Saturday, December 27, 2008

Yay Christmas!














































We had a wonderful Christmas this year! It was great spending the whole day with my family, opening stockings, going to church, opening gifts, eating deep fried turkey, and playing games. Stevo won Apples to Apples and Mom won Monopoly. She claims she never wins that game...









We are very blessed, and our family has been so generous this year- I was also excited to see everyone open the gifts we got them (one of my favorite parts). My dad says Andre and I are the most excited about giving gifts in this family. From my parents, Odin got an outdoor climbing playcenter, and sadly it rained on Christmas so he couldn't play with it until the next day. But he loved it! Can't wait to put down some astro turf or fake grass, instead of those weeds! Odin loved all his gifts, but was especially sad when his daddy wouldn't open up the package for his polar bear fast enough! One of my favorite things, and a big surprise, was that my mom made a quilt for the baby, and Maddy made cloth blocks, all in awesome fabrics! I don't think I could have picked better fabrics myself :) I will take pictures of those later, as the quilt isn't quite finished! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Odin and the Christmas tree







After we put our tree up (about a week and a half ago), I decided to document Odin's reaction. He likes the ornaments and lights, but listened to us (gasp!) when we told him not to touch. We still have to remind him, but he is being very good about ignoring the tree. The next day I wrapped presents for the Ebert Christmas (which was on Saturday) and he was getting into all my wrapping paper, bows, etc...but once the gifts were wrapped and under the tree, he ignored them. Yay! It was kind of strange having Christmas so early, and not on Christmas Eve. Odin got some fun things, including a zoo membership! And some of my favorite gifts were girly scrapbooking stuff (ive been waiting for this!) and a pedicure gift certificate.






Adam and I discussed what we want to do for our kids in the future for Christmas. Since Odin is still young, and we don't have money, we are doing a stocking and one gift. Eventually we plan to buy 3 gifts per child, to echo the 3 gifts given by the wise men to Jesus. I am trying to think of other ways to focus on Jesus as well, in all the different aspects of celebrating Christmas. I, however, don't like the idea of birthday cake for Jesus- I mean, who really likes birthday cake? But, I do like the idea of unwrapping baby Jesus as the first gift. We also do caroling with church, the Christmas program, reading the story of Jesus on Christmas morning...among other things. Anyway, so now half our Christmas is over, and sadly I forgot the camera and took zero pictures. Waiting for my mother in law to start emailing some out! :)

Monday, November 24, 2008

A few new...old...designs :)




Here are some of my Christmas/holiday card designs that I actually made last year. One was for our own card, the other was for Adam's parents' card. They are both two of my favorites. Remember, Christmas is coming very soon, and you need to get those cards ordered! Enjoy. :)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

It's a....











girl girl girl!!!!!!!! Well, just one girl, but I'm so excited I had to say it 3 times. Wow. I am in awe. If this is the only girl I ever have, I'll be totally happy with that. I love having a boy too, and to have one of each is such a blessing. I cannot believe I am so blessed! So here's how today's ultrasound went.








I was at the park with friends and kids beforehand, then went to meet Adam at the doctor's office. The place was empty, so we got in right away (this is not normal). The tech was really nice and talkative, and got started right away. She showed/explained every little detail, which was neat. One of my favorite parts is seeing the four chambers of the heart and watching it beat. I thought her profile was cute and she reminds me a little of Odin but with a smaller head (compared to his ultrasound). The tech made us wait until the very end to show us the gender. Odin was kinda scared, kept whining and reaching for me while Adam held him. The tech gave him an ultrasound picture to look at, to keep him occupied. The baby weighs 0.61 lbs and had a hearrate of 133. Everything looked healthy, another blessing!








Finally, she moved the wand around to the between the leg shot. Well, it was VERY different from Odin's. I could plainly see nothing between the legs, and then said "it looks like a girl" and i started crying and asked her if she was sure. She showed us again and also showed us the three lines that indicate girl parts. Yay! I was very excited after this and was able to converse, as my nervousness went away. Adam and I are both so thrilled to add a little baby girl to our family. I am also excited for my nieces who don't have any girl cousins yet! I can't wait to buy some girl clothes, too, and do all the things that come with having a daughter. I also am so excited to see what she looks like! Here are some photos. Most are fuzzy, b/c i took pictures of them with a digital camera. I also added a belly pic so you can see how big I am already!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Our Vacation

We had a great time in Indiana! We only got to be there for five days, but it was a lot of fun. Odin was okay on the plane- one the way there he slept for a while, on the way back he was all over the place, but at least we had a row to ourselves. I got to go shopping for my birthday, and we also got some new clothes for Odin. Too bad we can't wear them until the temperature here gets cooler!

Shivering after his bath





First Haircut!







Celebrating Stevo and Adam's birthdays





Odin in Bizou's Cage





Saying goodbye at the airport

Friday, October 31, 2008

Another Christmas card!


Here is my newest Christmas card design, also on my etsy shop! I will be doing another blog soon about our trip to indiana and the zoo.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Quick Post

Just wanted to post real quick to say I am still around, just got back from Indiana. I will post pictures from our trip real soon, as well as a new Christmas card. I have to say I am not too thrilled to be back, especially with this HOT weather, but I will be back to posting soon!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Snack Time






Yesterday was an unsually busy day for us. Bible study, and impromptu lunch with all my sisters-in-law at the in-law's house, and then to a friend's house and swimming. (Yes, it is still warm enough to swim here!). I found myself thankful that I took a shower in the morning instead of waiting until after Bible study, because I didn't get home until after 6. It was fun, though, and Odin had a blast playing with multiple kids.


That is one thing I often feel guilty about. Odin doesn't get to play with kids very often. I don't have friends that have kids to do play dates with, and the ones I do have I never seem to spend time with. Other than his cousins, Odin doesn't get much opportunity to socialize! I'm not really sure how to remedy this situation, since a lot of moms I know are pretty content with their social circles or too busy, or I just haven't clicked with anyone yet. Not sure. Anyway, today was a normal day spent at home. No errands to run, and I don't relish the idea of hitting the park alone with a toddler. Both of us (well, me mostly) would get bored rather quickly!


So, I took some pictures of Odin eating a very casual snack. Crackers and goldfish off my desk! There are some other pictures here as well, from the past few weeks. Enjoy!


In other news, our washing machine broke after we paid $200 to get it fixed. Nice.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Christmas cards!


So, yes, I know that here in Arizona it is still in the 100's. Not really a high time to be thinking about Christmas, is it? Well, it is already October, and I know a lot of us like to prepare early! Especially when it comes to those fun Christmas greetings. So gather up the kids, arrange them in unnatural positions, take a million photos, and send them to me!


I have added my first Christmas design of the season on my etsy shop. I am going to put the photo of it here as well, so you can see how pretty it is. :) I am really loving this one, and might use something similar myself once we take a photo. My adorable son Odin is the model, since he loves the camera (seriously, he stops what he is doing and smiles when it's pointed at him).


I sell either design only, so that you can print it yourself. Even though you have to buy envelops separately, this can be a really good deal. Costco and Sam's Club can print the design pretty cheap. However, I can also get them printed at this awesome professional printer, and charge you per card (comes with envelope). The designs in my etsy shop are available for purchase, but they are also just examples of what I can do. I love making custom designs for my customers! Just email me with what you want, and we can work from there. Yes, it is a little more costly than shutterfly or some of those other places where you can get photo greetings for the holidays, but they are custom designs and great quality. I can add as many photos as you want, edit photos, and if you buy cards printed on cardstock, put a message on the back.


Please check out my shop, and let me know if you are interested!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

wednesday

Okay, so no real topic for today's blog! not much going on here, but i am starting to feel better. i have been working on my book a lot, and am more than halfway done! yay!

if you left me a message to be included in the email list, i didnt get your email address...so you can just send me an email here: ajoyfulvision at gmail dot com. that is my official business email address :)

i plan to get an email out by the end of the month to everyone with updates and information on Christmas cards, so please bear with me as I attempt to get some new designs finished!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Here she (or he) is!




Yesterday was our first ultrasound. Even though you cannot see much at this point, I was still very excited. With Odin, we only got the one ultrasound at 20 weeks. I'm not sure why they scheduled me one early this time, but I'm not complaining! We keep calling it a she, even though of course we don't know yet, but it feels like a she...and, well, we'd like it to be a girl :). So, right now it looks like a kidney bean, and is about the size of one! She moved a little for us, and we saw the flickering heartbeat. Her heartrate was at the top of the range for this stage of pregnancy, so she is doing well! They also found a cyst, which looks like a sac with no baby in it...but she said that's normal and should go away during the pregnancy.


Also, today was our first day back at MOPS! I realized today that Odin just isn't a baby anymore. He is walking, and still I put him in the baby room because I was worried that toddlers would bowl him over. Well, when I went to get him he wasn't too happy...I think next time he will be with toddlers where there are toys. He loves playing with his older cousins, so I think that's the best thing. It's just so sad to think he isn't a baby anymore!


So far I have completed one new design for Christmas cards. By the end of the month, I will be adding these designs to my shop, and probably some handmade cards as well. I am also planning to do an email list for those of you who want to be informed of updates to my shop, giveaways, etc. Let me know if you want to be added! You can just leave a comment for me.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Feeling tired

No new pictures today...I haven't uploaded anything recently. For those of you wondering, I have not been feeling very well with this pregnancy. With Odin, I felt fine and it was hard to tell I was pregnant. With this baby, I often feel nauseous and very very tired. I don't like feeling this way and can't wait until the first trimester is over. Thankfully, I have a wonderful child who isn't too much trouble, and that makes things a lot easier. I hope this baby has the same disposition as his/her brother!

As far as my etsy shop goes, I have done a few birth announcements recently off-etsy, and that's been fun. I am also planning on creating some new designs next month for...Christmas cards! Yes, it is early, but I didn't get a head start last year and I know some people send theirs out early. By the beginning of October, I plan to start adding those Christmas cards to my shop. So, when you are ready to start thinking about it, remember A Joyful Vision!

That's about all for now...sadly, not much goes in my life, and I have really not been up to much. I would love to get out more and get Odin together with other kids, though. I can tell when he is around them that he really enjoys it, I just don't have a lot of mom friends around here! So I am going to try to think of things to do.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Big Brother!

That's right, Odin is going to be a big brother in April! We are both hoping for a girl, and will find out what we are having at the 20 week ultrasound. Here is the photo I sent my mom to tell her, its hard to see the writing on the shirt though. It says "Only child" which is crossed out, then Big Brother.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Another one :)

Here is a great one of Odin coming down the hall. Below that is the thank you card I designed for Odin's birthday. I added it to my shop!



Friday, August 1, 2008

Here is a video of Odin as he learns to walk. He has been doing so good the past few days, he is practically a toddler!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Odins birthday!






Yeah so my little baby is one now! A year can go by sooo fast. Definitely faster than before I had kids. Well, I forgot to post photos of his party and all that before, so here they are! His party was a week or so before his birthday, which we celebrated in Michigan (see below). Well, in an effort to blog more often, I decided to do just that today.

My etsy shop is still going slow, but I am working on a birth announcement for someone right now, so it's not too bad. I anticipate lots of sales around Christmas for Christmas photo cards, as I will be sending emails out to just about everyone I know! SO, if you are reading this and don't know what to do for your Christmas cards, keep me in mind!

Yesterday was Odin's 12 month appointment. He got 5 shots (yikes) which he screamed at but then was fine once we got in the car- and without any tylenol! My dad was in town this week and we got to spend some time with him as well. I don't often talk about this, but it has been really hard without my family around. I love spending time with them but then it is over so fast!

Today was Odin's final swim class. We could have kept going but it was getting too expensive for us right now. Everyone is so nice there and I think it is fun and he learns a little about how to swim. It is amazing how much conflicting information I read about swim classes for babies. Some classes claim to pretty much drown proof your baby (which I think is a little scary...I still wouldn't take my eyes off my child in a pool), while others are just for fun...but I did read recently that some researchers or whatever have said it isn't really that safe for babies to take swim lessons of ANY kind! So I, of course, am conflicted (as I am about many parenting issues), but I don't think swim lessons are harmful, as long as you know you should still watch your kids closely around water. After swim we went to babies r us where I loaded up on some much needed baby/toddler items (weird that I am already buying toddler items...but he is almost a toddler!) One thing I bought was the book Toddlerwise. I ready Babywise on a particular night where I had HAD it with feeling out of control (Odin was 2 months old). I finished it that night and knew it was the only thing that made sense to me. Odin is now a happy, sweet boy who sleeps so well, and I owe it in part to that book, part to my and Adam's hard work, and all to God's grace!

And finally, I do plan to add more items to my shop soon. I am hoping to come up with some new, inexpensive marketing strategies so that I can get the word out there. I am also writing a book. I have wanted to be a writer for the longest time but got scared and thought I couldn't do it. But why not? I'm actually good at and am full of ideas, so I am really hoping to finish this book by year's end. Wow, this was a long post!

Friday, July 18, 2008

I am finally back!












After a couple weeks on vacation in the midwest, and a few long drives, we are finally home! Maddy was with us for all of June, then we traveled to Michigan in our mini van. Having a mini van made things so much easier than last year! And Maddy was a great help with Odin- he really enjoys having someone in the back with him. The drive to Pentwater was 31 hours.




We had a great time at the lake house, as usual. It was somewhat cold but definitely a nice change from the Arizona heat. We tried taking Odin into the lake to swim but he hated it; I think it was just too cold! He did go tubing though, and I think he enjoyed that. We celebrated his first birthday there. I cannot believe I have a one year old already! Time goes very, very fast. Other things we enjoyed in Michigan were the House of Flavors, fireworks, and eating in Pentwater. Everyone was there except Chet, and Andre had his friend Taylor along. After Michigan we spent a few days in West Lafayette, where I got the rare chance to enjoy one of my dad's sermons. We also got some professional photos of Odin and the three of us.




After Indiana we went to Iowa and spent time with Adam's side of the family. Most of them didn't arrive until late in the week, so we stayed a few extra days to spend time with them. His sister and her husband and kids also drove out from Arizona. While there we went and saw them break the levee across the bridge in Burlington (not my thing, and will definitely not do something like that again), went to the Farmer's Market, did some antique (junk) shopping, went to a balloon festival (none of the balloons were up though), went go karting...can't remember if there was anything else. It was a 24 hour drive back home, and we are glad to be back!




Just before we left I made some birthday invitations for an etsy customer and hope to put the design up soon, because I thought they turned out really cute! I plan to spend more time on my etsy shop and blog in the future. If anyone has children with birthdays coming up or is expecting a baby, check out the designs in my shop for invitations and announcements, or ask for a custom design!