Repurposing...

What do you do with three work shirts that can no longer be worn because of a company change?

One of them Seth really liked as a shirt, so with a seam ripper and about an hour of time, I was able to remove the embroidered logo, and now he has a shirt that he wears all the time!

As for the other two, I didn't really want to give them to a thrift store because of the company logo, but I didn't really feel good about just throwing them away, either. Then I had some inspiration!

The shirts went from this.....

...to this!!

I had been planning on making a tote bag for Benjamin, since I know there will be times when he will need things separate from the baby's things in the diaper bag. I had to piece things a bit to get it the size I wanted it, but I was happy with how it turned out! I added pockets to the inside to hold little things and sippy cups or snacks.



This is going to go in his stocking...although I know I'm more excited about it than he will be! =)

It feels so good to not only get something you need without having to spend any money, but also to be able to reuse something and not be wasteful!

It's finally looking like Christmas around here!

We decorated a bit late this year - as Seth has been pretty laid up with a minor toe surgery. But we've finally gotten everything up and it looks festive!

A new addition to the Christmas decorations this year is a darling Fisher Price nativity. I wanted a nativity that our kids could play with, and I thought this one was so cute! My only complaint with it is that it doesn't have any shepherds, which I didn't discover until after I had gotten it, and I already loved it, so I didn't want to look for another one. Maybe someday I'll find a way to add some!


Benjamin has been having fun with it!

Benjamin's Birthday

We kept Benjamin's birthday presents pretty simple this year, since he's too little to understand, but even so, I hadn't expected his favorite present to be...toothbrushes! He was pretty excited about them - too bad he's not so excited about brushing his teeth!

We enjoyed celebrating Benjamin's birthday with our families! He received lots of fun presents - and I was pleased with all of the good toy choices! =) By the time we got around to the cake and ice cream, though, he was too tired out from everything to really even eat it. He did have a cupcake the next day, but he doesn't like ice cream! I'm sure that will change someday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May God bless you and your family today!

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

Benjamin is One!!!
It's so hard to believe that my little baby is a year old! It is so amazing to look back at all the pictures from the past year and to see how much he has grown and changed. What better way to document his first year than with some of my favorite pictures from the last twelve months?












He is such a fun-loving, cheerful, curious little boy! He is such a blessing in our lives!

Birthday Banner

I took a break from Christmas presents a couple of weeks ago and decided to make something for more immediate celebrations - birthdays! I've been wanting to make one of these cute pennant banners, so I made a "Happy Birthday" banner, which I hung over our sliding glass doors. I love how it dressed up the window!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

A couple weeks ago I cooked and pureed the pumpkins we had gotten at the farm. It ended up taking me a while, as my blender could only handle a small amount of pumpkin at a time. I ended up with about 14 cups of puree from my two small-to-medium sized pumpkins, which I was pleased with. I put it all in the freezer, but pulled some out the other day and made some muffins today! Homemade pumpkin puree doesn't have as strong of a flavor as canned pumpkin, but they were still delicious - even with mostly whole wheat flour and not much sugar! It is so satisfying to use ingredients that you prepared yourself - you know they're fresh and healthy!