tonights escapades or some other such nonsense!  Mark your calendars for March 09, 2013!  I'll let you all know if that changes!

K.  Bye now!

Merry Christmas - early

Hi!  I know I haven't posted since Malissia's birthday, but I just wanted to take a minute and let everyone know how things are going.

Since my last post Ryan turned 19, Macy got married, Thanksgiving came and went, the church banquet happened and last night was the Christmas Program. 

I must admit, my church family rocks!  We had a group of 10 men and women sing Ringing of the Bells acapello and it was FABULOUS!  My only complaint is that it didn't last long enough.  Perfect pitch and tone - unbelievable.  No music was needed! 

A group of church members also put together a 1 hour version of It's a Wonderful Life.  Fantastic!  For amateurs, they did so well!  They were entertaining, the costumes and props were very professional.  It amazes me how much talent one church can hold! 

Did I mention the food?  No.  But I will!  Cookies - many, many cookies.  Amber would have thought she was in HEAVEN!  Sandwiches, chips, cake, punch and wassail!  MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm!  You should have been there!

Last Thursday, I had some of my closest friends from work come over for some delicious chicken and sausage gumbo.  We also had potato salad, buttermilk pie and apple pie.  We were soooo stuffed when it was over it was hard to move from the table to the couch!  The comeraderie we all share is amazing.  I am truly blessed to have such wonderful women to work with.  You should be jealous!

Saturday the triplets turned one!  Happy 1st Birthday, Kael, Kolten & Kaleb!  They are the MOST adorable babies ever!  If I had to have 3 boys, I would want them to look just like these boys!  PRECIOUS!

This Thursday is the Ladies Cookie Swap and Ornament Exchange.  I am looking forward to it!  I'm baking iced sugar cookies and will probably get Malissia to bake spritz cookies.  Kirstyn won't be participating in it because she has a school function, but she'll get there as soon as she can.  We always have SO much fun - I love our ladies.  They are planning soups and salads and there will be several comical skits for our entertainment!  Can't wait.

After that, I still have the Children's Church Christmas Party Wednesday night, the Youth Christmas Party this Friday, my work Christmas Party this Saturday and the Sunday School Christmas Party Sunday morning.  Whew!  THEN it'll finally be over.  I'll be able to sit back and enjoy the rest of my Christmas - the few days that are left.

If I can scrounge up some photos of the banquet and the program, I'll post them.

Have you finished your Christmas shopping?  How shocked would you be if I confessed I haven't even begun?  I mean, I have my lists made out and I know what I'm getting, I just haven't actually GOT the gifts or wrapped them!  The tree's up, house is decorated, and I'm otherwise totally ready for the holiday.

I know what I want for Christmas, too!  Don't laugh!  It's all very worldly and materialistic!  New cookie sheets, a Kindle, a laptop, AND - (I said DON'T laugh) - Bruno Mars, Adele & Daughtry CD's!  Hilarious, no?  Well, I could probably live without the Daughtry - I don't like ALL of his music, but the others?  I'd LOVE them!  Quit laughing!  What's on your Christmas wish list?

If I don't talk to you guys before then, I hope and pray you have a VERY Merry Christmas!

K.  Bye, now.

A great time was had by all

The birthday bash was a huge success.  There was lots of food, fun and frivolity!  The cake was beautiful, the punch was delish!  The cake balls were the success of the night!  Many thanks to my friends without whom I could not have pulled this off.  Brittany made the cake, Rhonda made the cake balls, Michelle made the punch, and Daina, Lisa, Stephanie, Jamie, Rose & Sis. Hammer helped me with the food.  Corrina and Tamara are the creative ladies behind the candy buffet.  My talented and creative co-worker, Crystal and her daughters are totally responsible for the name cards they made for all the food and candy.  Great job, everyone!

A big thanks to Colby for filling all the balloons, even though he probably had more fun than he should have when he started inhaling the helium for our entertainment!

Thanks to Reba, Mom and Gerard for printing and framing the Storybook phrases for our game!  They were soooo cute!  You can see one in the photo below!

A big thanks to Jill, who not only was one of the judges (see below), but made the Sweet Sixteen banner.  She also made the crepe paper curtain, with Mom and Colby's help!  It turned out PERFECT!

Then there were the judges of the costume contest.  They were the most adorable witches ever!  What do you think?

Unfortunately I did not get a good photo of the winners of the costume contest.  Wade won for his Grinch costume.  Kirstyn won for her Fiona costume.  Everyone did such a good job.  Even Ryan came dressed as a cowboy - although I didn't get a picture.  I'll post a few of the pics I do have for your enjoyment.

To top it all off, my brother, sister-in-law and the cutest niece in the world came to the party, too!

I wish you all could have been there.  We all missed you.  You missed out on a lot of fun.  However, I am glad it's over.  I'm tired and in need of LOTS of rest.  I'll leave you with one last photo of Cinderella and her loving, devoted slave, yours truly. 

K.  Bye, now!

Happy Sweet 16 Malissia

16 years ago I gave birth to my youngest daughter, Malissia.  After the most horrible pregnancy ever (for me, anyway), I had the worst ever labor (again, for me)!  I almost had a miscarriage at 11 weeks and had to go on bed rest for a couple of weeks.  God performed a miracle on the way to the hospital.  I had already had one miscarriage a year before and didn't think I had the strength to make it through another.  I asked God to give me strength to survive if I miscarried or to save the child.  I promised that I would raise him/her to live for Him if he spared the child's life.  He answered my prayers, but He did not give me an easy time.  I had indigestion for the rest of my pregnancy!  Not a big deal for some - but I've never had morning sickness or anything - so this was quite inconvenient for me!  Poor me!  Malissia would twist around in positions where I could not move - couldn't sit, couldn't stand - NOTHING!  She was horrible.  I knew I was in for it!  Then to top it all off - 13 HOURS of INTENSE labor pains!  It was awful.  Did I mention that she was 9 DAYS LATE?  AWFUL!

And then she was born!  She was beautiful!  7 lbs, 14 oz, a head full of blonde hair (enough for a tiny pony tail on the top of her head!), blue eyes that eventually turned green.  We named her after my great grandmother, Malissia Maxwell, and angel herself!  For all the trouble she was during pregnancy, she more than made up for it.  From the night she was born she slept from 7pm until 7am.  She always woke up and cooed and played until someone came in to check up on her.  She never cried unless she was sick.  AND - when she was sick - she had to have DADDY!  It was AWESOME, I tell you!  She loved her big sister and brother.  She loved EVERYBODY!  She was always good, smiling and well behaved.

I never had problems with her at church.  She would sit on the pew like a good little girl while her brother and sister tried to drive me insane!

She has come a long way - and she is far from perfect, but she is still my good little girl.  And so, her party is tonight and we are all excited about it.  I hope to have pics for you guys Monday or Tuesday.

I am proud of you, Malissia!  I love you bunches!  I hope you have the most wonderful birthday ever today!



K.  Bye, now!

Eve of Sweet 16

OMW!  It's almost here!  The event of the year!  Well, for us anyway!  :)  I have been planning Malissia's Sweet 16 Birthday Party for more than a year and it's finally here.  Everything is under way and we are going to the church to begin decorating tonight!  WOO-HOO!  I can't contain my enthusiasm!  YIPEE! 

Cake is ordered, food is doled out, candy is taken care of, decorations and supplies are purchased and waiting to be put together, games are set.  I have to attach the skirt to the top on Kirstyn's Fiona costume, insert the zipper and hem the skirt and sleeves.  That'll get done tonight.  I'll hand sew the trim on tomorrow after lunch.  TA-DA!  Finis!

I can't think of anything else!  It's gonna be SO MUCH FUN!  I can't wait.  I hope you get to come.  I want EVERYONE to have fun!

K.  Can't blog - I'm too excited.  Bye, now!