more spray paint crafts

I had been trying to figure out what to do for Lawrence's monthly photos since before he was born. I took photos for Charles every month but hadn't done anything creative with them really except to hang them up at his first birthday. For Lawrence, I wanted to do something a little more creative and cohesive, and had seen some cute ideas on pinterest (of course). I really liked the idea of something that said how many months he was at the time of the photo so I decided on getting some kind of board or banner or something that would be in each photo. I found these two trays at a thrift store and decided to paint them with chalkboard paint. I really wanted something with a more ornate or scalloped shape but couldn't find what I wanted so I got two - one silver and one wood- to paint and then decide which to use for the photos. I figured I would find a use for the other one either way.

I taped off the rims with painters tape and then sprayed away. (it would have been easier to just get the brush on paint, but they didn't have it at Michaels)

I wasn't sure how the spray paint would turn out but it ended up great. Here are my two trays! As you saw in my last post, I used the silver tray in Lawrence's one month photos. As for the wooden tray it's going to be hung in our kitchen above our 'coffee station'. (pictures to come)

Musings..

I don't miss having a cat.. but he sure was cute

A fun night celebrating a friend's birthday. I miss my dark hair. 

We live in Brooklyn, baby!

Love these girls. THIRTY NINE DAYS!

 I want to go back to this place.

Remembering good times with a good friend. Very happy at the possibility of a visit soon!

Wasp vs Dragonfly

It seems as though I have been privy to some pretty unusual insect sightings. For example, you may remember this post. Yesterday I was witness to a brawl. A showdown. Ok, a THROWdown, between a wasp and a dragonfly. 

The wasp won. 

Charles and I were just sitting on our blanket minding our own business when a few feet away we heard a frantic buzzing. Flying just above the grass was a dragonfly with a wasp on it's back. I wasn't sure if the wasp was stinging it or just attacking. It pinned the dragonfly to the ground while it's long wings were buzzing like crazy and then the wasp flew away. The dragonfly laid in the grass and every now and then would try to fly but one of it's wings was pretty bent up. 

I tried to get it to climb on a stick but it just hobbled away. We left it alone and continued our book reading and airplane spotting.
About ten minutes later, the wasp came back. I saw it hovering over the grass looking for the dragonfly, I'm sure, perhaps to finish the job? It spotted it's prey and landed on it's mark. The dragonfly was no longer flapping it's wings and the only movement I could see from it was the end of it's tail(?) curling and uncurling. Like a scorpion.

Was the wasp... pollinating? Do wasps even do that? From where we were sitting it looked like it was chewing the dragonfly's face off. After a few minutes it left and I walked over to take a closer look.
This is what I saw

Upon further examination, I noticed this laying a few inches away. If you're thinking that's the dragonfly's head, you are right.

I know what you're thinking. Gross. I agree. The wasp somehow decapitated the dragonfly and then ate it's guts. I didn't even know wasps did this. Don't dragonflies eat other bugs, including bees? Perhaps it was an act of self defense? Dragonflies beware, do not mess with wasps!

Brutality and grotesqueness aside, I was able to see the details on it's wings which I thought were really beautiful. And the colors on it's body were so vibrant!

Wordless Wednesday

A Year Ago...

Recently the photos on our computer got messed up somehow, luckily we didn't lose them but we can no longer view them in iphoto. Instead we have to search for them in their dated files. I am SO thankful we didn't lose them, I think I would have cried,  but it does make it a little more difficult to browse through them or find a specific photo. It sure makes me wish we had named them instead of leaving them as the numbers. 

I was looking back through some of the files today and became a bit reflective. I decided to check out the photos from a year ago today to see what we were doing. Here's what I found...

That day we had gone into the city with our cameras to check out this park Chris had been at with the summer kids program. Before we entered the park we got some lunch and found a bench to sit at and eat. Almost immediately we were the center of attention to these little birds. Ok, I'll be honest, I'm sure they were more interested in our crumbs than they were in us but still..

They were getting kind of close so we decided to lure them in a little more and see if we could get some pictures. We tossed some crumbs on the ground closer to our feet and then set the camera down so it was level with the birds...

Sometimes it worked

Sometimes.. not so much

It was a good day and after our lunch with the birds we explored the art in the park. 

It's fun to look back on a given day and be reminded of what you did, where you went or what you saw. Even if it was having your lunch invaded by little brown birds. 

This got me to wonder about what I will be doing a year from now. What will those pictures show? Will we finally be in our new apartment?? I sure hope so! We will have an almost one year old! Boy? Girl? (we'll find out soon!). So many things can change in a year and it's exciting to think about what will happen between today and a year from today. I am excited to see what God has in store for us. 

What were you doing a year ago today? 

Big Blessings, Tiny Clothes

As my last day of bedrest approaches I am filled with a mixture of feelings. I am so happy that this part is almost over. I am excited and anxious for the arrival of our little baby- I can't believe that it is almost here! It's crazy to think how much love we have for our baby already and he/she hasn't even been born yet. 

I am also overwhelmed and so very thankful for how our God has been faithful to us throughout this time, and the whole pregnancy. We have been so encouraged by the cards, gifts, generosity, prayers and words of encouragement we have received from our family, friends, people at church (here and back home), and people who don't even know us. God truly is our Provider and has proved Himself over and over again. It brings me to tears thinking about how just a few weeks ago we were worrying about our baby and the future- what was going to happen and how we were going to make it. But our Lord knew the whole time and He has been with us and will continue to be with us. I have learned to trust Him more and He has given me peace in my heart and even though I still worry about our baby and will it be ok and how are we going to make it with me not working I can  confidently place these worries at His feet and know that He will take care of us- that God is holding us in His hands and that that is the best place for us to be. 

The past two weeks I have been on more of a 'partial' bedrest. I haven't been confined to the couch all day which has been great. We have started to get our apartment ready for the baby and this afternoon I washed all the baby clothes, blankets, booties, hats and other teeny tiny cute baby stuff. 

I love looking at the little onesies, hats and socks and imagining our baby wearing them!

We still have a lot to do before the baby gets here but I feel better knowing that the clothes have been washed and can be put away and that after tomorrow I can go full force into preparation and cleaning. woohoo!

Foggy Friday Night

Every Friday night during the summer there are fireworks at Coney Island. Last Friday I had the great idea to go to there to watch them. The last time we went to Coney Island it was really foggy- remember this? 

Well, Friday was even worse.. 

We headed out with Chris's mom, brother, and some of the staff from our church's summer kids program. The rain was on the way and when we arrived and saw all the fog we figured they wouldn't set off the fireworks at all. We decided to get some food while we were there and found a table to eat at. As we were eating a light rain started so hurried up and headed to the van. We couldn't see ANYTHING but it was kind of cool. And eerie. Then, from the direction of the boardwalk we heard pops and bangs. They were actually going ahead with the fireworks- but no one could see them! The fog mixed with the smoke from the fireworks and the air around us turned extremely thick. Occasionally we could see colors in the distance, the fog and smoke would show hints of orange and green.  

It sure wasn't the evening we had expected but the sights were still pretty cool. As we pulled out someone in the group asked "who's idea was this anyway?" hmm..

26 weeks

HOLLA!

I know that in my last post I said that I would tell you what the object in the photo was, and I will, but seeing as how there was only one response I think I'll wait a few more days. I'm thinking that either you are all stumped and in a state of perplexity that you just have no idea as to what it is and will be posting your guesses soon, or maybe since I haven't been posting very much lately people have given up and are no longer checking to see if I have written anything.. don't give up on me!! If it's neither one of the first two, then maybe my (few) readers just really don't care. Which is fine because I am still going to tell you what is. 

Later. 

For now I would like to share a blessing I was bestowed with today. Something that makes me want to say HOLLA! It's good to give thanks and share the good things, whether small or great, that God does for us. So here's my story.

Thursdays my work is split up between the two schools I interpret at. I am at one school in the morning and another in the evenings. The school I work at Thursday nights is off today in remembrance of Lincoln's birthday. This is a nice thing in itself because it would mean that I had my afternoon and evening free. But wait, it gets better. 

I try to check my email every morning before leaving for work but honestly, sometimes I just don't get around to it. I'm not a morning person and if I can spend just three more minutes in bed then I will. I wasn't going to do it this morning but after finishing doing my hair and putting on my mascara something told me to quickly check it. Whew, am I glad that I did because there was an email from the student I interpret for saying that she wasn't coming to class! HOLLA! Not only did this mean that I had the whole day off, but it saved me from traveling almost an hour to the City to arrive at the school, wait the required 30 minutes for her not to show up, and then come all the way back home for nothing.. just because I wouldn't have checked my email! HOLLA!

And so I would now like to take a moment to thank God for prompting me to open up my hotmail account this morning, for giving me the whole day off. For making it possible for me to crawl back into bed and sleep for a little longer, spend some *quality time* with my husband this morning, and make french toast and scrambled eggs for breakfast. And finally, so that I could be sitting here at my cafe with my new 'list' book. HOLLA!

I promise that's the last time I'll say HOLLA! in this post. 

Six Days and Counting...

Well, I guess I have been a little MIA lately. My only explanation is that I have been so stressed that I have really had nothing good to blog about. Things at work have been... stressful. My eyelid has been twitching for a week. I have no other words to say about it right now. 

BUT- Thanksgiving is next week! This is a great thing. You would think that the thought of having over 20 people at our place for Thanksgiving dinner would only add to my stress, but it's quite the contrary. It makes me happy and excited. Let me explain.. We kind of live in 'community' here and so for the people who live in our building (all work at the church) or in the parsonage (which up until a few months ago housed our pastor and his family) and anyone who doesn't have a family to be with for Thanksgiving, well we all get together for a big dinner followed by a traditional game of MAFIA. Some call this an 'Orphan's Thanksgiving' but I like to look at it as an extended family. This is the first time we'll be hosting it and I am super excited. It helps that I am not making the turkey.. I think that would make definitely me stressed. I mean, if you mess up the turkey that's huge right? No, I'm not making the turkey. I am making pumpkin (with my own pumpkin puree) and apple pies, creamy herbed potatoes, stuffing/dressing, and some kind of roll. Depending on what other people are brining I may end up making something else as well, but we'll see. Last year Chris made sweet potatoes. They were the sweetest sweet potatoes I have ever had. He'll definitely be making them again. Hmmm.. all this talk about food is making me hungry. 

So, what's your favorite thanksgiving dish? Anybody else hosting a big dinner? 

A Week In Pictures