Praise God for his goodness!

I just thought I would give a shout-out to the Man above. 🙂 Over the past weekend, of course on the weekend when you can’t see a doctor, Owen developed an awful sore throat and an un-bearable ear infection. Saturday night was one of the worst nights that I can remember, with having three kids. Owen cried and screamed in anguish, over the pain in his ears. I tried kissing him, rubbing his back, holding him…none of it comforted him at all. In fact, it just made him mad so he smacked me for trying! He was flailing his body in every direction as I held him, just trying to do something to make it feel better. He had me in tears because there was nothing I could do. Brad called the doctor on her cell, to try to get a prescription for an antibiotic, but she couldn’t give us one without seeing him first, so she said we had to wait until Monday. Owen kept trying to tell me something that sounded like “dite” but I couldn’t understand him so he would throw his head back and smack himself in the face out of frustration. I brought him food, milk, a heating pad…nothing worked.

Finally, I gave up, and I turned to God. I begged Him to take away Owen’s pain and help him to fall asleep (it was 12:30 and he had been screaming for at least an hour). It was only a minute later, Owen threw his head back, and collapsed in my arms. Just like that, he started snoring. It WAS a miracle! He was finally asleep!!! I couldn’t believe it; I rocked him slowly for a few minutes hoping not to wake him by laying him down too soon. Once I finally put him down, he slept all night long. I couldn’t believe it, only the work of God could be behind this. He answered my prayers again, as He always does. 🙂 God, you are good. You’ve strengthened my faith once again. Thank you for reminding me that we can give it ALL to you! I love you! Now, please don’t ever use my children again to strengthen my faith. 🙂

Aubree

Pumpkin Cheeseball

I made this delicious Cheeseball last year and it was such a hit with my family. Over the weekend, Grandpa Brad came to stay with us, so I decided to whip it up for him to try. This recipe is sooooo easy and fun, and it makes great eye candy too for your Fall Party! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 pkg. Cream cheese, softened
1 carton spreadable chive and onion cream cheese
2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
sliced apples and assorted crackers for dipping

Directions

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheeses until smooth. Stir in the cheddar cheese, paprika and cayenne. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.
• With a knife, add vertical lines to the cheese ball to resemble a pumpkin; insert a celery rib for the stem. Serve with apples and/or crackers.

Enjoy!

Hayden’s Safari Birthday

This party was done by my friend Stacy, for her son Hayden, who turned 5! It was so cute that I couldn’t resist sharing!!! It looked like the kids all had so much fun, and she did a fabulous job on the decor. She also used many Etsy vendors, so if you like what you see, be sure to check them out! Happy Birthday Hayden and great job Stacy!
Isn’t he the cutest little Safari boy? 🙂
The Invitations and Thank You tags that are on the gift bags, are from Hazelbugs Shop. She does a wonderful job with Custom invitations if you are ever in the market. 😉 Stacy made the gift bags herself, and used the Thank You Tags with Hayden’s picture on them, and turned them into a sticker for the front of the bag. I couldn’t get a close up of it, but as you can see, she’s pretty crafty herself!

The Custom Birthday shirt, seen under his Safari shirt was made by us at Crew & Cate! It’s a Safari Jeep with a snake wrapped around the top of it and a big 5 on the front. Thanks for letting us be a part of his special day! He wore it well, and the Safari button up was a perfect touch!
I love the setup that Stacy created! The Gift bags are so cute and the fun little creatures on the cupcakes are to die for!!! The cupcake toppers were made by Kids Cakes on Etsy. They make Fondant toppers of all sorts, so stop by and check out the creativity! I still wonder how people make Fondant, it’s such a mystery to me….

The cupcakes were made by “A Couple Of Sweet Things“; they are a local cake maker here in Indy. I’m super excited to discover them because I’ve been looking for someone local to make cakes for parties that I have upcoming!!! They do AMAZING work!!
Each child got to take home a Safari mask to enjoy.
The best part of the whole party, is the special guest that came to visit, and what he brought with him! Check out the pictures below:





This picture is hilarious!! This is one party that Hayden will never forget!




He is one brave boy!
Thanks Stacy for allowing me to share his special day!!!

Gearing Up For Halloween…

Nothing inspires me more than a good magazine! If you know me, then you know I love looking at magazines. If I come to your house and you have one laying around, I’m going to pick it up and start looking for inspiration! So, thanks to Better Homes and Gardens, it is Inspiration that I have!!!

We have lots planned for this Fall. Pumpkin patches, Apple Orchards, Fall Crafts, Pumpkin Decorating Party, and Halloween night party! It is the best Season of the year and always full of fun activities, so I thought I would share a few decorating ideas that I got from www.BHG.com.

This ugly looking Witch Head cake, is nothing more than some Angel Food Cake mix, icing with Neon Green Food coloring, raspberries, cookies, licorice, and Fruit-By-The-Foot! Yum!
I’m going to be putting my Husband to work on these Not-So-Hard, Spooky Wood Cutouts. All it takes is some plywood, a jigsaw, black paint, glow-in-the-dark paint, small LED battery operated candle lights, and some pvc piping to stand them up with.
Yikes! The setup is everything when planning a party. These little details are what your guests will remember.
These beaded bugs are a perfect touch! Go to www.bhg.com for directions on how to make them.
I’ve decided this year, it would be fun to decorate my pumpkin instead of carving and dealing with the mess of gutting them. Although the seeds are always a fun treat. Hmm….

Here are a few fun ideas to inspire you at your Pumpkin Decorating Party this year:

Lace… I have these exact flower urns at my house, so I may just have to try this one!
Centerpieces….
Junk-o-lantern…
Ribbons…
Mumkins…..
Scary Sayings….
Contruction paper animals…..
Paint and glitter….
Skeleton Candle Holder with Pumpking head….
Ballerina Pumpkin…
And Lastly, a few fun game ideas for the little ones:

Pumpkin Toss (shown below), Small Pumpkin bowling(Paint 2-liter bottles black and orange and use small baby pumpkins to bowl with), Hot Pumpkin (Like Hot Potato), and the classic…Bobbing for Apples.
Happy Fall!

Aubree

Baby Names….

Before you wonder, NO, I’m not pregnant. 🙂 Over the past couple of months, I’ve had the privilege to make Birthday shirts for several boys and girls, and I thought I would share their names. A blogger friend, Heather from Chickabug, publishes all the names that she makes Birthday Party favors for, and it’s always fun to see what the most popular names out there are now. Her list is waaaay longer than mine, but I thought it would be fun to share anyways. So, this is my list from July and August:

Mya
Lyla
Owen
Regan
Hayden
Helina
Jamison
Jessa
Abigail
Stella
Aubry

All Boy…

My little Man is getting to be so big! It’s so much fun to watch him learn and find passion for new things. He is ALL Boy! Everything about him; he loves cars, action figures, making messes, playing ball, growling, wrestling Daddy, food, food, and more food… he is sweet as can be, but rough and tough all in one. I love him. Here is a photo of him getting ready to SLAM Brad!







I’ve been making hat and tie sets for so many other little boys, and I finally got around to making him his very own. I think he looks pretty handsome in it!

XOXO

Aubree