Holy Macaron!

 I've seen these little guys slowly creeping in the 'dessert bar' mania lately.

 French Macarons!!!

They're just SO stinkin' cute!!!  I am bound and determined to try my hand at these- and what better time than the holidays??  

Oh, the color combinations.... and presentation displays..... 

such decisions!!!

In glass jars....

...boxed, and sorted...

...stacked by colors...

...or on platters...

...or TOWERS!!!!

 Wish me luck- and, yes, I'll post pictures soon.... :)

Etsy Favs

I've been completely and utterly OBSESSED with Etsy lately... I could attribute it to Christmas shopping, but can never decide on one thing!  For those of you who have never been on that site- 

go NOW!!  Or, maybe you shouldn't...

Here are just a few of the things I'm in love with at the moment:

 Party packages from one of my favorites Totful Memories
(Hint, hint... Blake's party:)

 Holiday tags from Green Apple Paperie

 Crocheted flower headbands
(Lots of different styles)

Hand stamped jewelry
(TONS of different styles:)

HAPPY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!

Photobribery

So............... what does it take to get three active, just-got-home-from-school, fussy kids to HAPPILY take pictures for their photo-happy mother for Christmas cards???

That's right people- I'm not afraid to admit it!!!  And Happy Meal toys by themselves are cheaper than buying the whole thing, anyways.  Here's a few of the shots I got...

...and now to CHOOSE!!!

Gotta Lovett

A couple of weekends ago we got to spend some time with my cousin, her husband and their newly fostered children.  Yes, I said CHILDREN.  After many twisting circumstances only God knows reasons for, they are fostering and planning to adopt these THREE precious kids.  Amazing, I know.  

I seriously didn't know how that weekend would impact me as much as it did.  Honestly, I was just thinking (and sort of dreading) having 6 kids in one house!!  When we got there we were greeted with the warmest welcome ever- "COUSINS!!!!!!!!!!!"  And the HUGEST hugs from the SMALLEST person I have ever gotten.  I'll call her "Wee One" for now (I'm not allowed to post names or pics until their adoption is final).  From the very start that little girl stole my heart.  One word to describe her- SUNSHINE!  Her and Blake had a blast together.  And the middle one (we'll call her "Fancy Girl") was an instant connect for Camryn.  They had so much fun listening to music, drawing & coloring, and of course deciding what to wear.  The oldest one, "Little Man" was a perfect fit for Tyler too.  Of course, they had their share of video games and Sponge Bob. :)

One of the highlights of the trip for me was the Sand Ceremony that my aunt had arranged at their "Welcome Party".  There were dozens of little bags filled with sand, and everyone there poured them individually in a jar to symbolize the blending of family, friends, and support they all now have.  It was beautiful...

Another favorite was this poem written by a friend of my aunt...

...but the BEST part was the blessing of their new family.  Tara and Michael presented the two older kids with their first Bible.  The look on their faces of surprise, confusion and curiosity was priceless.  I never experienced before the true, raw love of Jesus given to children for the very first time.  It literally brought me to tears.  What an amazing gift.  And even more, what an amazing GIFT these CHILDREN are.

Blessings, Lovett Family

Fancy Feast

Have you've ever Googled something and been completely and utterly overwhelmed by the response of ideas/pictures that came up?  Here's just a peek at a few SUPER CUTE Thanksgiving decor ideas that I fell head-over-heels for....... 

Love, love, LOVE it...

Adorable, but is it difficult to actually hollow out those things???

I think the kids would love these!

Ok, now that is TOTALLY doable...

Veggies?!?! How stinkin' cute!!! I especially love the artichoke.

And, well, these are just speaking my language...

While I won't be using any of these ideas for my Thanksgiving table (well, maybe the cake pops... ;), I do love looking at all the crazy cute things out there.  I am sticking to my guns and my motto- Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.  I will be borrowing my good friend Amy's "fancy fall" decor and adding a few fresh flowers to the mix (from the budget flower mart, of course!).  Don't worry- pictures to follow... :)

Starting Over...

Okay..... I am seriously going to keep up this time! I have decided to take a different route (or just a different mindset, I suppose) with this blog.  I'm tired of the "this is what we've done" posts.  I have SO much going on in my brain, that I have decided to use this blog to make sense of it all.  Either that or just to empty it all out... whatever works.  So if you stumble upon one of my ramblings, please forgive my overwhelmed mind.

Before I move on to that, I'd better get caught up on what we've been doing lately... :)

Our little girl just turned, wait for it...........

8 years old!!!!!!
I can hardly believe it!  I feel so truly blessed and grateful to have her in our lives.  She is such a good, caring, lively, smart, creative, brave little girl. Of course I could go on and on...
This year we indulged in a Selena Gomez concert (*scream*) for her birthday, so we just "laid low" for her party and had a few of her friends over for a slumber party.
Here's my idea of "laying low"......

Simple, easy party........... ;)

Happy 8th Birthday Camryn!

We love you!!!!! 

For Halloween we DID lay low, I promise!  Actually, my new motto (along with the rest of the world) has been Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. I am very proud to say that all of the kiddos costumes followed it!

Cami's costume was inspired by the character "Fancy Nancy" (from the books), and was completely from her own collection! Grammie made her a tutu for her birthday that went perfectly, too.  We happened to come across both the boys' costumes from the closet of their cousins Mickey and Nolan. Tyler was Peter Pan and Blake a "baseball payer".  Thank God they didn't mind- such good sports!   

Soccer fun :)

Our latest do-it-yourself project- COMPLETED!!

We just love how this openeing has "opened" up our home so much!

Thanks to Matt's mom Linda (ok, and Dan, Dan the Drywall Man....) it came out so great!!

...from the other side :)

Now I'm having a problem finishing our front room re-do..

Lord, give me the patience (and the budget!)...

Since Valentine's Day....

...a lot has happened!! I'm really bad at updating our family blog, so this is for everyone who's been asking. It will also fulfill my goal to update many things this summer... :)

Back in February was the "L" School Musical 2- Both kids got to be a part of this awesome musical the school does every year! Camryn was a school bus driver, and Tyler was a teacher.

Tyler was on the Angels this year (with much debate in our family;) and had a GREAT time! By the end of the season he had accrued 2 game balls and a definite boost in confidence!!

St Patrick's Day
Of course I had to involve something with cake for the kids to do. :) We tried out this rainbow cake- it was a little complicated, but the kids got a kick out of it!!

Easter...
Here's the kids lined up and ready for the egg hunt!!

Easter morning- Blake wasn' t too sure, I guess.. :)

Ready for church!

Family outing to San Pedro and Long Beach
We had breakfast at a "Triple-D" spot (think Food Network), Schooner or Later. It was great- right on the marina so the kids got to check out all the boats.

Then headed to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro...

...and the tide pools nearby.

And finally to Belmont Shore for some pizza and cupcakes!! It was a super fun day!!

Tyler's Kindergarten Farm Day

They made butter, ice cream, lemonade, visors, and had a petting zoo!!

Camryn got Student of the Month for April!! They all celebrated by having "Pizza with the Principal". So exciting!!

Our Ty-man turned 6!!
Festivities started with a celebration at school..

...then a dinosaur party for all his class friends!!

Happy 6th Birthday Tyler!!!!!

Tyler's Kindergarten Graduation- *tear*

One of the BEST kindergarten teachers EVER!!!
Mrs. Ancich rocks!!

There will be many more posts this summer, and now I might be able to keep up!!!!

Here's to SUMMERTIME-
WOO HOO!!!!!!!!