Arm Update

I successfully napped up until I had to leave for my appointment today! Oh how I love the benefits of being pregnant...easy-to-fall-asleep-napping on a daily basis. :)

At my appointment today they called in two doctors and a nurse practitioner to look at my arms, and all were very concerned, yet totally stumped. They sent me for an ultrasound on both arms to look for a clot, but fortunately there were no blood clots. They also drew a lot of blood to run various tests to see if I have an infection, but the results won't come back until Monday. I'm praying in the meantime that God just takes away the swelling and pain as fast as it came!

Tomorrow I will be flying to meet up with the guys in Albuquerque!

Home Alone 4

I don't really remember how many Home Alone movies there were, but I think I can say without a doubt that it is the movie that I have seen the most times in theatre. I loved that movie.

The guys just left on our 7 week tour, and I was supposed to be in tow, but got left home alone. On Wednesday I woke up with sore/stiff arms, but I didn't think much of it...just thought it was muscle soreness from lifting weights or something (don't worry folks...the midwife says it is fine for me to lift weights still. :) Then yesterday I noticed that not only were they still stiff, but they were swollen and I couldn't straighten either arm. Today the same swollen/sore/stiffness continues and my doctor urged me to not leave town yet, and get seen by someone at her office later this afternoon. So, here I am in Tucson with nothing to do. It's kind of nice actually. This morning I dropped off some donations that had been sitting in the garage for months. And now, I think I'm going to go and take a nap before my appointment.

The plan is for me to fly to Albuquerque tomorrow afternoon and rejoin the van! Please pray that is okay and God would heal these chubby arms. :)

2 + 1 = 3!!

Life is an absolutely incredible gift! After having had a miscarriage in April, I was extremely excited, yet nervous when we found out we were pregnant again earlier this month. Then the moment came yesterday when we got to see our little baby's heart beat for the first time! I of course started crying, and that made the ultrasound device move all around on my belly, and then the tech had to reposition it so we could see the baby again, and then I'd tear up and my belly would shake again...it was a sweet moment. :)





It was an early ultrasound just to verify everything was okay and confirm a due date (March 28). So you can't really make too much out of what is what...but we think the head is towards the right, and the legs on the left, with the fluid sac underneath it's bum.

We've been keeping track of what is happening each week. We started out reading about it when it was the size of a sesame seed, and already it has grown to the size of a grape!

In addition to it having a developed neural tube and heart beat. It has arms, legs, webbed fingers and toes, and this week it's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do it's tiny teeth. Isn't that crazy...all in just the past 9 weeks!!

Belly pictures will come as soon as it looks like an actual prego belly versus the current flub state I'm entering into now. :)

Pink Floyd Flash Back Night

Last night we hung out with a group of friends at Carlos and Beth's house. Being that everyone there plays music on a very regular basis, much music was had.
Paul, on keys, was in Ryan's first band in high school, Swivelfish. His new band, Music Video will be touring the country come September and stopping in Grand Rapids (Founder's Brewery) should any of ye be interested in going! And Ryan Alfred, sitting on the floor with his back to the camera, was in Ryan's college band, Iluminada. And, he's also our new roommate. :) I think everyone knows Cameron on the couch. And, Carlos on the other couch sitting next to Ryan, is in a band called American Android.
Given almost everyone is in a different band...Pink Floyd cover songs were the common thread to jam on together.
If you watch the video long enough, you'll get to see some of Paul's (keyboardist) interpretive dance moves.

Happy 50th Lori!

Two weeks ago we threw Lori (Ryan's mom) a surprise 50th birthday party! I think she had an inkling about the party, but little did she know that she'd be up on "stage" singing. I know most people would probably think "that's a horrible thing to make someone do at their birthday party!", but trust us...Lori is a singer and an entertainer deep down. :) First up, it was "Falling Slowly" from the Once soundtrack...a duet of her and Cameron. Then, the night became more full of surprises... "Lazy Afternoon" which was a solo she sang in her high school chorus. And lastly, "Puppy Love" by Donny Osmond which was a childhood favorite of hers to sing around the house. It was great to see her over dramatized dance moves that naturally came out as she was singing that one...

Camera returned!

I have my camera back now, so it's photo time for events that took place 2 weeks ago. :)

Ryan's cousin, Danell, is a fashion designer for high-end ball gowns. She's made the gowns for Mrs. World, Miss USA, yada yada yada.... she's good! A couple of weeks ago she had a solo show in Flagstaff, AZ and asked Ryanhood to come up and play a set before the fashion show, and then also play as the models walked down the runway. I am pretty much in love with the town of Flagstaff...it reminds me of a little town I'd see in Vermont on tour. A little downtown area filled with local shops and streets filled with people who want to support them.

Welcome to Flagstaff..."When You See Only the Dark, Know the Light Will Soon Return"...


The band...


The gowns...


The wonderful designer, Danell Lynn...

GLOBAL GIVING FOR BITONE!

In January Ryan and I spent time at this wonderful wonderful place called Bitone Home for Children in Uganda. As many of you know, we have big dreams to go back there and spend much more time soaking in the abundant joy of these children. They come to Bitone from backgrounds of extreme poverty, loss of parents due to death from AIDS or the LRA rebel group in northern Uganda. Yet, at Bitone these children are given a new beginning...one that involves great joy that is found through healing in music and dance. All of the kids go to school, are able to eat 3 meals a day, and have counseling to talk about what they have been through, as well as learning traditional African music and dance. It is truly an incredible place.

The man who started Bitone, Branco Lawrence, is also Ugandan and comes from a similar background of poverty as the children. He went to college in Kampala for music, and decided that starting Bitone Home/Troupe was how he wanted to use his music degree. Recently, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship (!!) and just moved to the US for 2 years to further his studies in hopes of bettering Bitone when he returns. This however leaves Bitone in an interim position. They have someone there that is running the home and taking care of the children, however the financial resources are much tighter.

We have the opportunity though to help raise ongoing support through Global Giving. If we are able to raise $4,000 in the next 30 days (we have until September 17th) Bitone will obtain a permanent spot on Global Giving’s site, which will allow Bitone to raise money for operational costs, equipment, costumes, instruments, all resources that must be obtained in order for the organization to become sustainable.

Our approach to doing this is quite grass roots...if we can get 400 people to give just $10, we'll be there! Will you please consider giving $10, and then also copying and pasting this to send to friends and family who might also be interested?

Just click here, or go to the link below to give...
http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/bitone-25-ugandan-disadvantaged-children/

To learn more about Bitone and the children they serve:
http://www.bitonechildren.org
http://www.bitonetroupe.blogspot.com

Bad Axe

So, this weekend sparked an opportunity to do another grocery store demo job. They pay pretty well, so I always jump at the opportunity, but 15 minutes into the job remember how horribly mind-numbing and painful they actually are. This weekend's demo involved going around the grocery store and offering people to smell the new Axe Instinct body deodorant spray. I'm thankful that our roommate, Ryan Alfred, first made sure I had at least seen the Axe commercials via youtube before going to the store, because EVERYONE made some sort of reference to them. I guess they are good advertisers...much better than my mobile advertisement at the store.

Scared of the Dark!

We had quite the weekend (of mostly fun!), and I have photos to share, however I left my camera at Ryan's aunt's house, so photos will have to wait a few days.
But for a quick re-cap and preview:

Friday night: Flagstaff, AZ for Ryan's cousin's fashion show...Ryanhood was the band for the night!

Saturday afternoon: Ryan's best friend from college (Ryan Alfred) moved in with us!

Saturday night: Lori's (Ryan's mom) surprise 50th birthday party!

Sunday night: Chang and Shira's wedding! (a very unique Chinese / Jewish ceremony and reception!)

But, for now...with no pictures, I present to you, "Scared of the Dark!"
The not-so-fun part of the weekend happened on Saturday night after we got home from Lori's birthday party. We went to bed about 11pm, but I woke up around midnight because I heard noises in the backyard. I looked out our window which faces the backyard, but couldn't see anything, so I laid back down. About 2 minutes later, we (Ryan now awake as well) heard something again. This time Ryan propped himself up to the blinds to slyly peak out, and had me flip the switch to the flood lights in the backyard (conveniently located right next to our bed). And, when the light came on Ryan immediately saw someone run away from our house and towards our front gate. Scared, we called 911, and they got there within a couple of minutes. The cops saw that our gate to our backyard was open (which is always closed) and right inside of the gate was a mangled window screen. We realized that the only window that the screen would fit was in our master bathroom (located INSIDE our bedroom...about 12 feet from where we were sleeping), so we went back there and sure enough the screen was off and the window was slid all the way open! So scary! It's hard not to think about the fact that if we had not turned on the light, he likely would've been in our bedroom within minutes (or seconds even)! We are so thankful we were woken up. I honestly don't care if someone wants to break in and take everything from our home, and even our home...but just not while we are there. It is so hard to regain that feeling of safety again. Needless to say, we've slept with all the lights on in the house for the past two nights now. Perhaps tonight we'll get back to our "green" selves and take it down to only a few lights.

Tags made with love!

My friend Jill is creator of many things, and a gift giver through and through. Earlier this week I was gifted with one of her many thoughtful creations...

Tags to give a finishing touch to my crafts! So now with each sandwich bag, is a special note to let people know that it was made with love.


Thanks Jill!!

Bedroom Makeover!

For a while now we have been wanting to add a little color to our bedroom. So, this past weekend, with Home Depot gift card in hand, we picked out our paint, and took to the walls.

Before:


After:

Reusable Baggies!!

So, this is my 300th post, and I thought I was going to come up with something creative (kind of like I thought I would do for my 200th post, but never did). So, instead you get photos of the latest sandwich baggies I've been making since we returned home! To see more photos or order, please got to my etsy site.

Surviving Brown's Clearing!

As most of you probably know now, it has become an annual tradition to hold a family reunion turned survivor game every year at my parent's cabin in Michigan. This year was fun as most of the little babies (and just prego bellies) from last year are walking and showing their own personalities.
Eli who turned 1 in January...

Izzy who turned 1 in March...

Lizzy who turned 1 in May...

And, Lucy who will be 1 in September...

Here are some of the other "older kids" who were there. I love how excited they get to see who is on who's team!


Ryan competing against Uncle Chuck at ladder golf...

Me showing off my fantastic horse shoe form (unfortunately it did not lead to fantastic scoring)...

It was really nice to get to spend a week with my family...





Thanks for putting on the games dad!

Etsy site correction

Sorry for those of you that tried going to my etsy site, but the link didn't work. Here you go: Little House Creations. (If the link doesn't work this time, it's www.littlehousecreations.com). Hope you're having a great weekend...we are on our way home to AZ!

Green Style Craftin'...

I got a big gift upon my visit to Michigan...a serger! For those of you who might not know what serger is, Ryan's layman terms say it well, "it's a sewing machine on steroids". So, with that, some crafting has taken place, and I'm gearing up to sell some of my craftings on my etsy site. Please check back frequently for added items.

Re-usable sandwich bags...




Re-usable snack bags...


All-In-One Cloth Diapers (my pattern for this is not perfected yet, if you have made them and have any tips, please pass them along!:)

Ryanhood in LA

Hello!

Ryanhood is going to be playing at the House of Blues in West Hollywood on August 5th at 8:45pm. AND, I can get FREE tickets to it for anyone who is interested in going! Just leave me a comment if you (or someone you know) would like tickets (be sure to write your name if you leave the comment anonymously)!

Have a great day!

Loving Michigan!

We of course had to make a stop at Lake Michigan in South Haven, hopefully another stop will happen yet in our time here. I think we were the only people in long pants. It was not quite 70 degrees air temp, and the lake was full of swimmmers. But, I have to say this IS something I love about Michigan...I love that Michiganders take full advantage of being outdoors as much as they can.

Cherry Picking! Last day of the season, so we just barely made it. 18 pounds of cherries to eat now... :)



I don't know that this next part should fall under "Loving Michigan", because truly I don't love four-wheeling...it actually scares me. BUT, I do love spending time with my nieces and nephew. Here's Lydia taking me for a spin (quite literally, she's into going very fast and taking tight corners so we slide a little...ahh!)

Ryan promised to go slower...not true...

Not sure what is in store for today, but I'm sure it will be fun!

Baptism!

We flew to Michigan earlier than planned this summer so that we could attend the baptism of our new godson, Micah William! He's a precious little bundle!


Here are Micah's parents with my other cousins daughter, Lucy...another precious little bundle!


I think Lucy and I were both meant for a different time period...one that involved horses and wagons, harvesting fields, and Michael Landon. :)

More Micah...


He's the recipient of my first attempt at applique!

Recycled sewing

I was given this shirt as a hand-me-down...

...and, it just never felt like "me".

Then I thought of my newest niece, Elizabeth, and decided it was really intended for her...in skirt form...


I recently learned about pillowcase dresses and thought it sounded like a fabulous idea. One trip to the thrift store, and 50 cents later...this dress/shirt came to be...I hope Lizzy is into being my recycled goods recipient. :)