tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48717854973621091762012-02-04T22:40:14.541-08:00nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.comBlogger991100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-10391734093309723062011-11-19T13:48:00.001-08:002011-11-19T15:01:18.505-08:00

That Cora is so much fun! We are getting some smiles lately and we are loving them.Also, here are a few pictures of our kids doing a cycle-cross race. They did awesome and had so much fun! Mud, barricades and finish ribbons, oh ya!Sorry for the short post, but having 3 kids is keeping me hoppin'.Evie, Leyton & our friend Gabe at the starting area.Evie Leyton, edging out the big girl!

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-16308032887239370302011-11-13T09:39:00.001-08:002011-11-13T09:47:28.544-08:00

Our sweet little Cora is nearly 6 weeks old and getting nice and chubby, just the way we like 'em in the Jensen household (as if we have a choice in the matter). The past week we've been seeing more and more little smiles and can't wait for some giggles to start soon. Our family is having so much fun with her, having a baby in the house is just plan wonderful. I have thinking she looks a lot

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-20931293523897268222011-10-08T15:37:00.001-07:002011-10-13T15:59:27.907-07:00

Our baby girl, Cora Jane, was born last Tuesday morning and came into this amazing world safely and beautifully! Praise God, I went into labor 1 week before my scheduled c-section date, so we headed to the hospital in the middle of the night (thank you Julie for coming over to watch our kids at 2am!!!) and she was born at 4:53am via c-section delivery weighing in at 8lb 3oz.We've been home since

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-12540340189952077162011-10-02T13:55:00.001-07:002011-10-02T14:07:05.676-07:00

Recently, I checked out the book, Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts from the library. It's been such a fun book to get ideas from! One of the easy projects that I knew I could pull of quickly before our baby arrives next week was the Girls Shirt Dress, for Evie. Sadly, I just donated about 10 old dress shirts of Jared's to Goodwill and was forced to go buy one. Ya win

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-19184579658000067302011-09-20T14:54:00.000-07:002011-09-20T14:55:17.984-07:00

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-75316285076972998902011-09-13T21:29:00.000-07:002011-09-13T21:37:45.660-07:00

Have I mentioned my son is a serious mountain biker at age 6? This is the mountain bike we got him for his 6th birthday in June and he and Jared have been tearing it up ever since. There are a handful of short trails through the forest area near our house that the two of them frequent, with Evie on the trail-a-bike behind Jared. Yesterday he did a 'jump' in our backyard on a ramp Jared built

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-2378176428552753282011-09-09T10:16:00.000-07:002011-09-09T10:27:38.195-07:00

At the kiddie pool on the lake.Getting to swim in the deep part of the lake with their favorite lifeguard. Our kids had three weeks of swimming lessons on the lake this year and it was the prefect way to end our summer. Strangely the weather just got warm when we began the lessons the second week of August and it was amazing the entire 3 weeks.Nearly each day Jared walked down to the lake from

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-56242037598718681032011-08-25T21:53:00.000-07:002011-08-25T21:56:01.850-07:00

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-26888954555744409812011-08-21T21:51:00.001-07:002011-08-21T22:08:02.070-07:00

At Grandpa & Grandma's On the farm in Idaho. Camping in Eastern Oregon. I sure love these two kids.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-4488105651828696442011-06-01T20:46:00.000-07:002011-06-01T20:53:21.561-07:00

We found out today that our newest family member is a girl! We haven't said much about our newest babycakes until now, but our third baby is due the first part of October, so I'm just at the halfway point now.Today was also our sons 6th birthday...more on that coming soon!

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-64430375294386678942011-05-27T09:55:00.000-07:002011-05-27T15:02:13.854-07:00

Today was scheduled to be our last day of school at our house, and we made it! We are officially done with kindergarten for Leyton and pre-k for Evie. It has been a great year and I feel great about the progress that both kids and I have made the past 9 months on this journey together. In the fall we will be joining a new Classical Conversations group in our area that is just forming, so I'm

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-24204215512698299382011-05-13T14:20:00.000-07:002011-05-13T14:58:14.574-07:00

If you ask me, raising a boy (kids for that matter) while living in the city is challenging. Both Jared and I grew up either on a small farm or a rural lake setting and I have to be honest, it's hard for us to know how to recreate those experiences on a small town lot. Our dream is to be in a rural area and own enough land to keep us and our kids busy with projects and space to roam and play,

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-48875161678714164772011-04-08T16:43:00.000-07:002011-04-08T16:56:29.539-07:00

For Christmas I gave Jared a photo session with a friend of ours, Joel Bock, who is a wonderfully gifted professional photographer. My goal was to get some pictures of Jared as a musician so we can enjoy and celebrate his gifts and have some pictures of him in our home. Well, we got some really fun pictures and I thought I'd share a couple of my favorites!It's so fun being married to Jared and

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-32559698435305995722011-02-20T17:57:00.000-08:002011-02-20T18:13:11.421-08:00

This winter our son has made the big leap to riding on his own with amazing proficiency! Now, I ride with Evie in the Burley trailer and Leyton rides beside me and away we go. He's such a great rider we end up riding for several miles and Evie sometimes falls asleep. It's so fun to ride with Leyton on the road and I love that Evie is still content in the trailer. She really likes the trail-a-bike

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-34793826635363498502011-02-02T14:36:00.001-08:002011-02-02T14:36:56.620-08:00

"Mom, last night I didn't fall asleep, I flew asleep."-Leyton reflecting on how tired he was last night when he went to bed

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-54337275457558345262011-01-05T09:43:00.000-08:002011-01-05T10:00:26.768-08:00

I haven't blogged for an age, so I thought I'd do a quick Christmas recap. It all started on a Monday morning on a 20 mile stretch of road in eastern Oregon that had been packed with snow and ice and then shellacked with a slick veneer and then glazed with a slimy gel that made for spooky driving. At 10-15 miles per hour every vehicle on the road was sliding around including huge semis and

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-58959134995501537232010-11-05T12:12:00.000-07:002010-11-05T21:29:02.125-07:00

It doesn't get much cooler than this video. My son decided to ride his bike without training wheels after visiting his friend, Ethan in Yakima. Within 48 hours he was riding like a pro for literally over a mile! I'm so proud of him. Jared did a great job coaching him I might add...way to go Jensen boys!Unrelated funny picture of my son.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-39097609743990244822010-10-13T21:13:00.000-07:002010-10-13T21:33:09.000-07:00

I finally did it, I ran a 5k and I had so much fun! I think it will be an annual event, hopefully we'll have more friends join us next year (hint, hint). Here are a few pictures from the race and our time with our friends after the race in Seaside. We had a blast spending time with good friends and accomplishing a goal! The much anticipated race, our kids were so excited for me!Trish and I

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-90762036624763312882010-09-22T11:36:00.000-07:002010-09-22T20:03:31.551-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone a month ago. I'm a bit late in posting, but wanted to put them up anyways!We camped for a week with our friends The Angleo's...had an amazing time with them and just being in amazing places!Our adventure boy.Riding her rock 'motorcycle' on Jackson Lake.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-20254306819627809082010-09-10T14:52:00.000-07:002010-09-10T15:00:46.910-07:00

I've talked the talk long enough. I'm finally running and training for a 5k (oh-so-short to many people, but good enough for me).I looked around and found the most interesting run I could find, The Cannon Beach Benefit Run 5k/10k. I'll be doing it on October 3rd and it's a race that happens on the beach...not to shabby I'd say. I don't think a benefit run gets more scenic than that!If you are

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-83183152585096485372010-07-31T14:30:00.000-07:002010-07-31T18:51:27.388-07:00

There aren't many things that mark the passing of time like the growth in children and it's simply a privileged to be apart of. This past month our son turned FIVE, Jared entered his mid-30's, I solidified my place in my early 30's and we had our 12th wedding anniversary! A month of milestones and some reflecting of what God has done in our family in the past few years.Over the past 5 years,

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-16136296209697779642010-06-29T22:16:00.000-07:002010-06-29T22:27:49.592-07:00

Ok, I haven't posted any deals lately because they are getting so common place that I don't get excited about free stuff the way I once did...but this was a special Walgreens trip I just had to post!! We are gearing up for camping this weekend with my mom and dad and I was excited about the camping stuff I scored (smore's, licorice and lemonade) can we say sugar high for my kids who don't get

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-16851713384947234112010-06-25T20:53:00.000-07:002010-06-25T20:58:59.310-07:00

Got this idea from a blog I read...SouleMama.com{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-23172292927545937732010-06-25T09:24:00.000-07:002010-06-25T09:56:21.347-07:00

It has been a busy week for our family and it's looking like a busy week again next week with VBS at our church the kids will attend and I'm helping with. I admit, it's fun to have busy weeks after some lonely weeks in a new place, so it's a welcome change in our schedule!We've hit the strawberry fields a few times and got a couple fun pictures on yesterdays trip. The berries are bursting

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-49326646835075560052010-05-23T18:57:00.000-07:002010-05-23T19:09:32.808-07:00

Went out to Rockaway Beach on Saturday to a celebration at the camp Jared and I used to work out right after we got married, Twin Rocks Friends Camp. We had a blast reconnecting with old friends and just being at such a beloved place in our lives and being by the ocean. A friend of ours, Joel Bock, was taking the pictures for the event and he had a Crazy Picture Booth set up. Here is one

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-38857581283157404232010-05-07T14:23:00.000-07:002010-05-08T09:13:11.614-07:00

A few weeks ago I got to Omaha by myself to visit my dear friend, Teresa. I had such a blast with her and her family and of course bumming around Omaha together was pretty fun too! It was such a blessing to spend time with her and her family and bump into some old friends also. God is good. At the end of a less-than perfect year, what a joy it was to have that time with a friend who has

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-66613233669344645952010-05-04T13:50:00.000-07:002010-05-04T14:01:19.922-07:00

Today was the day to make piggy banks at our house. I saw this Martha Stewart project and thought it was perfect for my kidos! It was pretty easy and my kids are totally pumped about saving their coins now (since they always seem to find them on the ground at grocery stores). It's also a pretty cheap project, I had to buy the cork feet (2.50) and a pack of pipe cleaner (.99) the rest of the

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-61553723018591629192010-04-18T08:03:00.001-07:002010-04-18T12:57:25.847-07:00

Here is our latest and greatest Craiglist purchase: A Trail-A-Bike for Leyton. He is getting a bit big for our Burley trailer, but can still ride in it for short trips. However, both kids are getting heavy for me to pull behind my bike. I think their combine weight plus the trailer is around 100lbs! We went on a family test ride yesterday to a park and then to get ice cream, it was so fun!

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-76112684994814395262010-04-14T13:50:00.000-07:002010-04-14T14:07:48.801-07:00

There are so many great things within walking/bike ride distance or a 3-5 minute drive from our house it's CRAZY! I've never lived by so much 'stuff' and shopping in my entire life. It's sort of fun, but you know me...always longing for an acreage. Someday. Until then, I'll enjoy living close to lots of city stuff and getting to ride my bike (with kids in the Burley trailer) to run errands!

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-57032341760503925862010-04-10T15:23:00.000-07:002010-04-10T15:46:45.658-07:00

Today, we took a family field trip to Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Store just around the bend from our house (aprox 20 mins). I've been a pretty big fan of their products and am now an even bigger fan since my precious daughter has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. They have a great selection of products and grains to make life taste good even without wheat! Yipee! Among several other

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-71211530806717077992010-03-29T14:57:00.001-07:002010-03-29T15:12:50.908-07:00

I thought I'd post a picture of our soon-to-be home in Lake Oswego. This house is a first time rental and it's super clean compared to all the other rental houses we walked through, so we are very thankful and excited about it. Praise God for his provision in a house that we are going to be comfortable in! We are moving our stuff down on April 1st so we can get settled and unpacked before

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-18593550031105995642010-03-25T18:36:00.000-07:002010-03-25T19:01:45.741-07:00

Here I am in Nampa, ID after quite a crazy last 13 days. Here is the run down of events in our family.March 12-14 - Went to Portland to interview at a church (Lake Grove Presbyterian Church) and fell in love with it! Kids stayed at our dear friends, The Fries's house...THANK YOU TIM AND TYFFANY! After our weekend at the church we were so excited to hear back, but knew it would be about 2

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-85122747319009387482010-02-13T08:42:00.000-08:002010-02-13T08:43:09.304-08:00

"In any successful attack on freedom the state can only be an accomplice. The chief culprit is the citizen who forgets his duty, wastes away his strength in the sleep of sin and sensual pleasure, and so loses the power of his own initiative"- Abraham Kuyper "The American economy today is nothing so much as a long series of bank heists and carjackings, and as pleasant as it would be to blame it

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-11637849009873991972010-02-09T10:31:00.001-08:002010-02-09T10:36:04.987-08:00

Another house update for you. Our counter offer was accepted and we are moving forward! Yipee!! Praise God for a good offer and a timely offer! Our loan is scheduled to close on March 22, so in about 6 weeks. Please pray that our home inspector is gracious. The buyer for our house has a VA loan, which can sometimes be a little 'sticky' if we get assigned a certain inspector in our area (

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-72416847443226154872010-02-06T18:42:00.000-08:002010-02-06T18:45:27.220-08:00

This entry is short and sweet. Ladies and gentlemen, we have an offer on our house. It's a pretty decent offer, but there is a little quirk to it...so we'll see if it materializes. What would be do if we sell our house? Not sure. But, I'm confident the Lord will direct us if that time comes. He always does!

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-92200859815802726502010-01-30T20:57:00.000-08:002010-01-30T21:02:08.512-08:00

"The more we grow in grace, the more we see how far we have to go. It was the end of his life when Paul confessed himself chief of sinners.""An old proverb that should be repeated more than it is -- the gateway of your mouth should have 3 keys. Is it true? Kind? Necessary?"These are both entries from Douglas Wilson's twitter site...he's a good man to read!!

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-80264803160271411982010-01-22T13:58:00.001-08:002010-01-22T14:05:27.918-08:00

What a fun idea! Here is a FREE download - 100 Free Things to do With Your Grandkids E-book that you can use with your kids or grandkids! I looked through it quickly and found several things I'm going to do!#37 - Pasta necklace#41 - Terrarium# 54 - Make Noisemakers...I'm thinking for family worship night!Thanks fistfulofcoupons.com !

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-3704816573817239112010-01-22T13:46:00.000-08:002010-01-22T13:52:28.929-08:00

So, I'm not the biggest 'gadget' fan, but every once in awhile I like them. Here is a picture that wouldn't have been captured if we were gadget free. Also, ever since we've had kids we stopped taking pictures of my hubby and I...that needs to change.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-42752170011764242682010-01-17T22:26:00.000-08:002010-01-17T22:35:59.234-08:00

Last week we went to Leavenworth for an overnight getaway that was a blast! Leavenworth is a small mountain town that has remade itself into a German/Bavarian village and it's so beautiful and refreshing. Here are a few pictures from our trip. Right in town there is a perfect sledding hill for small kids, so we brought our sled and had a blast with our kids on that ice..I mean..uh...snow hill.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-16200576284519143162010-01-14T14:58:00.000-08:002010-01-14T15:02:01.442-08:00

Here is a picture from a little shopping trip I took this morning to Rite Aid and Walgreens.Total spent: $6.08Profit after rebates: $6.92Total saved: $76.95Lovin' the coupons.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-36395574972508464462010-01-10T20:39:00.000-08:002010-01-10T20:51:59.546-08:00

Here are a few pictures to share from our family photo session today. It's always hard to get pictures of fast moving targets (a.k.a. kids) but here is what did turn out. Note: Evie is more of a moving target, so not many of her turned out. Always fun to bust out the camera and see what happens.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-69839120629655591722010-01-01T15:14:00.000-08:002010-01-01T20:33:24.537-08:00

Happy New Year! Just when we were feeling relieved to be done with 2009 (good riddance was our sentiments last night upon reflecting on the past year) New Years Day had a fun little ER run in store for us. This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but you get the idea.The kids and I were meeting Jared for lunch and while walking into the restaurant Evie slipped on the wet floor and did a crazy

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-49084782843646687282009-11-18T18:06:00.000-08:002009-11-18T18:12:22.312-08:00

Not long ago we read about a family who would take a family picture for their annual Christmas card. Well, the family had a handful of kids and after awhile they realized that taking a family picture that was presentable was pretty challenging. So, they came to the decision that whatever picture was taken, good or bad, was the facts and that was what was going to press for that year. So, here

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-30958592623917335652009-11-11T12:47:00.000-08:002009-11-11T13:53:54.881-08:00

So, here was my deal today! Wow. This was a fun one!4 Sara Lee pies (3 pumpkin, 1 apple)4 Breyers Ice Cream (our secret weakness is Breyers Rocky Road)Retail/sale price - $ 51.12My out of pocket price - $0 .78 CENTS!!!Here was my deal @ Albertsons :BUY: 1 Sara Lee pie(6.39) and get 1 more pie free AND 2 Breyers Ice Cream FREE! - 1.00 Sara Lee coupon- 5.00 Catalina coupons from last weeks

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-73326872800323750542009-11-06T17:17:00.000-08:002009-11-08T16:51:18.544-08:00

I was looking at some recent pictures and it struck my that my kids are getting huge. Evie is such a little girl and getting to be such a great talker! She is starting to say such giant sentences that we can understand nearly 90% of what she is saying! It's always fun to understand your kids. :-)Leyton is loosing his little boy face and beginning to look and act more and more like a little

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-35607027073252520022009-11-05T20:15:00.000-08:002009-11-05T20:31:52.123-08:00

As some of you know we are in the midst of major life change again. No, I am not joking, I am serious...again. Jared had found a great job doing landscape stuff here in Yakima and was really loving the physical work and doing a job where he could actually SEE what you are doing in a tangible way and then poof...the job was gone. Nuts. Suddenly his boss couldn't afford to keep him with some

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-15722049725083881292009-10-07T09:42:00.000-07:002009-10-07T10:47:32.632-07:00

I thought I'd better post about my newest hobby: saving lots of money!!! I'm doing a whole lot of blog following and cutting a coupon or two and having a blast! I think it's my competitive spirit that makes this so fun for me.My new goal - $50 per week to buy groceries, diapers and all toiletries for our family of four. I've been doing this for 9 weeks and my weekly average spent is $60.83,

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-111743713247085662009-09-24T08:42:00.001-07:002009-09-24T09:02:22.019-07:00

My brother and his family came for a visit a few weeks ago and we had a great time together! One day we picked blueberries just up the road from our house and had a great time and the blueberry patch had a great view of the Yakima Valley, so that was a bonus as we picked!They give the kids these fun pails! It's the best blueberry patch around!!Evie and Uncle CoreyLeyton & Issac...sleeping...

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-15303248665988512222009-09-16T20:44:00.001-07:002009-09-16T20:45:01.484-07:00

Well, we are going private for a couple different reasons. I hope this doesn't keep you from checking in on us from time to time!Blessings,Christi

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-68961203629779890592009-07-15T21:14:00.000-07:002009-07-16T08:15:27.157-07:00

I've made a special effort this summer to catch as many sunsets as I can and I am loving it. Who takes the time to watch God's sun set on the horizon at night? I'll answer that question...me! We cannot see Mt. Rainier from our deck, but one of the little 'bumps' on our horizon is the peak of Rainier, so I like to pretend I watch the sun set on Rainier!Here is one of the sunsets from our deck that

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-6565240108305998542009-07-15T11:00:00.000-07:002009-07-16T17:09:12.173-07:00

You may have already seen this video, if not watch it, it's six minutes long.We The People Stimulus PackageIf you already watched it and didn't do anything...join me! Do something! Both of my senators and congressmen will receive a letter from me later this week.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-4486901903020260912009-07-09T07:47:00.000-07:002009-07-09T11:19:10.989-07:00

I was recently listening to an audio sermon series by Douglas Wilson, Loving Little Ones, which has been so wonderful and life giving to the task of raising kids. During one of his sermons he talks about taking great joy in your children and acknowledging that they are the cutest and sweetest little kids in your life. Often I find myself, as Christian parents, trying to 'control' our kids and

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-85166362164004415242009-07-05T19:51:00.000-07:002009-07-05T20:20:19.607-07:00

As some of you know, my hubby recently resigned from his position at our church. After wrestling for several years with some doctrinal issues, he came under some convictions that forced him to part ways with our church several months ago. Through all of this Jared decided he was ready for a break from leading worship and has found a new job (praise and glory to God in this economy), and we

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-81893442271531322152009-06-23T14:08:00.000-07:002009-07-05T20:23:33.404-07:00

For the first time in my life I'm an official swim lesson mom, and I have to admit it's pretty fun! Both of our kids are in lessons and they are really enjoying them! By the end of last week I was kind of tired and I realized getting up and getting somewhere each morning kind of takes it out of you. But, I've caught my second wind and I'm excited for this new week and I know my kids are looking

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-85767167351160580182009-06-15T14:18:00.001-07:002009-07-05T20:24:11.387-07:00

We had our first official 'garden harvest' of the season this mornings during our time in the garden. We pulled a lot of radishes and turnip greens today which was fun. I need to figure out a good recipe for turnip greens, which I think you can treat like spinach but I need to do some recipe searching.I must say, one of my favorite things about gardening and digging in God's earth is the way you

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-42708710442831580632009-06-13T12:53:00.000-07:002009-06-13T13:13:36.419-07:00

Of course it's been awhile since I've blogged...so I hope I'm not loosing ya!We recently got the kids bunk beds from a friend who was selling their old ones and they are WONDERFUL! Our kids have transitioned seamlessly from a toddler bed and crib to top and bottom bunk. They are awesome kids! We got each kid a light for their bed so they can read in their bunk if they want, which they just

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-51420109377026340702009-05-04T20:39:00.000-07:002009-05-04T20:49:58.093-07:00

We had a fun little photo session at our house yesterday, inspired by my friend Jill, who came over to take a few pictures of her kids.  So, since we set up all of our equipment we took advantage of having our gear out.  We need to do this more often!  Our kids had fun being silly and we got a few good shots.  Here are a few cute ones I thought I'd post.  God is so good, children are such a

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-6540124444787795802009-04-14T14:34:00.000-07:002009-04-16T14:59:30.909-07:00

It's been awhile, so I'm going to do a quick smattering of pictures for your perusal and enjoyment. Life is looking a little different at our house these days, we have TONS of house projects going on and Monday's and Tuesday's are seeming like a daycare at our house, which is pretty fun to tell you the truth!  I'm watching a few kidos on those days and my kids are enjoying having friends over for

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-45874240559302553822009-03-16T14:54:00.000-07:002009-03-16T20:33:51.582-07:00

First real pigtails for Evie, just had to post!Getting the cheesy smile down. They are getting to be such good friends!  I love it!Now...on to the crafty stuff.Purse I made for myself, Amy Butler 'frenchy' bag.  Very fun, thanks Trish for lending me the pattern!Gotta love this fabric, also Amy Butler.  Can you tell I love Amy Butler?Shower gift for Tyffany's new baby.  A little "L" for her name

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-76989686398312823572009-03-02T19:40:00.001-08:002009-03-03T09:05:43.558-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our little girl's 2nd birthday dinner with some friends.  I seriously can't believe she is two, the past two years have flown by for many reasons...and I feel delighted and heart broken that she is already at this stage in life.  Butterfly cake...I had so much fun making this cake, mainly because it brought so much joy to both of our kids.  They thought it was so

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-38715919025345917902009-02-07T21:03:00.000-08:002009-02-07T21:10:40.116-08:00

Ha!  I love this one!  I was tagged (by Tyffany) to post the fifth picture in your fifth folder and tag five people.  Love it.  Here is my picture...it is actually a very sweet picture.  This is Christmas 2005.I'm tagging :-)1 - Victoria  2 - Tawnya  3 - Kerri  4 - Becky J.   5 - Christie D.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-7355734447760224052009-02-07T20:20:00.000-08:002009-02-07T21:09:51.342-08:00

Here are a couple pictures from our trip to Leavenworth for our annual elder retreat.  It was an amazing time of spiritual encouragement and refreshment.  Good stuff.  God is so gracious and giving, Jared and I really were needing some encouragement and this was perfect!   Another bonus was that the Christmas lights were still up on all the businesses and they are so beautiful, so that was an

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-58965422251964094142009-01-08T14:12:00.001-08:002009-02-07T21:10:09.938-08:00

Well, I just finished a sewing project for an upcoming fundraising auction for the Pichura family adoption fund.  This is for a family from our church that is adopting two brothers from Ethiopia in the near future.  I was asked to make a crafty item and I decided upon a purse with some Amy Butler fabric.  Hope it at least gets bid on...sheesh.  Feeling a little pressure on this one.  Don't know

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-56242873233930348642008-12-30T21:19:00.000-08:002008-12-30T21:34:13.818-08:00

It's winter and as you can see we are eating a lot of hot soup at our house.  The kids are getting pretty crafty with how they manage to get every last drop! Going.Going.Gone.Here is a picture out our front door yesterday.  I was some of the most beautiful snow...falling perfect and HUGE.  As we watched the snow falling, Jared said, "there are snow flakes, and then there are snow chunks."  Well

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-68380545153673413782008-12-19T19:41:00.001-08:002008-12-19T20:04:54.561-08:00

Well, I thought I'd post something I'm learning to do - embellish a girlie t-shirt! Yippe! I've never done much appliqueing before so this is pretty new to me. I read a blog post lately about certain supplies, etc and this shirt went much smoother than one I did a few months ago. It's still not perfect (I need some more practice on my top stitching), but they are fun to do.  I think they could be

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-15704030003533501552008-12-12T14:42:00.000-08:002008-12-12T14:56:41.374-08:00

Many of you know we were away for Thanksgiving on "The Farm" and Leyton was "Farming" the entire time we were there. There were many baby lambs born on our watch while my dad was out of town for a few days, so that was exciting for everyone. Jared and I held the fort down and managed to get ears tagged and and all the cows and sheep feed. We love it and always leave thinking we need to buy a

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-51186647214618719182008-11-14T09:57:00.000-08:002008-11-14T10:55:00.566-08:00

So, the big news at our house is everyone got a haircut this week!  Yippe.  Jared, of course, gets a haircut every week, but the rest of us are on a different schedule.  Since I cut Leyton and Evie's hair I decided to spend the $10 and buy actual hair scissors, and I was feeling crazy and threw in a penguin kids hair 'cape' just for fun.  Putting my grand total at Sally's Beauty Supply at $16 -

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-13060601269216704932008-10-23T13:52:00.000-07:002008-10-24T13:41:18.016-07:00

It's officially fall/autumn in our neck of the woods, and we are loving it!  We are also officially friends with the orchardist behind our property and got to 'glean' the trees behind our fence (golden delicious...ymmm).  It's been great!  Lots of applesauce and apple crisp at our house.  We also got to mooch two boxes of pears from a orchard that wasn't getting harvested this year.  It's been a

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-6392506699803007912008-10-02T14:43:00.000-07:002008-10-02T14:52:41.297-07:00

Made a few baby bibs today for two new baby girls that we know.  I love this paisley print, so feminine and fun for a baby girl who needs to be cute while she's eating!  This is a simple pattern I slightly modified from a bib my sister-in-law (Racheal) made for Leyton when he was an infant.  I topstitch around the bib with a decorative stitch.  I only have a couple stitches on my machine but they

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-49907412388608471112008-09-16T21:35:00.000-07:002008-09-16T21:48:14.579-07:00

A couple weeks ago we went camping with our friends, the Carlson's. They have kids the same age as our kids, so the kids did great together! They knew about this great spot, about 45 mins from Yakima, gotta love living in the great northwest! We froze our tails off though...it got down to freezing at night and we didn't have good sleeping bags for all of us. Clearly, we need to invest in more

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-68238208254142816932008-09-10T15:41:00.000-07:002008-09-10T15:51:12.126-07:00

I recently listened to a sermon/podcast by Voddie Bauchman called, The Centrality of the Home, which was more than worth my time!  So, I thought I'd pass the link on to anyone who is willing to download it and take the time to listen to some wonderful challenges and a different point of view on modern evangelism and raising kidos.Good stuff.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-82334073546757825782008-08-29T21:10:00.000-07:002008-08-29T22:17:26.615-07:00

I am pretty much a one-issue voter in many ways.  So, I wanted to share this with those of you who cherish life and desire to fight for the unborn.  I strongly recommend checking out the National Right to Life site.  NRTL's site has as a voting record chart for McCain and Obama's (who is a baby killer...seriously...he is a sick, sick man who apparently approves of and votes to NOT protect babies

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-17125663314953694042008-08-28T13:25:00.000-07:002008-08-28T14:07:11.595-07:00

Here is a catch-all entry if I've ever done one!  Here is just a bunch of fun summer pictures and stuff going on in our lives that I thought would be fun to share.  Hope you enjoy.  Also, THANK YOU so much for your encouragement with my last entry about the sewing projects.  I loved reading your comments!  Potty training in full swing, and this picture is after a major victory. :-)  Either you

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-3912554670881347962008-08-21T16:12:00.000-07:002008-08-22T13:26:52.584-07:00

It's been a crafty week for me.  I finished an outfit for Evie this week out of fabric I bought a year ago for this project, nothing like getting right on a project!  Also, I made an outfit for Tyfanny's daughter, Avarie (for her 3rd birthday).  Hopefully it will fit!  I'm a little nervous about that...Do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of an outfit ON A 17 MONTH OLD?  I think I

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-756233790174427792008-08-17T21:04:00.000-07:002008-08-17T21:17:55.543-07:00

Current topic...shredded cheese.Alright, so, awhile ago I was informed (by a very credible source) that shredded cheese had powdered "plastic" on  it to prevent it from sticking/caking together in giant globs.  So, being the person that I am to easily jump on a bandwagon against over processed food I banned pre-shredded cheese from our home with great joy (note the hypocrisy: I'm seriously

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-86363422904195273502008-08-11T13:24:00.000-07:002008-08-11T13:36:00.336-07:00

First time for everything. I guess I'm supposed to answer this questions with one word, so here goes! Thanks Tyfanny for introducing to be tagged!1. Where is your cell phone? counter2. Your significant other? napping3. Your hair? brown4. Your mother? ma5. Your father? pa6. Your favorite thing? home7. Your dream last night? nope8 Your favorite drink? PEPSI9. Your dream/goal? humility10. The room

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-53002898151783924532008-08-08T19:19:00.000-07:002008-08-08T19:27:26.636-07:00

Thought I should quickly blog about my new adventure. I will soon be starting my new role serving as the co-director in the Children's Ministry!I will be starting in September and it is a quarter time - at home position that I'm really excited about. I'm looking forward to interacting with more SVC families and being more involved. If you think of me please pray as I begin this position in

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-58406622876457776262008-08-05T14:09:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:29.674-08:00

Recap of our last two weeks. Went to Idaho and hung out on the farm with my parents...came home...my parents came up and spent two days with us on a trip they took for their 40th Anniversary. Harvested a bounty from our garden...went to the parade for the Hop Festival and got tons of candy. Leyton & Grandpa feedingEvie eating dog food.Our first 'harvest' this year from our garden!Grandma &

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-46300357451040867702008-07-30T20:54:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:30.716-08:00

Just ran across these pics from our little family outing picking blueberries here in the Yakster in the middle of July. Our kids were literally pulling handfuls of blueberries off the bushes and shoving them in their mouths. Good times.

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-76128076774527569682008-07-19T22:18:00.001-07:002008-12-11T20:11:32.864-08:00

Last night we got to host a murder mystery dinner at our house and the theme was "Till Death Do Us Part".  It was an Italian mobster wedding, so it was pretty funny.  Everyone came dressed for their part, Jared was a slimy hit-man (who also won "Best Costume") and I was fast talking wannabe sales person/mother of the groom.  It was a great night and I think if we ever do another one we will know

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-12332253843081187992008-07-17T21:45:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:34.358-08:00

Well, today was a great day at our house! We had so much fun hosting a Sun Valley Church mom & kids play-date in our backyard. We got the SVC bounce house, had swings, tents, our kiddie pool and sprinkler going...my kids had a blast and I think everyone else did too! I counted and we had 13 moms and 25 kids total! Thanks for the great turn out ladies!Did I mention that I love the body of

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-9239296596467747252008-07-04T09:03:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:35.942-08:00

Here is a look at our two new decks!  It is so wonderful to have spaces to be outside and to safely get in and out of our house now!  This staircase was a total disaster safety-wise and our back step was a total drop off and potential accident/injury site! :-)  Thanks to Bob, our nephew Josh and Jared for putting in the long days to make these decks happen!!  Upper deck - beforeJosh (aka 'Muscles

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-81902902095212713812008-06-28T16:17:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:39.147-08:00

The latest outing to hit my blog is our trip to Mt. Rainier National Park (or as Leyton calls it - Mountain Rainier).  We took our kids and our niece and nephew on a little hike and had a blast. We also should have run out of gas, but thankfully a freak of nature happened and we were allowed to drive our vehicle for about 10 miles without any gas in it.  We filled our 15 gallon tank up with 16.8

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-53851693772277077502008-06-26T15:14:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:40.211-08:00

We are having a blast in Yakima with Grandma & Grandpa Jensen and our niece and nephew, Josh and Abby! I'll post more pictures next time of our house remodeling...if you have known us very long you know that anytime Jared's dad is in town we do major remodeling when he is here! Here are a couple of pictures of Leyton and Abby riding a horse at our senior pastor's house and a couple random

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-57612132186470160702008-06-10T11:12:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:40.900-08:00

Here are some pictures from a couple weeks ago when we had a little camp-out with the Carlson family about 25 minutes from our houses. Great campsite little creek that was raging because of the snow melt in the mountains. We cooked up some food on the campfire and let the boys dig in the dirt. Good times had by all.Leyton & EthanEthan, Leyton & IssacDaddies & Kids

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-63948756939409358582008-06-06T20:52:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:42.554-08:00

Well, we now have a three year old in the house! Exciting and heartbreaking all at once. I'm sure most of you know just what I mean. He's getting to be such a big boy in more ways than one (he's a hulk for his age and now he's getting to be such a little man!).Some of his favorite saying lately are pretty funny:- "What is the plan?" (asked immediately after waking up in the morning about the plan

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-84640968031766611092008-05-29T13:07:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:42.742-08:00

Happy Birthday to my dear husband! You're such a wonderful friend & husband to me and a great dad to our beautiful kidos! Thanks for all you do for our family! I love ya dearly!Honorable-birthday-mention goes out to our dear friend Mr. Scott Angelo...happy birthday to you too!!

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-69668611488148387522008-05-28T18:37:00.000-07:002008-06-08T21:15:10.542-07:00

In the past four weeks our family has received several HUGE gifts that we count as direct blessing from the Lord. Several families from our congregation heard of some things we were in need of and have given generously to our family. It's been overwhelming to receive such gracious gifts and in some cases we haven't known who to thank. But, the Lord knows who has given these things to us and

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-44274592622097195662008-05-15T20:29:00.001-07:002008-12-11T20:11:44.572-08:00

Last week we took a little family trip to the Oregon Coast and visited the camp we used to work at, Twin Rocks Friends Camp, and had a blast! We stayed at the camp that we used to work at in Rockaway Beach at the ocean front family cabins that they have. We also got to hang out with my aunt and uncle who work at the camp, which was great to see them! It was wonderful and we are hoping to make

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-65063657968497283042008-05-12T15:32:00.002-07:002008-05-12T21:20:45.180-07:00

This is a wonderful article by Vision Forum that is very challenging and exciting! I hope you take the 5-8 minutes to read this and digest it!Only women can be mothers. Have we forgotten this fundamental?Only a woman can carry in her body an eternal being which bears the very image of God. Only she is the recipient of the miracle of life. Only a woman can conceive and nurture this life using her

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-2595123794672931002008-05-01T11:07:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:45.129-08:00

Alright, I finally made something for ME!  Yipee!  I made this purse and I showed it to Jared and he asked who it was for, and I said, me.  He looked at me and said, "I'm glad you made something for yourself!".   He's a great husband!This is an Amy Butler Swing Purse.  It's reversible which is fun!  My favorite color is green, so I'm loving this bag right now.  In other news, my children and I

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-8877165824617460242008-04-19T10:50:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:45.908-08:00

We are part of a babysitting co-op with two other couples who we go to church with.  And, it ROCKS!  A couple weeks ago it was our turn to have all the kids at our house and the other couples got to do out on a date.  So, here are a few pictures from the evening.  I made some individual  macaroni and cheese from the book, Organic Baby and Toddler Cookbook, which is a great resource for making

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-7716253407155016082008-04-13T19:23:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:46.626-08:00

Our niece, Madeline, had her birthday on Friday and I had been wanting to make this little drawing case for her and finally found some very sweet fabric for it.  She loves cats, so at JoAnn  I found this fabric in the new Debbie Mumm collection which has a lot of fun whimsical prints for kids (and if you are a crafter/sewer you know JoAnn is always priced right).  Anywho, this quilted drawing

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-38310921135010415842008-04-11T09:48:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:46.978-08:00

I made this for Leyton yesterday and he is loving it!  I got the idea from our pastors wife who has been substitute teaching in pre-k classes recently.  On my Mac there is a font called "Schoolhouse Print" and I LOVE it!  It's prefect for Leyton to trace his name and letters on.  So, I laminated his name and he is using whiteboard markers to trace his name with.  I knew that little laminator I

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-19382709528557464642008-04-08T19:50:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:47.620-08:00

Well, I finally got around to taking Leyton to have a REAL haircut for the first time in his life. The kid has probably had 15 haircuts because his hair grows like a weed, but I've been butchering it this entire time. And, after forking out $15, I'm sure I will continue to butcher it in the future! He did great...however, he was sitting in a Jeep and watching a cartoon...how hard can that be?

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-87746320567357387602008-04-02T10:34:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:49.045-08:00

Here are a few of my new favorite things!#1 - Knife magnet...LOVE IT. We have a small kitchen with very little counter space, so this is a GREAT item for us. It keeps our knives up and off the counter and it's extremely handy. Big or small kitchen, I'll always have one of these from now on.#2 - Reversible children's apron that was created out of a mistake of mine sewing another project. I

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-51449445052706237532008-03-26T14:08:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:50.694-08:00

After 10 years, we finally got to hang out with our dear friends from college who were in our wedding (best man and bridesmaid). We all went to college together and unfortunately we live in different countries and getting to see each other is difficult, but we had a blast hanging out with them! THANK YOU for coming out of your way to see us!!! Also, my mom and dad were in

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-48279952340815469762008-03-10T17:06:00.000-07:002008-12-11T20:11:51.792-08:00

Here is another one of our little projects we've been working on lately around our house. This is our laundry area that is adjacent/in the kitchen. Before there were two worthless shelves and a wooden clothes rod and now there are shelves and baskets to store all sorts of items in since storage is a little slim in this area. Love it! I got the laundry room sign in Omaha with Teresa and Victoria

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4871785497362109176.post-50010357634318845132008-02-22T15:22:00.000-08:002008-12-11T20:11:53.271-08:00

Well, here are our latest projects around the house and crafty projects I've been up to. We painted the kitchen, tiled the back splash and I sewed a couple projects. One for Leyton, the tractor pillowcase and the pants for Evie. Very fun! I really have missed having a place to work on projects the past year. So...look out, more sewing posts right around the corner.Kitchen Before (picture from

nwestmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06236982814602695192noreply@blogger.com0