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.

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!

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.

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

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!

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.

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.