Grampy Grumps' Latest Project

Grampy Grumps (my Dad) has this great tradition of building something for each of the his grandchildren. He asked me what I wanted him to make for Chloe Jo before she was born. He enjoys building desks for the grandkids, but I chose not to go that route since Chloe Jo wouldn't be able to use it now. I ended up choosing a dresser for her. I love that she can use it now and it will still be good as she grows and even when she *eek* gets married and moves out. As you can see, Grampy is very talented and did a great job!

Weekend "Fun"

Russ and I went this weekend for a try-out. He didn't know he was going until last Sunday so he didn't ask off work for Saturday. Well, it ended up that his boss found out he was leaving after work (he works nights) and she let him leave at 8:00 instead of the normal 9:30. The town we went to is 5 hours away so the plan was to travel halfway Saturday night, get a motel and go the rest of the way Sunday morning. We were able to leave at 9:00 p.m. Saturday and made it to the place we stayed at by 12:30 a.m. We then left there at 7:00 a.m. to drive the rest of the way. It wasn't that bad....okay it was that bad. I think the try-out went well. I'm just not excited about anything, though. The last couple of places really burned me and I guess I'm a little depressed that we are still here and we are struggling with finances. I really thought we would be moved by now. I know these things take a lot of time and I know that God is on our side so I shouldn't even be complaining. Anyway, we enjoyed the congregation and the day we spent there. We ended up driving back home Sunday evening after services. We were able to get out of there by 7:15 and made it home at 1:00 a.m. Whirlwind traveling like that is no fun at all with a baby who hates her carseat. She didn't cry the whole time. She is such a little homebody and I hate taking her out all the time if I don't have to. To add to the stress of trying to find a job and juggling our finances, Russ' car decided to go on the fritz today. He had to take it into the shop and our mechanic said that the brake hose on one side is completely disintegrated and the brake hose on the other side is just about gone. After he fixes the issues, it's going to cost us $340.00. Ouch. We just spent a bunch of money on that clunker last month because it wasn't running. We keep thinking that it's better than having a car payment, but if this keeps up it may be more prudent to go ahead and buy a different vehicle for Russ...or to share *shudder* the Ion. I'm in a pretty crummy mood so I think I'm going to stop there. As always, thanks for reading Blogger Buddies.

More Crochet and Ribbon Crafts

Whenever I find a new hobby, I get obsessed for a while. I make a ton of stuff and then put it aside and won't pick it up again for a while. Example: scrapbooking. I haven't done any pages since the last time I posted pictures. I have printed pictures, I just haven't put anything together. So, with that in mind, here are a few more crochet things I have done in the last week.

I haven't glued the red button on yet. I'm not sold on it, but I don't have anymore post buttons besides this one and the gold one below left. I'm going to go to Hobby Lobby today and may get some round crystals for the centers. I think that would be pretty. I also haven't attached this to a headband, yet. I was trying to figure out how to make them removable, but with the holes in the center, you would be able to see velcro and alligator clips so it doesn't look like these flowers will be able to be interchangable. I haven't decided what colors to make the bands for these, either. I think white is the best option, but I have a few white ones already so I am almost wanting to go with a different color. Though, if I get too creative with it, they won't match anything well enough.
I also found some ribbon and started trying my hand at making ribbon bows for an interchangable headband that I bought the other day. I need to get alligator clips to put on the backs of them still. This one is my favorite so far.
I found a butterfly pattern and thought it would look super cute on a headband. Well, it turned out really big and will look crazy so I won't be putting it on a headband after all. I was over halfway done with it when I realized this so I went ahead and finished. I'm just going to give it to Chloe Jo and she can play with it.

I found a rose pattern that I decided to try my hand at. This is the first and it turned out really well. I just love it! It's a little big, but as you can see in the next picture, super cute on Chloe Jo!
That's all I have for now. I have a crochet hook and some yarn calling my name and since Chloe Jo is down for a nap, I am going to answer the call.

Grampy and G-Jo

We went to see Grampy and G-Jo tonight. Chloe Jo missed them while they were on vacation. We are all glad they are back!

A Few More Pictures

You know how I said that we needed to take more family pictures? Yeah....so that didn't happen like I wanted. It's hard to have a moment when someone else is there to take a picture for us. And let's face it, when I take them of the three of us, it just doesn't turn out good. I cut heads or bodies off and it looks stupid. So, we had my Mom take a picture of us over a month ago and then I had her take one of us last night. Russ and I happen to be wearing the same shirts we were wearing for the last one. Huh. For some reason, we weren't able to get Chloe Jo to look at the camera for us. The pictures turned out okay anyway. Russ looks so tall in these. I didn't realize I was that much shorter than him and we've been together for almost 7 years. I'm so unobservant!

Chloe Jo thinks she is so big and loves to stand. Grampy says her legs are going to be bowed if we let her stand too much. I don't know if that is really true or if it's an old wives tale, but we let her stand if she wants. Her legs are so strong and why does she look so tall!?!?!? Maybe it's the bow...

We love having Chloe Jo so much. Momma-hood is better than I knew it was going to be and I am so glad we were able to make this happen (with God's help and love of course). I love watching her grow and learn new things. There's never really a dull moment with her!

Flower Power

I finally figured out how to crochet a flower. It took me most of the morning and afternoon even with all the instructional videos you can get on Youtube! I think it turned out great, though and I'm excited to make some more. I need to go get some pink yarn!

Bow-tastic - Take Two

I tried tying the bow again. This one came out a lot smaller. I think it's much cuter and I love it! I'm going to try to find a crochet flower pattern for the other headband. We'll see how it goes!

Another hobby is just what I needed! Ha!

Harry Potter Fans...

Do you find this as funny and ironic as I do???

Vincent Crabbe

Bow-tastic

I love bows and headbands. The bigger the bow the better is my philosophy. With that in mind, I decided to try my hand at making my own bows and headbands for Chloe Jo since I don't want to pay $15.00 for one. So, like any 21st century girl, I googled it and found a website that had instructions for bows and found another website that had way cute crocheted headbands. I promptly retreived my crate of yarn and a size G crochet hook from the closet. I proceeded to make two headbands that I am really happy with. Then I found some ribbon and made a bow with the instructions from the bow-making website. This is what I ended up with.

I'm going to try to find a flower that will match this headband.
I thought the headbands turned out pretty cute. I'll definitely be making more of them and might even try to crochet a hat for her.

This, on the other hand, just turned out ridiculous looking. My inspiration was Harper from Kelly's Korner. I'm going to try it again and make the bow smaller and see what happens. At least the look Chloe Jo is giving the camera is adorable!

She looks like she could take flight!

Memory Verse Monday

We studied in Matthew 5 in Bible Class yesterday. After that class, I was inspired to start memorizing what is commonly referred to as "The Sermon on the Mount." I will memorize three verses at a time. So this weeks memory verse is:

Matthew 5:1-3
"And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Outside Adventures with Chloe Jo

First, we had to get a picture of Momma and Chloe. I'm getting a lot of practice taking pictures of the two of us. I'm not cutting off heads as much anymore. I only do that if I try to get all three of us in a picture!

Then we had to get a picture of Chloe being a big girl and sitting in her stroller without the carseat. The straps are a little big still, but since she sits up so well it hasn't been a problem.

After our walk, I took the bumbo outside and put it in our front yard. She loved being outside and didn't fuss at all while I took picture after picture of her. She just giggled the whole time!
Okay, she giggled the whole time except for the exact moment I took this picture. I'm not sure what is going on here...maybe she's filling her pants? Or she is getting annoyed with Momma and her camera? Whatever it was, it's a funny picture!

This is my new favorite picture! You know you have to take a gazillion pictures to get one great one and that is exactly what happened today.

Chloe Loves to Fly!

Oooh! This is fun!

Why do you guys keep taking pictures, though?

Okay, maybe I'm ready to stop....

Yep. I think I'm ready to stop...with the flying and the flash!!!