IT'S A BOY!!

Well, the newest member of our family will be male, so Isabelle and I are outnumbered. We are really excited!! Jakob and this new little brother will be 5 years apart, which is the same distance between Steve and his older brother. Everything went well at the ultrasound and I'm feeling great!! It was so amazing to see this tiny image on the computer screen, this little life inside me; kicking, moving his little arms, watching his little heart beat, knowing he will be part of his life so soon. This next few months is going to fly!! I'm very motivated to get EVERYTHING DONE before he comes!! Anyway, just wanted to share.

Letting Go!!

So, I’m feeling the need to go through and let go of things in my home. Trust me, I’m not the greatest at this!! I hold onto many things that we might use someday, but I feel so good when I can let go of some items. It brings such order to my home and will make it a lot easier to organize (why spend time organizing things you will never use??). We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with so much stuff. We have to monitor it or it can take over our lives. Look at how many things have come into your home in the last week!! As I’ve looked around my home and listed these items I feel justified to get rid of more!! If you need some inspiration check out 100 Reasons to Get Rid of It. Very fun and inspiring.

The Knight and the Princess

Jakob is still really into Knights!! He is insisting on a knight birthday party (which I think will be really fun to do) and loves to dress up and play "knights" almost everyday. I'm finally posting these pictures of him dressed in the knight outfit he got from Grampy and Grammy Huish this last Christmas. Enjoy!!

OH, and one of the princess with her doll that she can't seem to get enough of these days!

My two little rascals. Jakob wants Isabelle to have a princess outfit so she can be properly attired for their playtime. We'll see what we can do!

SCRAPBOOK CONVENTION

So, Friday I got spoiled and left my kids with their Grandpa and Grandma Moon and headed out to the Portland CKU Scrapbook Convention. It was really fun to spend a day looking at scrapbook stuff, going to a few classes, and buying a few things. I got some good deals and got to see everything fun and new. I went to a class taught by Ali Edwards. She is so fun!! I have loved her books, her monthly articles in Creating Keepsakes, and I check her blog daily. She scrapbooks everyday moments and I have been so inspired by her work. She calls scrapbookers "Life Artists", I LOVE THAT!! So fitting. Her class was just as inspiring as everything else she has done. She also brought a bunch of her scrapbooks that she let us look through! So fun! And, best of all, I won her new book from her class. Very excited!! Here is a photo of the book and the link to it below.

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Artist-Ali-Edwards/dp/1933516666

Another thing I did at the convention was sign up for the Cocoa Daisy kit of the month club. I just signed up for 6 months (they had a great deal going on) and we'll see if I commit to more than that. I don't liked being locked into spending money. I have bought their kits before so I am super excited to be getting more from them. I put their link below if any are interested. I have their January 2007, July 2007, September 2007, and now their March 2008!! Love it!!

http://www.cocoadaisy.com/

Oh, I found a picture of all the items in the Cocoa Daisy July Kits!!!! This is one I brought home from the convention. Look at all those fun pink and orange, birds and flowers. So fun, I played with this kit last night to make a page for Isabelle!! I'll post later.

So, I have been scrapbooking the last couple days. So determined to keep this going in my life on a weekly basis. I love the idea of doing a page a week. That is 52 pages a year!! Wow, if I could do that I think I could catch up and stay caught up with all I want to do. This new little one is scaring me in the scrapbook/documenting department. Now I need to keep up with three little people and our family and holidays and....the list goes on and on. So, I will post my most recent pages soon. Sorry I haven't been posting photos, I haven't been taking any! I promise to post more soon.

And, just so you don't think that I have forgotten, I will be back to organizing this Monday. Still determined to get my life completely filed, boxed, labeled, contained, and in order. We'll see how I do!

Constantly Organizing

Yes, I have been organizing lately, in all my free time (wink, wink). My time hasn't just been spent working on my house. Lots of my time has been spent reading a few organization blogs, shopping for different items (not finding much luck finding what I want!!), and talking with others about what they do. I go to sleep most nights thinking about what I want to do in my house. My biggest problem is finding containers that work in the space I have.

Soooo, I have felt enlightened with a certain thought on organization. I have heard it said many times that organization takes constant effort. I thought that it only meant that you have to keep putting things away in their proper place. As I have been working through all the items in my house I realize that this concept of "constantly organizing" means so much more. As I organize one section I am constantly changing what I think should go where. I find new items the need a home or make room on a shelf, in a cupboard, in a room, etc. for other items. I am constantly changing where I put everything, trying to get everything in its perfect place. For example, I would like all Steve's and my clothes in our bedroom. Yes, you would think that would be so easy, but as I go through things I keep finding boxes of clothes (winter clothes, camping clothes, skinny clothes, maternity clothes, post-baby fat clothes, etc.) and I want them all to be in the same types of containers in our room. So I have to make room for these clothes, moving items out of our room that may not fit as well in a bedroom. Then, I have to find a place for these items that our being moved out, and it just continues. Hence, the concept of constantly organizing. It is always changing and evolving. Though, I hope that I am busier now as I am doing this huge overhaul of our home, I know that it will never end. I will continually be finding ways to organize.

Here are a few blogs that I have enjoyed reading. They have great ideas and great pictures!! (I love pictures of organized spaces!!)

http://creativeorganizing.typepad.com/creative_organizing/

http://www.organizedmom.net/?page_id=108

http://orgjunkie.com/

Where does the time go???

Okay, so sometimes I feel so inspired to post and sometimes I just don't! I think you all know what I'm talking about! So, what have I been up to.

• I finally started organizing parts of my home!! I'm so excited!! If anyone has found great containers for organizing, please let me know what you use!! I want to find great containers, I know they make all the difference!!
• Finally got our tax info (business and personal) into the tax guy, that was a big deal for me, so many little things to get together.
• Returned some items and did a little shopping. This is the first shopping I have done (other then grocery shopping) since early pregnancy.
• Did scripture reading with the kids everyday this last week.
• Moved a bookcase out of our room and set up a little nightstand on Steve's side of the bed. (Something I have been wanting to do for awhile.)
• Moved our sectional in the basement, cleaned out all the toys, and vacuumed!! Yeah!

I guess the big thing is that I'm feeling like I am getting a little bit ahead each day. That is huge for me since the last few months I have felt like I was just falling further behind each day with the holidays and the pregnancy. Very excited to get so many things done and want to be so put together before this next baby comes and happily turns our world upside down.

Beacon Rock

It was a sunny day here in the Northwest, so we decided to take a hike!! It was beautiful and great to be outdoors after a couple months inside.