Day.Forty.Nine.

Sunday. I was excited to go to the new church again, but we decided to stay home as we have a lot to do. I have been reading The Leader in Me by Steven Covey. I know that the school I am interviewing with tomorrow is a Leader in Me school. I needed to get it read. So, that is what I did. I read, and read, and read. It is a good view of how schools create a common language for the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and the students are succeeding! I look forward to implementing some of the information and verbage from the book into my classroom. It definitely makes me want to read more about the subject matter and even visit the pilot school. (I will have to save to make that trip!)

John was busy working on his masters work again today. Sundays are a drag around here. Full of work. He is so close to being done. It will be welcomed by both when it is over. It is hard to watch him just toil away at his MBA. SO SOON... I keep trying to remind him. (I'll let you know how next week  goes... last week!)

Because we were just working around in the house, we were really bumming it. We didn't look good AT ALL! I was pretty ashamed when I looked in the mirror later that day. But I had a goal to finish that book, and I accomplished it! We got a surprise Facetime call from our cousins in Tulsa. Zooey is only 6 weeks older than her cousin Mia Grace. I think it is amazing to see how much she has even changed since their baptism on Palm Sunday! Well... we got a special treat to see... ZOOEY WALKING! It was so cute to see her waddle around the back porch. The wonderful things that technology can do. It is amazing. I would have never been able to view that live.. and now.. I can! What a blessing!

The night ended with a bit of positive self-talk, updating some things in my portfolio, and trying to calm my nerves. A full-time classroom is my goal. (as many of you know) This is my chance! As I laid down in bed, so many things ran through my mind. I do not know how I got any sleep...

ZzZzZzZzZ...

-Alexis

Day.Thirty.Four.A.

THE DAY IS HERE! Bring it on!

Mia Grace and Zooey Claire were baptized this morning! It was such a blessing to see them starting their journey as Christians. Beautiful dresses, jewelry, family, and God. It was gorgeous... and they did a GREAT job! Check out a few of the pictures:

 <3Family<3

 The Bracelets I Made for the Girls

 Mia Grace... giving the stink eye...

 -Zooey Claire-

*Me and Papa:: He Smiled!*

::Surrounded by Family::

 With My Mia

-Double Duty-

Immediately after the baptism... BABY SHOWER!

So, I headed straight for the baby shower. Good thing my mom and sister were home and able to help me get all of the stuff to the shower. I will do a separate post about the shower. So many pictures to share! It turned out fabulous and the world is going to be blessed with two beautiful babies! I can't wait to meet them! Stay tuned for the shower update...

May God Bless Mia Grace and Zooey Claire! They are blessed already with wonderful parents and a loving family. <3

-Alexis-

Day.Twenty.Eight.

Sunday. A Day of REST. (not so much...)

I got to sleep in and John made me eggs and toast! Yumm!

Then, it was off to get work done. I have a long list of things that need to get done. It is painful to look at!

First on the list, get things prepped for this weekend for the shower and for the baptisms. My goal today was to make a list of needed things as well as make the Easter basket filler for Mia and Zooey. I made it and had to blog! It is so cute, easy, and reusable! Perfect!
Here are the simple directions... pictures included:

1. Choose your fabric(s) <I used remnants>, pinking shears, and ribbon.

2. Cut the fabric with the pinking shears into pieces/strips. Mine were about 2.5 inches wide by 8 inches tall. (I just used the folds in the fabric to guide the scissors) They do not have to be perfect. Because I wanted the colors on both sides of the tie, I kept the fabric folded partially, so it was "two-sided".

3. String the ribbon (the length you want) between two chairs.

4. Start tying! I did just a single tie, then moved on. I did one color at at time to create the pattern. On my second one, I cut ALL of the fabric, and I just had to tie, tie, tie. It was easier to have it all cut then to tie.

 (yellow)

 (yellow and blue)

(yellow, blue and pink)

(yellow, blue, pink and green)

5. After all of the pieces are tied on, I spread them out and 'fluffed' them. They were still taught because of my tying, so I fluffed.

All Fluffy!!

6. Find a cute basket... (I only had this box, still cute) and lay it inside! Then, fill with goodies!!

I, personally, think they turned out super cute! 

**I think that this could be used in photos too... I made some for my favorite twins, so they might get to use them in their newborn pictures! :) **

Happy Crafting!
Off to do some more for the shower! <3

-Alexis

Day.Twenty.

Today started out EARLY! I got up, drove to Mechanicsburg, and hung out with family all day!

First, I got to watch Kerrigan play in her soccer game. She is proudly on the purple team, and started out as the goalie. It was fun to watch the intensity level and then it suddenly drop off (for all the kids) with about 3 minutes to go. They were ready for snack!

After the game...we headed to Wal-Mart. It is always an adventure, but add my sister and mom... double adventure. We were getting Wendy new curtains and some food. I was able to find GREAT remnant pieces for Mia Grace and Zooey Claire's Easter basket surprise! It is going to be perfect! (Pictures will come soon--pending completion) The colors are great, and I am excited to get started.

After Wal-Mart, we headed to the new apartment! I am happy that Wendy has a nice place to call home. The green paint in the bedroom.. NOT fun. The inspiration picture is beautiful and we got EVERYTHING accomplished. After three coats, the green was finally covered, the bed was up and dressed, the living room finished (complete with TV stand built by my mom and I) and the kitchen/dining came together great (without injury of course...) As Dale and I were flipping up the newly assembled table, the fold-down leaf did just that, fell down, on my hand. My thumb was instantly black and blue and in pain. I put ice on it... but it still hurts (I kept painting... and painting...)  With the move in complete on our end... John and I drove home. It is a pleasant drive with the windows down, country roads, and country music blasting!

Once I made it home, my hand was really hurting. So I am typing this with a bum left hand... impressed? So, I put my frozen veggies on my hand, and now it is time to relax. I will catch up tomorrow!

Oh, and by the way... HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! (thank you SJC for all of my green attire... no pinching here!)

-Alexis-