Thank God for his Son - a gift too wonderful for words!

2 Corinthians 9:15

Baking Party...

My baby girl is eight!! It's bitter sweet. I think every mom wishes they would stay little forever and I am no exception.

She is growing into such a beautiful little girl.....full of imagination.

This year she wanted a baking party.

Here they are in their aprons and chef hats.

I had everything set up in "stations". When the girls arrived they got their aprons and decorated their chef hats (that I got for free from the meat department at my local grocery store).
The aprons were made with the help of my MIL and my sister.
My sister and I sewed the ruffle on the bottom and my MIL embroiderd each girls initial on.

The next station was cupcake decorating. They iced and decorated their own cupcakes.  This was Avery's favorite part.
I had to cut out a few things I planned on doing, but overall I was pleased with the way it turned out.

Avery and her friends had fun and that is what's most important.


I could not have pulled this off without the help of my sister....thank you!!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

i.e. : not the best quality of pictures due to lighting

Christmas 2012: Miniature Gingerbread house

We started with a pre-made gingerbread kit.
Which did not turn out so well. So we made our own with graham crackers.
I think they are so cute and it was so much fun to make.
No more pre-made for us.

I assembled the house for them and they did all the decorating.

Now we have a cute little gingerbread village...

I used instructions HERE

Christmas tour....Dinning room

It feels like Christmas around here....

now all we need is some snow....

I would love to have one good snow.... and that's all (preferably on Christmas day)

There's nothing better than a White Christmas!

Ok on to Christmas decorating....
The dinning room was the first to be done. I really like how it turned out. Even if it hadn't changed much from last year.

I love my Johnson Bros plate and wish I had the whole collection. I only have the one plate that sits pretty displayed on my hutch.  Also, I have two coffee cups that come out around Christmas time.

One of the new things I added this year is my lovely plaid table cloth I found at GW.  I have it draped down the center of my table and used my white enamel basin filled with poinsettia's as my center piece

 Nothing fancy just classic and simple....the way I like it. I try not to spend to much on decorating by using natural elements like pinecones and greenery from my yard and gathering things from around my house that I can tie into Christmas.

And of course I can't leave with out a picture of our best decoration in the house...Mr. Pilot.

Happy Friday!!


linked up @whipperberry

{Thanksgiving}

every year eddie and i run in a race on thanksgiving day.

we both ran it in our best times ever.

i was very proud of that. 

we celebrated with mimosa's. 

i made a chocolate pecan pie from a martha stewart recipe.

it was really good but i did not realize how expensive it was going 

to be to make it. 

i made avery a skirt and matching hair clip

unfortunately i forgot my camera and did not get any pictures 

other than the ones from the phone.

that seems to be all i am using these days anyway. 

we pulled out all our christmas the day after thanksgiving to decorate.

we do it every year. 

i am almost done. i pretty much kept it the same as last year. 

red, silver, and gold. 

well that's all for now. 

Beach trip....

We got back last Sunday from our beach vacation in Destin.  

We had the best weather.

I love going in October. 

The crowds are gone, it's not too hot, and the water is still warm enough from the Summer.

We love it!

The water was very calm the whole week except on the last day. 

The waves rolled in and the running and splashing began. 

 This was probably the highlight of D's trip.

Getting to crack open some crab claws.

 Thanks to some friends we met on our trip, we found a new favorite place to go.

The jetties in Destin. 

We were able to snorkel and feed the fish out of our hands. 

Later in the week we got to meet up with our Family that was staying at a beach next to us and get some pictures. 

The kids had a blast playing with their cousins.

Are they not the cutest things ever?!?

Well, that was our trip.

I will be back with some new updates around the house soon!

Wordless Wednesday: Fall

Fall is here!!! 

My Favorite time of the year.

Just to get everyone a little bit more in the mood...

I put together a "Fall mood board"...

enjoy!

courtesy of my: Fall pin board

Photo(s) Friday: Fair Fun...

It's Fair time around here! 

We went Sunday after church and stayed all day! 

We love our Fair.

Happy Friday!

Pillows..

I don't know about you, but I love some pillows! However, they can be a bit pricey (at least the ones I want...of course). That's why I am learning to like to make my own ; )

This one is my favorite. I love ruffles on everything...especially pillows.

It's the perfect little pillow for my church pew.

Do you recognize this pattern???

It's napkins from Target! I loved this pattern and color. They came in a set a four which allowed me to make two pillows.  It was so easy. Just sew all four corners right side in...my kind of pillow making!

This is my new addiction! Next time you see some really cute napkins....  remember they could become really cute pillows!

linked@

just-something-i-whipped-up

craft-o-maniac

Friday Photo Dump....via: Instagram

Happy Friday ya'll

Just doing a little dumping'  from my instagram on my phone. 

This is a little glimpse into what life has been like over that last couple weeks.

From top left:  finally sunshine after a week of rain, i sewed a 4th  of july outfit, one of my favorite spots in our yard, me and my girl, love this view out our window, pulled out the rain boots, finally cleaned my craft room, cheese, dinner date, just like her brother, pump it up day, putting on a concert, and my little campers. 

come follow me@ amandapersinger

Linking up@instafriday

{fabric scrap craft}

Just putting some of  my "pinned" crafts to use....

If you have a lot of scrap fabric laying around (like me) , then this is a supper fun and cute craft to do with the kids...

we bought the "A" at hobby lobby.

Avery painted it pink first then...

she went to town with the fabric ; ) 

I got Dawson one to do to.

We may hang them on their door, but not sure yet.

Ok there's our craft...

Now don't let your scraps go to waste! ; )

Everyday....

This is life right now...

just enjoying our Summer while it last...

I can't believe we only have a few short weeks left...

then back to reality...

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th!!

The easiest cinnamon rolls....

These are hands down the easiest cinnamon rolls you'll ever make!

I loved them

my kids loved them

and you'll love them!! 

just need a few simple ingredients and a little helper and you will have you one sweet indulgence. 

I adapted the recipe from this one on Pinterest

only I didn't make mini ones....

I like to go big ; )

and it was so worth every-single-calorie!! 

You can follow the recipe listed@iowagirleats 

The only thing I changed was:

added chopped pecans

substituted maple syrup with agave nectar 

I am all about fast and easy recipes and this one is no exception!! 

linked@tasty-tuesdays

WW: Hello Summer....

We have made our Summer fun list and we're ready to go.....

Hope everyone enjoys their Summer!! 

Make a list and have Fun!!!

Insta-weekend...

field trip, yummy lunch with a dear friend, lazy days by the pool, new recipe, and a sweet little indulgence....

Sorry big camera...

I have a new best friend and it's called...

Instagram!

Come follow me@

amandapersinger

or 

if you don't have a iPhone or android 

you can follow me HERE

Friday Feature: Our new addition...

The POOL!!!

Well, this is the new big addition to our back yard that I mentioned before. 

We finally did it!

It's still a work in progress. 

Landscaping, furniture, floats, all the little extra things are needed....

But for now, I am just happy that we have a body of water to jump into on the hot summer days! 

I'm happy that we can share it with all our friends and family...

have lots of pool parties...

keep the kids out of the house and away from all electronics ; )

... use it for exercise...

and most importantly enjoy it and create many memories for years to come.

Alright...who wants to come over???

Lets swim!!!