Reception

Andrew took filling out the "How much do you know about the Bride and Groom" survey quite seriously.

And Corynn did what every girl in a 'fancy dress' does...she enjoyed it!

Have my cake-and eat it too.

Finally, when the reception rolled around, I threw Andrew in the highchair and freed my arms for my camera. The only thing left to take pictures of was the cake, and besides, lately the only pictures that actually turn OUT for me are the stationary ones!

The lavendar roses were lovely.

Even the precut cake squares were perty. ;-)

Living Big

This trip was pretty special not only because I got to spend time with family, reunite with special friends from days gone by, witness the marriage of my childhood friend, and eat OUT-but we also got to stay at a HOTEL!! Perhaps that isn't a big deal to some-but for the Newman household, that is cause to celebrate! That the hotel we stayed at had a POOL-words can barely describe our excitement.

It was tremendous fun! Even when the Panda was water shy and would cling to me to save his dear little life...and even when Corynn's floaties didn't quite 'float' her... the pool was rockin'.

With the hotel room came the requirement for my babies to share a bed. They didn't mind a bit-in fact, that was the problem. They were so excited to sleep together that they didn't get to bed until 9:30 for the littlest and an hour later for the eldest.

Eventually, even Corynn gave in to sleep and they slept the night through dreaming shared dreams.

When I woke up, I thought them so dear I had to snap a picture. A picture like this maybe changes my mind about children each needing their own beds...

Olden Days

One of the highlights of the trip was visiting one of my childhood homes and our 'adopted' grandmothers, our neighbor Mrs. Ort. I have such fond memories of this dear woman. She attended Grandparents' Day at school with us when distance kept our blood relatives away. I used to think of Mrs. Ort as a queen. She loved glitz and glam (I think I might have gottan my love for those things from her, perhaps...) and was known to wear sparkle rings as big as cherries. She always smelled of her favorite perfume-and her home smelled the same.

Though it has been nearly a dozen years later, when the door was opened, that same wonderfully familiar smell danced around my nose and I was taken back to those many years ago. She hasn't changed one bit. She doesn't look a day older than I remember her so long ago. She is amazing and I will always love her.

Dream Stop

We made our pitstop at this FANTASTIC place. Like a fancy restaurant (with down-home cooking), a craft fair, a country store, a bakery and a greenhouse all rolled into one. Oh-I was in heaven! (Plus-the kids ate free! WAHOO!)

Me

And more of the same...

Corynn was quite taken with the nativity. She asked me if I would get a picture of her sitting next to the baby Jesus and then, once I was done, she asked "May I please touch his toes, Mama?"

The things girls admire...

The things I admire...

The carride home

Project Dollhouse, in the works

I always like to make handmade items for the children for Christmas each year. This year, the handmade project is going to be the only gift our Little Miss gets (from us) and will involve both myself and THE PAPA. What is it?!

A handmade doll house. Not the beautiful dainty ones from kits you can find at craft stores...I know that even while Little Miss Corynn is a MATURE four, she is still only four and I want her to be able to play to her hearts content without me worrying that she might break something.

This doll house is going to be about 3 1/2 feet high and will look similar to a bookcase...except there will be doors in the front making it appear to be more like an armoire. My hope is that the doors will keep MY house looking less cluttered while containing HER house.

Matt is in charge of building the actual house and he hasn't yet started that project. SOON, I hope!

My end of the bargain is to FURNISH and decorate the inside of the house, furniture and people. I am going to be doing so by MAKING and CREATING lots...and hopefully buying very little.

I have been looking at all the dollhouse accessories available and mentally evaluating if I can recreate those things at home. I am still not entirely sure I can do some furniture but I have a good start on the accessories!


Since this is a crafty project and it just so happens to be Friday, I finally have all my ducks in a row to participate in Sew Crafty Friday. Since I am showing and telling, I thought I might also participate in Show and Tell Friday. The proverbial two birds with one stone. :-) To participate yourselves...just follow the links in the text.

Now, to begin...


A house just isn't a home if it doesn't have plants. That is what my mom always used to say and I have adopted the motto now that I am a Mama. So, for any house to be a home-even a doll's home-it must have plants!


Using a small wooden pot and some green felt and a dab or two of hot glue, I made a few DARLING plants. The best part is that they are tactile and durable...even the Panda can get in on the fun!


And a large house needs several, to be sure!


The family in residence is certainly going to have a lot of children, knowing Corynn's love of babies. What child's room is complete without a play table? Certainly a must in any home! ;-)

A thin wooden circle and some miniature letter blocks will do quite nicely for that.

Now, Mama's need certain little luxuries too! For Mama's dresser, I made a few bottles of perfume and lotion.

These were made simply by hot-gluing some small gold beads onto the tops of larger beads. Or in the tall ones case, a crystal. I would suggest (as I found out) that only wide ended beads be used-so they can be set up and stand fast! :-)

There are many more plans swirling about my head.

From Fabrics: crocheted rugs, pillows, blankets, curtains, lampshades. Sofa.

From clay: I am going to try my hand at making some doll food!

From wood: furniture. EEK. This is where is gets hard!

Paintings on the wall, a table and chairs, plates for the table.

These are the 'plans' I have and I will share my progress as it is made-on Fridays. Don't be surprised if you see lots of Future Friday postings on this subject!

Now I ask you a favor.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for things I could make for Corynn's dollhouse, I surely would appreciate anything you have to offer!

Tisk Tisk

It's been a while since I have tickled your ears with our love story.

The problem lies in the fact that now I have to sort through all of our details and memories-each of which holds a special place in my heart- and decide which ones are necessary to the story in order to avoid writing down the superfluous ones that will bore you to death.

It is more difficult to do than you would think. This being my 'memoir' of sorts, it is also important it is done right.

And that is my feeble excuse for not writing on this in the last few days.

But to appease you and beg your forgiveness, I offer you this love gift...a piece of the tantalizing tale before we make our trek tomorrow.

Ok. So it isn't tantalizing...but the T words were working for me! ;-)

Enjoy!

Oh-and if you need some catching up to do-here is the WHOLE story, to date.

Our Love Story, the Gift: Part VIII

That night so many weeks before, that wonderful night when Matt came to dinner, the night that our conversation turned from formal and quick to a bit slower and more personal, twas the very same night I had declared in my heart and mind that I would marry Matt and that declaration had boldly escaped my lips. That night I learned that he had only had one previous relationship and coincidentally, she and I shared a name. THAT night, I learned that He took just as seriously as I, the commitment and responsibilities of being an adopted namesake to the King. That pivotal night I got a glimpse into my own future.


Now, though I knew I wanted to marry him, and even had told my mom so on a whim...I certainly didn't want to tell HIM we were going to get married. I didn't want to take the reins on this relationship. I wanted things to be 'right' and in order TO be right, I had to let him do the leading. Knowing and hiding that secret in my heart was enough for me.

I was happy to go along for the ride, now that I knew that I had found the Mr. Right-for-me I had been waiting for. It was the WONDERING if there WAS someone right for me that did me in, and the wondering WHEN I would meet this mystery man that stressed me out. But now?!? Now I had found him and I just needed to convince him he felt the same way about me! :-)

I don't know if that night had been more revealing to him or not, but I do know that after that night, our relationship had changed. It was a bit more natural to talk to one another. We could look at each other more freely. His face and voice had become very familiar to me, I drank in his scent and sometimes, on a good day, could even conjure up a fragrant memory of that delicious smell during the week. Our visits with one another were not AS awkward as before and we didn't feel awkward about wanting to spend time together either.

But, just as before, I didn't know if we had moved into a 'friend stage' or a 'potential relationship' stage. WHATEVER it all meant, I had no clue. I didn't know WHERE I stood as far as Matt was concerned-but I was ENJOYING whatever place we were presently. Whether we were just friends or that I might actually have a chance catching his eye was debatable-but hanging out with him wasn't. It was fun. It was worthwhile. It was REAL. And it made my heart skip a beat every single time.

One particular Sunday, after service, he invited me to go with him to a horse show down the road that Holly (his twin's fiance) was in. Somehow (and I have no clue how) I wound up with several of Mom's foster kids. So here I was with him and a double stroller at a horse show that required silence during the rides. NOT good. Somehow, being the gracious man that he is, he forgave me of that transgression and didn't decide right then and there to avoid me like the plague. I would've if I were him...

The kids got so cranky I said a bit flustered "Well, it's been fun but I really have to get going." and he walked me to the car. It was muddy and for the record-a double stroller with two cranky kids doesn't push very well over the bumps and bulges of a grassy, mud and tracked up pasture. It was not a pretty sight. I still hang my head in shame over that day. But, putting aside all mortification, that excursion held one miraculously wonderful moment that was in all certainty, a gift straight from heaven.

While Matt was casually and coolly walking me to my car, I was heaving this big bulky baby bus through the jungles and swamps of Owego-my heels sinking in the mud with every step and me, cursing this situation over and over again. Suddenly he started acting funny, as though his intentions to be casual were not working out when he awkwardly said to me "Hey. By the way. I got you something. Sometime, maybe, you could come back to my place to get it?"

Ummmmm. WHAT?!? I remembered telling him that I liked circus peanuts and he laughed at me. I thought for sure he had gotten me a bag of circus peanuts, as an inside joke sort of thing. It was a few days before I ended up getting out to 'his place', and those few days were TORTUROUS. I wanted, no, NEEDED to know what he had got me. WHAT was it??!? Just silly circus peanuts?! Why couldn't he just bring it to me? Ugh. My mind hadn't exercised hypothetical's so much in its entire existence! And yes-my mind had even wandered to an engagement ring for a moment.

Eventually the day came and I went. Being the responsible and respectable man that he was, he invited Holly along as a chaperone. Matt was a good boy-mature and responsible and prudish and respectable. He wanted to make sure that 'appearances' were upheld. We walked through the trailer (my first time there) and I saw how a bachelor lives. It was so sparse with hardly a lick of furniture. The only furniture it DID have was HIDEOUS (ugh-make me vomit right now just thinking about it) green fake-leather couch. And a bed. And a computer. Furniture was lacking, decorating was non-existent. So this is what a bachelor lives like.

After we had made our way through the kitchen and living room, then computer room; he walked me into the 'spare bedroom' and there, in the middle of the room, was a lovely white antique ladies vanity. Whoa. THAT is odd. A bachelor has a VANITY?! It was gorgeous-and FEMININE. WHAT THE HECK?!?!
He certainly is...odd.

I was trying to piece it all together when I heard him quietly say, "It's for you."

Stripes

Courtesy of a 25 cent hat from Salvo.

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