Olivia's first week

Olivia was a week old yesterday! She is such a little angel and it's so cute to see the boys with her. They huddle together and stare down at her telling her how cute she is. Ethan always wants to hold and comfort her and Joshua is always writing notes that say "Olivia I love you so so so much". They are much more gentle with her than I anticipated, even Grant adores her. Such a different scenario! I'm used to bringing a new baby home to other babies who just don't understand.

What's in a Name?

My least favorite thing about preparing for a new little one is picking out a name. I wish babies came with their name tattooed on their foot. For some this may be the most favorite part, but for me it's a unique form of torture. I'm responsible for choosing a name which this child will be stuck with for the rest of his or her life for better or worse. And some parents can be downright cruel in their naming choices. If you want a good laugh (or cry) check out this site of some of the craziest baby names ever chosen.

Baby Olivia

We welcomed little Olivia Abigail into the world on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 8:31am in Landstuhl, Germany! She weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long.

Why Homeschool?

I'm guest posting today over at Teach Beside Me as part of their "Why Homeschool" Series. Check it out!

Creativity

My little guys have been very creative lately. Every morning Joshua wakes up and goes to the school room to paint or draw. He could spend all day drawing if I'd let him. 

My Gospel Standards & 2013 Mutual Theme free printables

In my "home tour" post, I shared a few images I made in photoshop to hang on my boys' walls. I've sized them to 11x14 and added them to my free temple pictures site under the Fun Stuff link. Feel free to download and print for free!

I also had a request to for the 2013 Mutual Theme on some temple images. I've added these to the SLC Temple link as well as the Fun Stuff link on my free temple pictures website. Enjoy!

Winter Wonderland

We've been having lots of great snow lately! I took the boys sledding through the woods behind our house (hoping to induce labor) and even took a *little* sled ride myself.

Gutenberg Museum

Last week we took a drive to Mainz to visit the Gutenberg museum. Johannes Gutenberg printing press was one of the most important inventions in the history of the world and was especially important in getting the Bible into the hands of common people. The museum is full of books as old as 500 years. It is amazing how vibrant the colors still are and to learn a bit about how they made books then.

DIY throw pillows and easy faux French stripe

I couldn't seem to find any of our throw pillows when we unpacked our things, but I've had my eye on several pinterest ideas and decided it was a great excuse to finally do something creative. I'm totally in love with the French stripe feed sack style right now, but didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that my boys will probably destroy in a matter of weeks. I found a few tutorials on how to create your own faux french stripe and it worked perfectly!

Heidelberg Castle

Just realized I forgot to share pictures of our visit to the Heidelberg Castle, better share it before the trip we took this weekend or I'll forget... I visited this castle 7 years ago with my friends Tracey & Mark and their adorable children (can't believe it's been that long!) It's a beautiful city and only about an hour away from where we live. Love all the castles here in Germany!

Any day now...please!

I'm finally full term and hoping this baby won't make me wait an extra two weeks past my due date like my boys did! This is the first pregnancy my belly button has almost popped out, it's stretched to the limit and I hate to think what the poor thing will look like when my belly shrinks back down ;) 

I really have no reason to complain because I don't experience most of the things most pregnant women do, I never have crazy cravings, stretch marks (except a few tiny ones on my hips), sciatic pain, swelling, etc... However, I'm exhausted. My babies move nonstop 24x7, not just little movements, like they're riding a roller coaster inside me. Makes sleep quite eventful... And it's no fun carrying around this heavy weight around my middle. Makes every task more challenging. Baby dropped last week and I'm crossing my fingers she'll make her appearance soon! 

Preparing for baby, sewing projects

I've really enjoyed getting into sewing again. In my pre-baby days I used to sew all the time, but I pretty much stopped sewing after I had the boys. When I found out I was having a girl, the first thing I did was get a new sewing machine and order a ton of fabric. I even learned how to sew a basic rag quilt using these Riley Blake pre-cut squares. Quilting has always terrified me but this was simple as could be- cutting straight is half the battle, all I had to do was arrange them and sew together, no cutting at all.

A screen-free home

When we moved from Kentucky we got rid of our 10 year old tv and planned to buy a big flat screen tv when we arrived in Germany. We went to the store and scoped out a few, but since we didn't have internet and cable hooked up yet we figured we'd wait a while. It's now been four months (actually, six if you count the two months we were in KY) and we haven't missed it a single bit!

Our German house tour + DIY wall art

It has taken me FOREVER to get unpacked! I am sooo tired of moving. At least this time I know we'll stay put for 2-3 years (the longest we've ever stayed in one house!) But getting ready for Christmas and a new baby makes unpacking slow. (Not to mention my little helpers who follow behind me undoing all my work...)

Anyway, a few of you have expressed interest in seeing what our house looks like. So...here are a few pictures of the rooms that are mostly unpacked and semi-clean (sadly, they'll probably never be this clean again).

Living Room

Frankfurt, Germany LDS Temple

Here are a few pictures of the Frankfurt, Germany LDS temple I took a few months ago. This is definitely the hardest temple I've photographed yet (and I thought Las Vegas was difficult!) It's in a residential neighborhood with several buildings behind it and it's up on a hill so it was really hard to get a good angle. I do plan on taking more pictures in the spring though when there are leaves on these lovely old trees.

As always, these photos of Frankfurt Germany LDS temple and all my temple images are available as a free download for personal or church use.