still going

I'm almost 20 weeks pregnant now I think. We find out if the baby is a boy or a girl tomorrow!! But the second trimester is still treating me well. I get more worn out then usual but I still play volleyball every Sunday with my team. We're doing better then we ever have and it's always so much fun - so I'm playing as long as I can. I bought a large shirt before the season so you can't really tell I am carrying an extra player. I may have to slow down here soon but so far so good! Grant still doesn't seem to dig the idea of having a brother or sister around but we'll see how it really goes when the time comes.

new mavora.com

I've changed mavora.com to a typepad space. It's easier to play web designer with my skill level and I get to keep a blog with it too which I like. It's a simple design but I like the brightness over the goth look of my last site. So bookmark it if you haven't already to check out new products, to get to my stores, etc.

dare to go higher then ever before.

the vintage photo

I've always admired the vintage photo look. A lot of Etsy artists are doing it. My style is kinda bright but this flower photo was just too over the top fushia so I thought I'd give it a try and turn Tim's blossom photo from our front yard into a softer image for our calm blue and tan living room. I like photoshop!

internet relationships

It seems most of my family and friends are blogging less and less...and so am I. Facebook has been my new obsession. It's keeping me in contact with friends that otherwise I'd never talk to or just miss out on more of their life then I'd like too. They have these little updates people write that make you laugh or remind you that someone is hurting or on vacation so don't invite them over. Or you can have a full on chat. It's pretty easy and the pay off in relationship is pretty high actually. Some people would argue it's killing real relationships but I would say I'm only adding internet-friendship-spying to my real relationships and I think it's helping. I even used it to talk to my husband last week when my throat was too soar to talk. We chatted from the livingroom to the kitchen as he cooked me dinner.

Blogging rates less on the instant gratifications scale however. You can't see a lot of your friends at a glance and since less and less are updating their blogs it's deflating my excitment. I'm going to try to keep going though because I like having a record of my family and an open artistic outlet. I'm my own boss on the blog (opposed to working for Brides thru Mavora) and can design whatever banner or pictures I want which is always fun. And I have to say I get inspired by my internet friend's blog - Hometown Girl - I do some of her graphics which is fun because she has SUCH great style and always good food ideas etc. So swing by her page and check it out. Some blogs out there are very alive!

Thanks to all my friends that check on my status and blogs and my work online on etsy. I'm glad we can use technology to connect!

Alex's Lemonade Stand

It's that time again! This week I'm working hard getting all the final details and supplies ready for our annual Alex's Lemonade Stand. I heard about this organization (started by a little girl) three years ago and my church Coram Deo has been supporting my efforts to carry on Alex's legacy. She was a little girl with a big heart. She cared about others although she had every right to only think about herself. On Saturday we'll give out cups of lemonade for donations which go to cancer research and families stricken by childhood cancer who need funds. And as the kids of Coram Deo get older and older each year I hope it begins to plant seeds of caring in their little hearts too.

If you'd like to help this great cause please go to our donation page and click the donate lemon on the left side. http://www.alexslemonade.org/events/coram-deo-and-aw It's been having trouble keeping track of our funds but no worries it is getting to Alex's Lemonade Stand and that's what's important!

OR stop by our Lemonade Stand at A&W Rootbeer on Plumb between 10am and 10pm. There will be Hot August nights cars included and face painting from about 6 to 9pm. You can even volunteer if you'd like just let me know!

OR if your money is all tied up think about how you can think less of yourself and more of others in your life now and be blessed!

www.alexslemonade.org

Tim and I backpacked into Cathedral Lake in Yosemite this weekend. There may be more pictures to come if we ever get unpacked. Please enjoy the view without the hiking and the mosquitoes.

three

Grant turned three yesterday! Where does the time go? My sweet little guy LOVES Cars the movie so we went that direction for his party and his present from his mommy and daddy. It cost too much but the fact that he LOVES it made us feel a lot better. Nothing makes me happier then knowing what my son enjoys and being able to give him something he loves. Of course, how could I not know what he loves when every 3 minutes in the car he has pointed out a character from the movie on the road and keeps saying, "that's Doc!" "that's Doc" until I say, "yes buddy that IS Doc" or something similar. He played with his cars in his Mack truck until the adults couldn't stay awake anymore.

My other mom friends have been busting out great kid cakes lately so I thought I should give it a whirl now that he's big enough to think a shaped cake is awesome but small enough where everything I do is amazing - mommy makes no mistakes! I figured I could pull off Mack the Truck from Cars. It's just a bunch of rectangles right? Tim wanted me to draw up a plan but....I don't do that sort of thing. With the our powers combined we stayed up half the night tuesday and created....

Mack the Cake! The next day I asked Grant - Do you want a truck cake? He said promptly, "no, I want a dinosaur cake." But then I said, "what about a Mack the Truck cake," to which he replied, "yeah, okay!" Whew - that was a close one!

The three year-olds were amazed again and it was great for conversation and laughs for the adults too.

Thanks to all Grant's fabulous friends who made it out. We love you!