gifts for baby gus.

Eeek, I love me some babies!!! So I feel exceptionally lucky that my good friend Mandy is popping out another kiddo any-freaking-day!!! This will be her second little rugrat and her first boy! So excited to meet baby Gus Gus, I can't hardly control myself!

So a few weeks ago, there was a little baby sprinkle for Mandy. Ever since my nephew was born, I seriously love buying for little boys wayyyyy more than I thought I would. So for Gus, I decided to whip out my sewing machine (we are slowly becoming better friends) and try some new projects.

First up....a new blankie for this little man. I have never tried to make a blanket like this before....but I loved how it turned out and will have to make more. I used minky supersoft felt fabric. I love the green with white polka dots so much. Perfect for a little rocker boy....which I know is what Gus will be!

And since I love all things monogrammed...I decided to put his initials on the blanket too. AJH. August Joseph Hardebeck. I am seriously loving how it turned out. I hope Mandy and Gus like it too. It's so soft that I kind of just wanted to keep it for myself (although, how weird would that be? I mean, my initials aren't AJH. Eeek, awkward.)

Sidebar--can we talk about how much I love the name August Joseph?? Named after Mandy's grandpa (August) and Adam's grandpa (Joseph). At least I'm pretty sure its grandpas. Or great-grandpas. Regardless...I LOVE the name!!

After I finished the blanket, I decided to try another new project. Again...one that I am TOTALLY in love with and need to mass produce these bad boys. They were so easy and so fun and so so so so so cute (that's five "so"s in case you were wondering).

T-shirt bibs!!!!!!!!!!!

I grabbed some super fun buttons from Hob Lob and picked up some fun little boy tshirts for Meijer and Target and got to work.

 

I think these would be so cute with t-shirts from Goodwill or even just some old ones you have laying around. And since they are just t-shirts, they are super easy to clean. Just throw them in with your regular laundry!!

I backed them with fleece since I had some on hand...but you could back them with anything.

I packaged all this fun stuff (with some diapers, pacis and some bath toys) in a Thirty-One gifts bin that I had monogrammed. It turned out super cute!!

Come out and play Gus! We're waiting for you!!

eat.drink.and be married.

So ok. Yeah. I love love. I really do. And even more so...I love when someone I love falls in love. Thus is the story of my dearest friend Bilyeu. (wait...let me be clear. His name is Justin. But his last name is Bilyeu. Obvs that's what I call him. Although sometimes I call him Uno...which is legit just a long story to a stupid nickname. Everyone clear? Perfect.)

So Bilyeu found the most perfect girl and proposed and they were getting hitched. I love me some Bilyeu.....and even though I don't know her all that well yet (we just met at her wedding after all), I'm fairly certain I may love the Mrs. more. Good work Uno. You married up. I'm proud of you.

Ahhhhh, ok I digress. So yes. There was a wedding to be had and gifts to buy. And since I like everything in my life to be themed, I had to theme this wedding gift too. Obviously.

And here go you...my Eat.Drink.And Be Married. wedding basket!

TA DA!!

So what's in it you ask? (a very good question) Well for starters...we have some aprons...(because you can't cook without aprons)

Also in the "eat" category....we have some ruffled potholders (because I believe nothing is more girly than ruffles...and I love ruffles), a cookbook, and some super fun kitchen utensils from one of my favorite stores in Indy... Silver in the City. (Shameless Indy plug...if you're every in Indy, head down to Mass Ave and check out Silver in the City. Seriously, you will not be disappointed.)

Next up.....the Drink portion of the wedding gift. So before the wedding (since I don't know the bride but at all), I decided to follow her boards on Pinterest to try and get an idea of her taste. She totally pinned a wine cork B (for Bilyeu, obviously)....and since I drink a lot of wine, I know I had some corks I could use. So alas, I made one for them. I also completed the "Drink" section with a bottle of Soft Red from Oliver's (duh, my favorite...and another Indiana treasure) and some Bourbon for Uno. (side note: barf on my face bourbon. sick. but that's what he likes apparently. ugh.)

As far as the "Be Married" category....I kind of just let that one B. I mean, I gave the alcohol...I thought they could probably figure that one out on their own! :)

So I found this super cute tin at Target (my kryptonite), and put "Bilyeu" on it...just so they would know it really was theirs.

Packaged it all up and called it a day!!

I hope they love it as much as I loved putting it all together. I love themes. And I love love.

living in the space between worry and faith.

Well. It's been a rough week here in the Kelby Househould. (I would say Hicks Household, but then I feel like I'm talking about the parentals and then it just gets confusing. And lets be honest...I don't like confusion. Chaos, yes. Confusion, no. But alas, I digress).

Rough week by human standards. But can I be honest? (Yes, I can. This is my bloggity blog after all.) A great week by spirital standards. Learning to rely on my Lord all over again. Not always the lesson you want to learn...but a worthy one nevertheless.

However, with all of these things...I feel like worry and faith are waging a tremendous battle in my head right now.

Worry vs. Faith.
A fight to the death.
Who will be the victor?

In this corner...you have Worry. An emotion that hides behind cynicism. A competitor who uses reality as its primary weapon. A fighter who is strong and mighty...but really serves no great purpose in our life. Except maybe to get our blood pressure up and cause us some rather tramatic sleepless nights. Damn you Worry.

And in this corner....you have Faith. Faith. Sometimes casted as the weaker of the two. And always the underdog. The harder of the two to grasp. Worry comes so freely. Faith is always a work in progress. But with Faith comes peace. And trust. Which are two important factors in Love. And aren't we called to Love? Love like God loved us?

Worry vs. Faith.

May the odds be ever in your favor. (Sorry...had to.)

So who wins? Who will win this battle that is waging in my head and my heart right now? Obviously I know Faith is the victor. Faith is the victory (thank you Church of Christ upbringing for teaching me all the old hymns so that I could regurtitate them whenever the time is right.) And here's what I've learned as I've been praying constantly and seeking the advice of people more wise than me (usually my sister...who is literally the smartest person I know.)

God wants me to be faithful. He does. He wants me to be faithful. He longs for me to love him the way he loves me. And faith goes hand-in-hand with love. In fact, those two are BFFs. They probably have those old Best Friends Forever necklaces circa 1990. Anyway, God wants me to be faithful. So because of that, I cannot worry. Worry doesn't like Faith. They are enemies. They are not BFFs.

Plus, guess what? God tells me not to worry. And if the Creator of the universe tells me not to do something....guess what? I'm going to try my darndest not to do it.

So this is what I'm meditating on today. Philippians 4:6-7.

Tell God what I need. And give thanks for all he has done.

Lord, you know what I need. And I'll tell you what I think I need on a less public forum.

Today. In this moment. Here is what I am so incredibly thankful for (and these are in no particular order):
*My health. I'm alive. I have two eyes, two ears, two legs. My heart is beating and I'm breathing. I'm healthy.
*My dog. As she sits on my lap barking at whoknowswhat. I love her and she is a constant reminder of how loving you are.
*My friends. You don't get thru the week I've had without the love and support from your friends.
*My family. Eeek. My family is totally better than anyone else's family and I freaking wouldn't exist without them.
*Coffee. Yes. This goes without saying.
*My computer. AKA my lifeline.

*My apartment home. It's so cozy and comfortable and I'm so thankful the Lord has provided me with it.

*Running (hot) water.
*The pool. Because the pool and I are best friends.

*The sun. I love the sun.

*My sewing machine. Because I love projects.

*My creativity. I've said this before and I'll say it again....I love that God put a little bit of his creativity in me. I love that I serve a creative God (duh, have you ever seen flamingos? Obviously God is creative).

*My friendship with my parents.

*My niece and my nephew whom I cannot wait to squeeze the crap out of this weekend. Yikes, those two bring so much joy to my life...It would be so empty without them.
*Food. I am so thankful that I have the ability to go out and get food whenever I want it.

*Lotion. It's summer and I'm thankful for the moisterizing cream lotion provides.

*Zumba. I am thankful for this constant de-stresser I have in my life.

This list could go on and on. And it will go on and on. Because in everything, give thanks.

"Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you life in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

So there Worry. You have been defeated. Faith wins.

happy birthday 'Merica.

I love America. If anyone knows me but at all, you know how much I love this country. I love our freedom. I love our flag. I love our founding fathers. So happy birthday America. Thank you for being the best country on Earth. Thank God for all of our amazing freedoms. God bless this land.




- Posted using my awesome iPad.