Mila, the Baby Christmas Grinch

Okay, I'm being a LITTLE dramatic. It wasn't completely ruined but the morning was pretty miserable for our beautiful girl. All of the gifts were terrible and scary and she refused to touch anything, even the paper! The evening did get better and we found her wanting to play with most of her toys the rest of the night. Oh also, my husband makes an Ah-MAZING venison roast, just saying. Hopefully next year will bring a little more enthusiasm from our little Grinch! Thank you to everyone who sent gifts and cards and well-wishes! We love you! Merry Christmas!

What Is In Two Years?

It was just a look shared between two lost strangers in a grocery store. I thought, there's no way this man is checking me out in my Meijer uniform but he was. That moment was like a little light in a very long shift. When I finally got home, I had a friend request on Facebook and when I pulled it up I was shocked, weirded out but amused - it was the boy from the store. I didn't know how it was possible, and even though it was slightly creepy, I decided to add him and we talked for an hour that night and planned a date. We've been inseparable ever since.

Our Thanksgiving

Our little family was unfortunately forced to stay in Missouri this year so we needed to have our own Thanksgiving. For our centerpiece, I just grabbed an old mason jar, wrapped a burlap ribbon around it and gathered some things from the front yard that looked "festive".

1) Our "centerpiece" // 2) Preparing our pomegranate, dried apricot, raisin and cornbread stuffing

Around The House

1) Late night attitude// 2) Always wearing Daddy's hats// 3) Brushing our OWN teeth!// 4) Little bear!// 5) Snoozing with Momma's shirt// 6) She found the "shred pile"...'nough said// 7) Little bear and Momma

Greater Than Gatsby Free Action Sampler Review

I have a confession. I am a Photoshop action hoarder. Whenever there is a free one, I snatch it up right away! There are very, very few that remain on my computer though. My current favorite is the free action sampler Greater Than Gatsby was generous enough to offer up the other day. They have a little bit of everything and all of those little bits are all perfect. I rarely feel inclined to review anything (what with a baby and all, I'm lucky to have any computer time at all) BUT I just had to put my two cents out there because I truly LOVE this set. I'll start with posting just a basic, starting image and after every new action, I'll post the same photo edited in the default settings for that action.

original

Beneath The Birch//Around The House

With the promise of a new sewing machine, my head has been churning out new ideas and projects that I would eventually like to add to my little shop. I've been overloading myself with sewing tutorials, diy crafts, poetry and art in general and it has been great!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Give thanks!

Pumpkin Patch 2013

A Change Is Coming...

There's a bite in the air. Cicada chirps are fading. The leaves, once a lush, dark green, are now yellowing at the tips - fall is approaching. The changing season brings jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin-spiced everything, ghosts, black cats, and giving thanks. For our family, the fall also brings a change in our future. In my gut I feel there is a good change coming. It may just be hope and optimism, I'm not sure. It's just something I feel when the wind catches my hair or I hear my daughter's laughter... A change is coming.

Mila's Birth Story

It was Monday, February 25th. Josh and I were preparing for the induction the next morning. We spent the day packing last minute things, figuring out how we were going to get to the hospital in the aftermath of the approaching winter storm and even bought a washer and dryer to save ourselves a million trips to the laundromat with dirty cloth diapers. We were both excited, I was getting a little nervous. I was about to make dinner and the phone rang. It was a nurse from the hospital. She told us that the staff was worried about us making it to the hospital safely the next morning and offered us two new options: come in for a stress test that night and reschedule the induction for a later date or be induced that night. I put my hand over the phone and asked Josh what he wanted to do. He told me it was my decision. With my heart in my throat and the thought of holding our daughter a day early in my mind, I told her we would be coming in after dinner.

A rainy day...

Greek Yogurt Strawberry Banana Bread

I've had this on my pinterest for awhile now and since both of us have been craving banana bread, I decided I would finally try it!

Life is...

Ah! I've been so horrible at keeping this updated! It feels like we've been so busy lately. Between the holidays, setting up the nursery (and other miscellaneous baby stuff) and just spending time together before our little girl joins it, it seems like the months have been flying by.