read 'em and weep: 2012

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

moving!

we've moved! join us at benandjanie.wordpress.com. thanks!

Monday, August 20, 2012

my parents are so blessed to be celebrating 40 years of marital bliss this month. so, we, as their children, decided to throw them a big ol party to show them just how much people love them. i'm so blessed to have them as parents and to have been raised with Godly parents. their marriage represents Christ and the church in so many different ways. and i for one have loved watching their love for each other grow more and more as they age. what a blessing to love your spouse more after 40 years of marriage than you did on the day you married. gives me chills.

when we were choosing a theme, i googled 40th anniversary and realized it is the ruby anniversary. so, we decided on a ruby and burlap color scheme. my mom has a wonderful friend that is so good with flowers. we asked if she would be willing to help us with the centerpieces. she outdid herself. most of the flowers were grown in her garden and she took off with the ruby theme. we just wanted some snacky things for the food, so we opted for cupcakes (made by your's truly), cucumber sandwiches, watermelon, junior mints in monogrammed cones, bagel chips with hummus, and fruit tea and water to drink. simple, but classy. (that's a great way to describe my parents, too)

here are some pics from the party. enjoy!

"guest book"

what a great day!

photo booth with props. i love my boys!!!

my mom, sister, and me. if i have a fourth of the wisdom that these ladies do, i'll be doing well in life.

40 facts from 40 years done by my amazing sister in law

wedding party...40 years later!

my moms wedding dress displayed

flower arrangements done by anna clifford

table scape

my wonderful family

ruby cones filled with junior mints

oreo cupcakes and blueberry cupcakes

the whole crew

through the years with sam and dottie

my parents wedding/engagement photos, along with their parents' wedding pictures and a picture from last year of my parents.

through the years with mom and dad...adding 3 children, 3 children-in-law, and 11 grandchildren. whew!!!

HAPPY 40TH ANNIVERSARY, MOM AND DAD!!!!

Monday, February 13, 2012

a tutorial :: skinny snowmen

so, for sammy's winter one-derland party, i wanted to make some snowmen out of bottles. i had seen this and thought "oh, the kids would love this!" BUT i don't drink frappacinos and i didn't want to waste $6 on some bottles. so, my friend runs a coffee shop here in town and she gave me some old syrup bottles. so, i made skinny snowmen! they are very simple, and i love them so much, i still have them displayed in my kitchen.

here's the toot.

materials:

white paper

medium sized styrofoam balls

felt

construction paper

permanent marker

1. wash the bottles with warm water and let them air dry

2. wrap the bottles with white paper and hot glue so it adheres well

3. fold up the top kind of like you're wrapping a present. it will look a little more like snow this way and you can cover the whole bottle.

4. cut a 2 in. strip of white paper and wrap it around the neck of the bottle.

5. press the ball into the top of the bottle, but not too hard because you don't want to break the ball. there's no need for glueing the head since it will be pressed into the top of the bottle.

6. draw eyes and a mouth on to the ball with your marker.

7. cut a 2 in. wide strip of felt and wrap around the neck of the bottle, glueing every so often. snip the ends to make a scarf.

8. cut out an orange triangle (or a mustache!) and glue on for the nose.

9. cut out a hat shape of any kind and glue on the top.

10. add buttons to the bottle

VOILA!

sammy's birthday

i can not believe my baby boy is one! i'm sure every mom says that at some point in her life, but i feel it. i mean, i really feel it. anyway, the day that sammy was born, jackson got about 4 inches of snow. what should have taken a 7-8 minute drive to the hospital took us 25-30 minutes. it's a good thing sammy waited to come! ha! anyway, the idea entered my head that we should have a winter one-derland party. i had seen a few pictures on pinterest and other blogs, and my head just went into high gear. we invited family to come celebrate sammy and his wonderful joy. anyway, here's some pictures and i'll post some tutorials soon about some of the decorations.