Annual Costume Party!

We just got back from our Annual Halloween Costume Party and it was a blast!! We wish we could have stayed longer but this is Aaron's weekend to work and we were already tired from getting up at 5 this morning, and then the thought of getting up tomorrow that early? Umm, yeah...leaving at 9:00 was perhaps lame but much needed :) I'm headed to bed the second this blog post is written but I just wanted to share all the pics as soon as I could :) What a FUN night!!!

Aaron loves Lord of the Rings so I thought, "Why not go as Lord of the Rings characters?" We picked our favorite characters and I made costumes that resembled their outfits....I must admit that most everything is out of fabric remnants and these costumes were CHEAP CHEAP!!! And, even though my dress just about drove me crazy as I was making it, they were well worth it and it was SO much fun dressing up like Lord of the Rings!

Aaron as Legolas

I'm Eowyn

And, as much as Aaron wanted Tristen to be Gollum (Ha!), he was a Lion because it was super cute and I just plain wanted to make him a Lion :)After a few pics, we headed to the Costume Party and there were SO many great costumes!!!

Our Little Family in our attire :)
Bunny and a Piece of Gum Stuck Under a Chair...so clever :)Farmer and his wife! Ha!Superheroes!!

Cavepeople!!

Tristen didn't quite know what to make of all the costumes :)The cute babies in their costumes!!

Oh so fun :) I just love costumes! :) Okay, seriously, off to bed I go :)

Update, Update!

Time for an update. I just got finished with a MONSTER of a project and I'm exhausted and done for the night. Tonight I fixed mistakes on and finished up my Halloween costume....which I might add, I was about to throw away last night. I made a MAJOR mistake in it yesterday but didn't realize until I thought it was finished and then I saw the mistake. I didn't see that it had a collar which made the whole dress look weird but I kept thinking it would fix itself with the overlay dress. Well, it didn't! I literally started ripping the overlay dress apart because it was so bad and I SO wanted to throw away my sewing machine and never do another project again!!....Do you blame me? I worked 4 hours on the dress, found out I did it wrong, and then I had to rip it apart? Ha! What a crazy project to undertake!! Thankfully the main dress was fine, I added the collar and redid the overlay....and, it's DONE!! Now onto Aaron's costume which will be easy and then we're ready for Saturday. No wonder Halloween costumes are only once a year....it gives us just enough time to forget how much work they are before we decide to make them again!! So, there's an update on the Halloween costumes!

How am I doing on not spending any money?? Well, actually not too bad. It's really not that hard for me since I'm already pretty frugal. I've had to break it once or twice for things I've deemed important but really, it's been easy and it makes me think twice before even going to a store. So, it's going well and I'm almost done!

Hmm....I can't think of any other updates....Aaron's been busy with school and just got done with a hard, intense week of tests. I think his fall break is coming up? Hopefully soon! And, Tristen's new "toy" has been this:He LOVES the piano these days which makes me want to play all the more. My piano desperately needed tuning so my dad tuned it on Saturday....Tristen and I both have LOVED playing it since!! :)

So, that's our latest update....I'm sleepy from all my sewing and I think my pillow is calling my name. Good night!

New Weight!

We're finally out of the 16 pound range!!

18 pounds
12 ounces

Yay! He's in the 13th percentile now (instead of the 1 percentile) and is back on the growing curve, something that was concerning at his last appointment.

We were pretty sure he had at least gained a pound but we were VERY excited to see that he not only gained a pound, but almost 2 1/2! The doctor was very happy and had no concerns whatsoever so we are in the clear now! :)

Hope you're all having a wonderful Monday....we've been quite busy around here these days but maybe soon I'll do a catch up post again. I've been sewing like mad this weekend (I procrastinated a little too long with mine and Aaron's costumes) and need to put the finishing touches on my costume and start on Aaron's. When I wasn't sewing, I was hanging out with family since my parents came up to help with house projects and Aaron's relatives were here for a ladies' craft weekend. SO....we've been busy with FUN things!! :)

Hmm, What do you think??

Tristen at 8 1/2 months....16.6 pounds -the weight he has stayed at for much too long!

Doesn't he look bigger?? (taken today)

I'm hoping so!!! His follow up appointment is next Monday and I'm anxious to hear what the weight is! Until then, we just keep eating and eating around this house :)

Today's Wish

Today I wish....

That I lived in an apartment full of friends and family

....Then I could hop on over to my friend's and family's apartments and chat about life

....And I could clear up any misunderstanding and hurt we have ever had in life and move on to a healthy relationship in which we forgive and forget

I wish....

That I could fully express how much each friend/family in my life has meant to me.

....And that through each person, I have truly learned lessons that have molded me into who I am today.

Today, I wish.....

That I could....
*Relive 3rd grade and have a slumber party with friends
*Go on family vacations with my family where we all slept in a car because hail was pounding our tent
*Relive Christmas with a house full of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and parents all snuggled into one house.
*Return to high school and do the funniest, most random things with my brother and our friends.
*Be a first year camp counselor, meeting friends and campers who would pop up in the most unique ways later on in life
*Relive college and enjoy every second of community I felt at NWC
*Sing in college choir and travel to Europe!

In case you can't tell, I'm having major "missage" lately for the past. But, as I had a bonfire with my husband tonight and looked at the stars up above, I thought about how often I wanted THIS. The life that I have right now. Throughout each of these events, I would think "I can't wait to be married. I can't wait to have children. I can't wait to go on adventures with my husband. I can't wait to have a house. etc.."

And that, my friend, is exactly what I'm doing right now in my life. Even though I wish I could have both sometimes (live in the present while reliving the past), I know that's not how life works. Before I know it, Tristen will be a teenager, my life will be busy with him and any other children the Lord gives to us and I will miss THIS time in life....this slow, sometimes mundane, sometimes lonely time that I'm living in right now. This beautiful time of seeing Tristen's eyes light up when he experiences things for the first time, the way in which he explores objects and the awe in his eyes because his little world is so big to him, the ways in which I can be encouraged that you don't need much to be happy......I DO love this time in life. And, just like the past, there WILL be hard times and lonely times (even amidst all the community of NWC, there were plenty of lonely times!), but I pray that I don't ever take advantage (like I did in the past) of these precious years of being a young mother and wife.

*sigh* I feel so grateful to have such a full life at the young age of 27....and so thankful for the people and experiences that God has put into my life already. :)

Okay, those are my thoughts for the night. :)

Spontaneous Weekend

I'm a bit tired today but for a very good reason. This weekend ended up being a spontaneous, crazy, fun-filled weekend!

Aaron and I are "trip leaders" for our church youth group which means that if they are short on staff and they need someone for a trip, we can volunteer our time. Well, Friday night they needed a female volunteer for an overnight lock-in and I jumped on that opportunity! I absolutely LOVED it.....wow, I miss youth. It made me realize that maybe elementary aged kids have not been my passion all along but my passion lies in relating to high school students. And, being away from youth ministries for 2 years has helped me refocus and see things from different points of view. My prayer now is that more opportunities would arise because I really really loved Friday night! I could talk more about this realization but this post may get too long then and this is all about our spontaneous weekend!

Since the youth needed sleep for a conference the next day, there was a lights out rule so I got a few hours of sleep before returning home just as Tristen was waking up. Within a half hour, Aaron and I were up and getting ready for a very spontaneous, last minute trip to Fargo to celebrate our niece's first birthday on Saturday!!! Packing our things as well as packing up Tristen and Sadie were quite the adventure but by 8:30, we were in the car, headed to North Dakota. I was just SLIGHTLY exhausted but we were determined to make it there before the party! We quickly stopped by a cousin's house to see her sweet foster boy that she's taking care of (he's adorable!) and then got to Matt and Lindsay's house just in time for the party!

Pin the hat on the owl!

Tristen and Evie talking away :)

First taste of cake!!
Happy Birthday, Evelyn!!
After spending the night in Fargo (and staying up late to catch up with family), we woke up early Sunday morning to make it to St. Paul for my brother and sister-in-law's baby shower! Even though I was SO tired by this time, it was so worth it and was a blast!!Oh so fun! I love spontaneous things....especially last minute, random road trips for special events :) For all those who told me that all spontaneity leaves after you have a baby, I'm proving you wrong! :) You CAN still have adventures and be spontaneous with a baby....you just have to be flexible....and maybe having a baby that likes to travel helps things a tad bit :) But, I must admit that I crashed yesterday and am looking forward to my no-plans weekend this next weekend. Of course, that's how this last weekend started out....so maybe something spontaneous will happen again!! :)

A Few Good Pictures

One of my favorite movies is A Few Good Men. I don't know what it is about the movie, but I could watch it all the time. Maybe it's the line "You can't HANDLE the truth!" or the host of great actors in it.....or the fact that I used to have it going in the background when I was preparing for Mock Trial in high school and it just brings back good memories. Anywho, random fact of the day that has nothing to do with this post other than I thought of the title A Few Good Pictures in reference to our family photo shoot the other day.

It is hard work getting good pictures with a tripod and self-timer. Then, try adding in a 9 month old, an uncharged camera battery that died after only a few pictures, an hour at home to charge up the battery again, and you have one crazy afternoon. But, we got a few and it was worth it. You can already see the best ones at the top, but just for fun, here they are in an actual post.(Above) We tried this pose 7'ish times and every time Tristen was much more interested in the wood....oh well :)

Before we know it, Tristen won't need our help walking :)

In case you can't tell (ha!), I've been a bit picture happy lately....once the leaves all change and fall off, I guarantee I will go back to not taking SO many pictures :) I just can't help myself....I am LOVING this fall :)

Shopping in My House

First off, thanks for all the sweet comments and encouragement about Tristen's underweight issues.....he's doing well and I'm feeling more and more calm about the whole situation. We're in a routine now which always helps! I thought back to this time last year and I remember having the same issue when the doctor said I was too small...remember that? And, he proved the doctor wrong by being almost 6 pounds at 35 weeks. Well, we're out to prove the doctor wrong again :)

Anywho, today I shopped......and didn't spend a penny. My interior designer sister-in-law tells people to "shop in their house" to gain ideas and rearrange your house without spending a dime. I've taken this lesson to all aspects of shopping....not just shopping for things for my home. Whether it be clothes, household items, scrapbooking, sewing, cards, etc.....I'm trying to do more shopping around in my house and not spend a dime. Which leads me to my latest challenge for myself.

Besides basic necessities,

I'm trying to go the whole month of October without spending a dime.

While I'm a pretty frugal person anyways, this will still be a bit hard because some deals are just too hard to pass up. But do I really need them? Probably not. So, here's to extreme frugal living this month! Wish we luck!! :)

Happy October!! We're off to try to take family pictures with the beautiful autumn leaves as our backdrop!! We'll see how our self-timed pictures turn out with a baby....I'm sure it will be an adventure!! :)