baptism

Our little friend Grant was baptized this morning!
What an awesome blessing.
His sins are washed away and he is part of the family of God!
Congratulations Steve and Angela this little sweetheart sure is an amazing gift.
And what an amazing gift of forgiveness he has received though the waters of baptism!

senior portrait photography

I was so excited to get the call from Elizabeth earlier this week.
She was ready for her senior portraits...
and it just so happened that we didn't have anything going on today
so we were able to get the photos done today.

It was a little cold - 35 degrees - but we managed to have a great time
and get some awesome shots!

Go to my photography blog to see a bunch more from Elizabeth's session!
can't wait to hear what you think!

mega swag bucks day

Today is Mega Swag Bucks day!
if you've never heard of swag bucks
then let me tell you a little bit about it.

Swag bucks is a search engine, store, and so much more.
You earn swag bucks for the searching you do
and then you can redeem the swag bucks for gift cards and other prizes.

I've got 44 right now and hope to keep increasing my number
so that I can help pay for Christmas presents this coming Dec.
45 swag bucks gets you a $5 Amazon card just to give you an idea.

But you can help.
If you do a lot of searching (like I do for crafts and game and such)
then swag bucks is for you.
Just click on the picture above and sign up for your own account.
If you use that link so that I am your referal (or just tell them lilpieps sent you)
then I will get swag bucks whenever you search and win.
And you can download a tool bar to help you remember to use swag bucks.
Then you can refer people and win more with their help!
It's a WIN WIN WIN situation!

Go there now, today is a mega swag bucks day
where you can win extra points just for searching for the things you already search for!

follow me fridays

You know I'm always on the lookout for great blogs,
with great blogs come
great ideas,
great giveaways,
great coupons
and maybe even
great friends!

Here's a great way to check out new blogs and
get some more followers of your own blog...
if you like that sort of thing.

okay confession time...
I think I need to go to BA
bloggers anonymous...
I find myself, when out in public,
wondering if the moms I see have blogs.

Like when we were at the zoo the other day.
Just wondering how many of those SAHM's have blogs...
and at the craft store...are they making a cool project
that they're going to blog about?
I know.
I'm crazy.
I guess I would just like to meet some other local bloggers!

Tell me I'm not alone....
anyone else crazy like me?
Or are y'all going to keep quite so I think I'm the only one!?
hmmmm...
gonna go look and see if there's a meeting I can attend!

delurk for Haiti (PLEASE READ!!!)

This post will remain at the top till the donation time is over.
Scroll down for new posts.

As I tuck my kids into bed at night, I'm not worried about if they'll be warm enough, or safe from harm. When they wake in the morning I don't worry about what they will eat for breakfast. When we need a drink of water we just go to the sink and turn on the faucet, or go to the fridge for a cold glass of milk. I have MANY luxuries that people around the world do not. I am very wealthy compared to the many people in the world who have little to nothing.

I've been wrestling with the thought of how I could help the people in Haiti. Simple me. One person. Living miles away from them. In my comfortable home. With a roof over my head. Water in my pipes. And all my family safe and accounted for. I know that I am BLESSED beyond imagination.

I had a thought. One that many other bloggers have had. I wanted to get other people involved. I wanted to let other people find a way to help out those in Haiti who are trying to rebuild their lives. So, here's what I am doing.

For one week, from right now until Friday, January 29th at noon (CST) I will be asking for your help. For every comment that is left on this post I will donate $0.15 and for every new public follower I will donate $0.25. (up to $100). So what does it cost you? Nothing. Just leave a comment. Tell me your name, where you're from, something, anything. Just a comment. Or follow this blog and your donation will be even greater.

It gets better. If you'd like to help out in an even bigger way I have two more opportunities for you. I will donate 50% of any purchase from my etsy store before Friday, January 29th at noon. AND if you book a photography session with me before Friday (doesn't have to take place before Friday and does not include weddings) I will also donate 50% of the session fee.

So, you get something fun for your home or a photography session and I will donate 50% to LCMS World Relief and Human Care. Please also check Matthew Harrison's (Executive Director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care) blog, he is in Haiti and updates when he is able.

BUT

I'm not alone in this. I contacted some of my friends and they were willing to jump in and help out also.Elisa from e-fran designs is also donating $0.15 for each comment on her post and $0.25 for each new public follower on her blog as well and donating 25% of all sales from her etsy store this week.

Kate from Kate Kaiser Designs is donating $0.15 for each comment on her post and $0.25 for each new public follower on her blog as well as donating 50% of all sales from her etsy store this week.

Would you like to join us? It's not too late. If you would like a link to your post from here so that you can get comments, followers and donate please let me know! Also, I'd love to add more etsy store owners to the mix as well. All money donated will be collected by me, and sent through my church to LCMS World Relief and Human Care to go straight to the work in Haiti! Please tell everyone you know to visit these sites and help out in whatever way they can! We'd also love it if you linked back to this post on your blog!

Thanks and I pray that you are richly blessed in all you do!!! May you know the LOVE of our Savior a little more today!

auntie tracey

My sister came for the week!
We're so glad to have her here.
She hasn't been here since we first moved in so
it's awesome to have her around
and to show her how things have changed!


We've spent time playing outside,
playing inside,
doing craft projects,
playing with awesome paper dolls,
coloring, eating good food,
taking naps, and just plain ol hanging out~

it's been an awesome week.
But she has to go home today :(

Here are some photos from our fun at the zoo.
I hope to share photos of the animals that I got.
They were very active and having a great time...
the animals that is,
well, I suppose the kids were too.

Tracey and Micah on the Lion statueNaomi, Tracey and Micah one of the traditional shots at the zoo.
Tracey, Micah and Naomi on the Komodo Dragon,
the other traditional zoo shot.Love this shot I got of Naomi hanging out and watching the hippos!
More photos and stories to come.
Gotta go enjoy the last few minutes that I have with my big sis!

plastic bag pom-pon tutorial

Is your daughter into the

princess/cheerleader/bride
thing too?
Or is it just mine?

Man, this little girl has quite the imagination.
Which I love, don't get me wrong.
But somedays, I'd just like Naomi
to be NAOMI!

Seriously, I did not name her
Ariel,
Belle,
Snow White,
Cinderalla,
OR
Wedding Girl
but I'm thinking if she was old enough to legally change her name
she just might do that.

Well, to support the addiction I made her some pom-pons.
She got some awesome ones from
Aunt Dana et al, for Christmas.
But I wanted to make more that I didn't care about getting ruined.
AND
I wanted to have some for the SuperBowl party.

They were super simple to make and took all of five minutes to do.

What you'll need:
3 grocery bags per pom-pon
scissors
packing tape
Cut the end off a plastic grocery bag.Lay it out flat.
Cut 1 inch strips into the bag going about halfway down the bag.Fold the bag in half and in half again. (the long way)
Then do this to two more bags.
Then tape the top of the bag together,
And then again about 4 inches down from that.
I then taped the top part of the bag down to where I had the second
section of tape to create a handle.
It works best if you leave some of the bag not covered in tape.Then wave them around like you just don't care!

If you make your own I'd love to see them!
Leave a comment with a link!
And tell me what you did to make them better!!!

I'm linking up at

reversible felt crown tutorial

Naomi is TOTALLY into the princess thing right now.
Everyday she's a princess, sometimes the same one for a few days

and sometimes a new princess every hour.

She asked me the other day where her crown was.
I told her I'd have to make one for her.
I'd been planning on making a crown for
her third birthday but never got around to it.
So, I figured this was the perfect time.

I may have gotten ideas about how to do this along the way
from other people but mostly this is just my idea
of how to make a reversible felt crown...
and here's what I did.

Make a cardboard pattern...
(I use old cereal boxes for these.)
I folded it in half to make sure both sides of the crown were the same.
You also need a rectangle piece for the back of the crown.Trace onto two pieces of felt.
And cut out.
The pink piece has sparkles and it a little sturdier than the purple piece.
I think having one sturdy piece really makes this crown work.
Then I cut out the embelishment for the fronts.
You can do whatever you'd like.
I thought a monogram would suit her well.
I also cut some diamond shapes for the top little peaks.
Hand sew all the embelishments on each piece seperately.
Then I drew a little design on the back so I could
backstitch it onto the front without it being all wonky.
I don't care that the design wasn't perfect, that's what makes it more special.
Sew the two crowns together, wrong sides facing in.
But only sew the top and the bottom not the sides.
Trim off any pieces that stick out.Sew the tops and bottoms of the rectangular pieces together as well.
Leave the ends open to add elastic.
Sew the elastic to one end of the front piece.
Then match up the rectangle back piece and sew the elastic to that as well.I then fitted the crown to Naomi's head and
left a little more elastic showing on the other side.
The crown fits her perfectly now but I wanted to make sure
she'd be able to wear it in the future too.
Maybe for her 4th birthday?See how there's more elastic showing on this side?And a shot of the purple side.
And one satisfied customer.
She LOVES her crown and I think making her
wait four days between starting and finishing it
was enough torture for her to endure for one week!And here you can see how the elastic was sewn closer together.
I'd love to see if you make a crown too!
Just leave me a comment with your link!

I'm linking up at Blue Cricket Design
and at Somewhat Simple!

shaving cream fun

We had a blast playing with shaving cream
during our snowman theme of the week week.
Check out more photos and activities from
Theme of the Week: Snowmen on my photo blog

just add water

Okay so you probably want to use your own mug too...
but I just added these cute little Valentine's Coffee Mugs to my store.
Perfect for that special teacher/co-worker/mother in your life!