All Tied Up

I actually made most of these a while ago, I just kept forgetting to pull them out of Nathan's dresser to take pictures, but I have been wanting to show you all the cute ties I've been making!

I've mentioned before that the fact that I have boys does not stop me from dressing them up and I love having Nathan looking dapper for church. So I found this tutorial through pinterest and made up a tie or two. Then realized that I had so much fun and it turned out so well that I went a little crazy and made a bunch more. At this rate, Nathan will have more ties than John! ;)

(sorry for the bad lighting - it's rainy and gloomy today...)

Aren't they so fun?! They are a little big, but I wanted them that way so that he could grow into them and he'd have lots of ties for months to come!

I also ended up making a grown-up-sized tie for my brother as his graduation/birthday present this year. He picked Star Wars fabric and I must say it turned out pretty awesome. I used this tutorial to make this tie. It was skinnier than I had expected, but Cameron doesn't seem to mind.

After making most of these I thought it would be SO FUN to make John and Nathan matching ties for Father's day. I cleared this with John first, asking if he'd actually wear a tie I'd made and one that matched with Nathan. He was all for it (yessss) and I let him pick the fabric so that it would be something he'd actually wear. I used the same tutorial as the one for my brother's.

Aren't they so stinking adorable handsome?!? Love them!

Soooo fun! I'm going to have to make Spencer a bow tie to match the other two!  :)

Spencer's Nursery Reveal

Ohhhh you guys! We are getting so close! I go between feelings of panic and feelings of "I AM SO DONE BEING PREGNANT". The second one actually tends to occur more often, which I take as a good sign ;)

But anyway, I've been meaning to take and post pictures of our cute little nursery! John was making fun of me the other day, getting a room ready that he won't even use for several months, since we'll have him sleep in our room in a bassinet for a little while. But I was scrambling to get it done now, because if I wait until after Spencer arrives it's never going to happen.

So I finally remembered to take some pictures, and here we are. We went with a color scheme of Navy, Grey and Apple Green with a nautical theme. I really liked it in Nathan's room, so I decided to keep with it for Spencer's.

Here's what you'd see when you walk in the door:

Remember the bunting in Nathan's room? I loved it so much, I made one for Spencer. I'd never made one before, but it was super easy, and Nathan and I had fun picking out the fabric a few weeks ago. Next to the rocker we have the dresser that started it all, along with the gallery wall. I scored this dresser from a friend in the ward - they just moved and were selling a lot of their furniture. She was worried no one would want it since it was such a unique color but it ended up being PERFECT for us and helped me finally decide on the color scheme for this room, as I'd been completely torn between two completely different looks. And since it was already painted, I didn't have to paint it! Which I would have done had I found a dresser to makeover, but with this one I didn't have to haul it down to my parents, paint it, and get it back here. Win win win win!

We have a little bookshelf for books, toys and other things like wipes, and I'm going to have a large storage bin on the other side of the dresser for diapers. Right now that corner has our hospital bags. (Eeek!)

If you keep going you'll see the adorable striped curtain I found. It's actually a fabric shower curtain that I found at Bed Bath and Beyond, but it was exactly what I was looking for in my price range AND I didn't have to DIY anything (which rarely happens - so I was extra excited). Once Spencer starts sleeping in this room I'll add a blackout panel to the curtain, since I don't know that I'll have time to do it before he gets here. So pleased with this find though.

Along the other wall we will put the crib once we've transitioned Nathan out of it (which I'm SO not looking forward to - chances he'll actually stay in the big boy bed at night are basically slim to none). I found this adorable set of nursery wall art that I loved on Etsy, but at $40 a print for a total of $120 for all 3 that wasn't really going to work. So I made my own knockoff in Photoshop and printed them out at Costco, and it came to $6 instead. Muuuuuch better. :) I also refashioned the mobile that I made for Nathan's room by replacing all the red circles with green ones and I absolutely love how it turned out.

And that's it! I am so happy with the way everything turned out AND that I managed to get it all done before Spencer's arrival. The countdown begins!

Called to Serve

Heavenly Father has a funny sense of humor sometimes. I didn't think that my summer/life could get any crazier this year.

He likes to prove me wrong. I shouldn't have said anything ;)

Today John was sustained and set apart as the new bishop of our ward. For those who might not know what I am talking about, our local church congregations are called wards, and the presiding leader of each ward is called the bishop. The church is operated by unpaid clergy, and we call these assignments to serve 'callings'. We also believe in continuing revelation, meaning that God still speaks to us today. He speaks to us on a personal level, as well as to the leaders of the church, inspiring them on to whom to give specific callings.

Two weeks ago we were asked to meet with the Stake President. (A group of wards in an area is called a stake and is presided over by a Stake President). Knowing that our current bishop was moving away I had a couple of guesses on what the meeting was about. Before we went to the meeting, we joked that Nathan was probably going to be asked to be the Stake Nursery Snack Coordinator. He'd be so good at that!

Then the call to be the bishop came. I was floored. I thought maybe it would be a stake level calling, or a counselor to the new bishop, but I hadn't actually expected John to be asked to be the new bishop. It is such an enormous responsibility. John accepted the call, as I knew he would. Then I was asked if I could support him in his calling. I said yes. But I will be completely honest with you - with a toddler and a new baby coming in a month, it was (and still is) a leap of faith to say yes.

After our (rather emotional) meeting we came home, went about the rest of our Sunday, and tried to process what we had just agreed to. A feeling of peace came over me that afternoon, and I knew that this is what God wanted for the ward and for our family. That doesn't necessarily stop me from being slightly terrified, but at the end of last year we were thinking of moving out of state, closer to family. Somewhere during that time we both felt impressed that we needed to stay in the area, and so we found a new apartment in the area to accommodate our growing family. But since then I had wondered why we needed to stay. I started wondering if it was for the baby, maybe we needed to stay and have the baby here with the financial/health benefits we receive from John's job. But now I think this is why. The Lord already knew that our ward would need a new bishop and that He wanted John to be that new bishop.

So this weekend John was presented to the ward as the new bishop for the sustaining vote (when people receive new callings, their names are given to the ward and the members of the ward are called to sustain, or to support that person in the capacity in which they have been asked to serve) and the ward was unanimous in their support. Never have I been so grateful for the support of my ward. It was also Fast Sunday today (once a month, we come to church fasting for at least 2 meals that day and the money that we would have spent on those meals is donated to help the needy. During church that day members of the ward are invited to share their testimonies of the gospel and the Savior) and I was overwhelmed with the support given along with the wonderful testimonies. Up until now, John has been serving as the Young Men's president and it was really sweet of the several young men that came up and shared their testimonies and showed their support for John. It was also so wonderful to have my in-laws and my parents in town to be there as support (it also really helped to have so many people to keep Nathan entertained after John had to go sit up front!).

Afterwards, so many people came up and offered their love and support to me as well and I wish I could have articulated right at those moments how much that meant to me. My emotions were a little too close to the surface at that point. ;) So I hope some of them are reading this now. Thank you so much for your words of love, comfort, and support. Being a military brat, I have lived in many different wards in my lifetime, but I have never felt more at home than in this ward and never so strengthened by my ward family until today. Thank you doesn't really even begin to cover it.

I still don't really know how we're going to make everything work, but I do know that God is aware of me and my family and that He knows what we need and will take care of us. It will take some getting used to our new normal but I am grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow and strengthen my relationship with my Savior.

But if you want to keep us in your prayers for the next couple of weeks, we'd really appreciate it. ;)

Eagle Scout Court of Honor Cake

So you might remember when I was 36 weeks pregnant with Nathan, I made a wedding cake. This past week, at 35 weeks pregnant, I made an Eagle Scout Court of Honor cake. Maybe we should just make it a tradition. ;)

Thankfully, this cake was a very simple design, so it was totally manageable. It was 3-tiered with white fondant and white fleur de lis and ribbon. Bam. Done. And they had a cool porcelain eagle they wanted on top. Easy peasy. What was not easy was trying to get all the cake baked off one morning with a cranky toddler. Who suddenly decided he liked cake and really wanted to eat it. Mean mommy wouldn't let him. It's tough to be 2.

Anyway, it turned out very nice, even if assembly was stressful. (It's always stressful) I had to take it over to the church in three pieces because otherwise it would be too heavy for me to carry and I had to do it myself because John stayed home with Nathan so I could make the delivery. But it all worked out.

So here it is!

Very glad to have that done! I was completely exhausted all week, but I enjoyed making it. I actually have another cake request for the 28th - which would put me at 38 weeks. The verdict is still out on that one, am I crazy enough to take it? Any bets? ;)