Sweet bundle

Arianna Mae 

Dan and Bethany have been blessed with this precious little baby girl!!!

She was born April 25th, 2012.

Virginia has never seemed so far away...I mean look at those cheeks just begging to be kissed!

Thank you, God, for the miracle of life!

Spring Soiree

My friend is getting MARRIED! This totally calls for a special party! 

{Soiree is french for Party in the Evening. If you want to know how to pronounce...google it}

I cajoled Nicole {can't believe we didn't take a picture of ourselves together} into helping me, and we set off to plan a memorable evening; not only for the bride, but for all the special family and friends in her life.

{I can't imagine how people planned parties parties without Pinterest *smile*}

Pink was the color. 

Yummy was the food. 

And fun was the planning

I have officially decided that parties are way too much fun to plan...but then actually experiencing them...that's even better!

Nicole brought/arranged the flowers. 

love.

These wonderful people showed up a little early to help!!

{friends, parties, pink, love, sweets

it's all just so happy!}

Flavored lemonade served in cute li'l jars

The Bride and her Mother.

Games.

Bridal shower games can tend toward the repetitious side of things.

So if you happen to find yourself sleepless at night, start brainstorming.

You just might come up with a winner.

How dull life would be without laughter...

In case you were wondering, the TV that has the lovely Mac screen on it...that was to show a fun video of Alan {Rachel's Boy}. I sent Alan a list of questions and his brother and sister-in-law took video of it. A friend put the clips together in a fun video...and the ladies loved it! None of us really knew Alan all that well and so it was fun to see a little bit of his personality!

It was a special treat to have Rachel's grandma from east IA up for the weekend!

I love candid smiles

Gifts.

Rachel has been such a great blessing and encouragement to me over the years! 

{and I'm sure to most of you as well}

Her joyful spirit as she served God with her family, the constant encouraging words that she would share with me, her radiant smile, the fun teasing and laughter...

Rachel, God blessed me abundantly when he gave me you as a friend.

I love you!

Pictures courtesy of Kori Wissmann

{Thank you oodles, Kori!!!}

Tuesday's Advice

Very simple.

"Be joyful always..."

2 Thes. 5:16

Have a happy Tuesday.

Monday's Advice

"The prettiest makeup a girl can wear is a smile."

What is giving you a reason to smile this wonderful Monday morning?

"...God made you alive with Christ. 

He forgave us all our sins...nailing [them] to the cross."

Colossians 2:13,14

IheartVA

Just in case you haven't heard enough about Virginia and how much I love to visit that place...here's another taste of my visit;

baking

puzzles

{note: we completed three of these during my time. They are the perfect thing to keep your hands busy while your mouth is talking.}

more cooking

sewing

{note: we fell in love with these fabrics. I mean admit it, you wish this could be yours...oh, and I'll let Bethany post pictures of the finished baby quilt. haha}

 

more baking

{note: yeah, so we're kinda into food. but we have pinterest, so you can't blame us. and I know that you are secretly wishing that you could have been there too to taste some of our delectable dishes! Oh, and the cookies? Grandma Hager's molasses cookies. bestever. meltinyourmouth. perfectwithamugofmilk. those kind of cookies. **yummmy**}

friends

{note: and of course we got in some rousing games of volleyball!}

togetherness

{note: putting this post together has made me miss this girl even more! We spent hours and hours talking and talking. But then again silence was fine too--just enjoying being together.

*heart*}

3 Details...

I love to go to Virginia. {Like a lot.}

I got wind that my sis{-in-law} was going to be husband-less for almost 2 weeks.

I planned a trip to rescue her.

Thank goodness that the above mentioned sister is flexible, because my plans kept changing. But thanks to stand-by tickets, delayed babies {just don't ask} and a sheer 'want to go', I ended up on a plane headed east.

We had oodles of fun projects/recipes/ideas to fill up my time. 

One of those ideas was road tripping a couple hours to visit a dear friend!

Alicia used to live in NE, but fell in love with a Virginia Boy...and the rest of the story is all too familiar. *smile*

Her cozy home, hot chai tea, joyful spirit, heart-felt questions and adorable daughter made the time pass all to quickly. Chats with her are very few and far between and so we tried to make the most of it.

{adorable. this li'l Joanna loved looking and feeling all the beads...} 

And hello? Who wouldn't want to start a project with these fabrics?

A trip isn't complete without a little shopping...so we did a little bit with Alicia.

You know you like something when every time you walk past it you exclaim over it's cuteness/wonderfulness/brightness/happiness. {and that is exactly what we did...lots}

Bethany, have I ever mentioned that I absolutely love having you as my sister?!? *heart*