Letters to Lula

I began writing letters to my daughter in hopes that I can bind them all into a book and read them to her when she is older.  Here is the first, "Letter to Lula"


My dearest Lula Mae,

Your movement inside of me consumes my soul with happiness.  My cup runneth over for the amount of love in my heart for you. 

I enjoy the moments in which we bond.  

I love our deep conversations, even though your response is most likely a punch or kick.  If you are anything like your father you will never be short for words.

God is in control and you like to remind me of this often.  When the world is crumbling all around, you keep me strong. 

There is not a second which goes by that I do not thank God for you.  You are truly a miracle.

I will ALWAYS love you.



Until next time,

Your Mother

Life, Love, & Happiness

This morning I came across our video on YouTube (what would we ever do without social media?). 

I have watched it numerous times, all of which bring tears of joy, but all of those were before we found out about having our first child, which changes everything. I could have never imagined my life today, as a mom, wife, & step-mom.  I am so blessed to love and be loved more each and everyday by my husband, my father, my step-daughter, and all of the many friends and family who surround us daily. 

May this video bring you as much joy as it has brought Cham & myself.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/GoGkExavAH4

God has blessed us with Life, Love, & eternal Happiness!

How to make... TISSUE POM POM'S

This year, for Jaydyn's 5th Sweet Shoppe Birthday Party, I decided to try a little DIY.  One of the many projects on my list were tissue pom poms. Who doesn't love little pom poms hanging from the ceiling? I had made about 12 smaller poms for my husbands surprise birthday cookout last year and they ended up in Jaydyn's room, hanging over her bed. Need I say they are still hanging and look fabulous! Pom poms can add pizazz to any room or event.

Supplies:
Entire package of tissue paper
Scissors
Pen/Pencil
Wire
Ribbon or something to hang the pom poms from

Step 1:

Unfold the tissue paper and lay it out flat on a table. Keep all layers of the paper even and all of the corners matched up.

Step 2:

You are going to 'acordian fold' the tissue paper back-and-forth. I made my folds about 1.5 inches wide, but you can go smaller or larger. (Note- the smaller the fold, the more difficult to separate the tissue paper later)

This is what your tissue paper should look like after you are finished folding..

Step 3:

Fold the entire thing in half to find the exact center, which is where you are going to attach the wire.

Step 4:

Cut a piece of wire (length doesn't matter, you can trim later).  Wrap it around the middle.  BE careful not to crease the paper. Make a loop so you can attach a ribbon or something to hang the pom pom.

Step 5:

Get your pencil or pen ready.  This step involves shaping the ends.  This is what makes the pom pom look like a flower. I like mine rounded (scalloped) so I just traced half of a circle on the ends to look like this..

Please ignore my lack of nail hygiene.. I was in between painting the "lollipops" and candy pieces while making these pom poms.

Step 6:

This is the most time consuming step of them all.  You want to separate each tissue layer.  Be careful not to pull to hard or the tissue paper will rip.  I usually do one end at a time.

It should begin to look like this:

Step 7:

Separate the other side of the tissue paper. You should start to see a "ball" forming.

Step 8:

Hang your pom pom for all to see!

I re-hung them in the hallway for additional color in the hallway for Easter!