more baby pics

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to come over and take some pics of my new little god-daughter for her birth announcements. It was sooooo hot that day! But we actually lucked out. I've read that professional photographers have to keep their studios super warm to make sure newborns stay happy during photo shoots. Little PJ did an amazing job. She slept through the whole thing! She's just 6 days old in these pics. Isn't she a doll?!

Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Here's the one that made the final cut. We converted it to black and white and added text to the top that included her name and stats at birth. The coolest part is that by the time we finished and had them printed, they ended up costing a whopping $2.50!

Yard work is sooo fun!

Isn't little farmer Anya so bright and cheerful? I made this little card a couple weeks ago and it kind of reminded me of my kiddos when they were helping with our garden project last weekend.

Supplies used: CTMH paper, Greeting Farm image, Prismacolor markers, Prima flowers, Making Memories brads, ribbon

My kids just seem to love helping us out with our projects around the house. Nick is kind of on the small side, yet seemed completely unphased by hauling and stacking these 15 pound bricks.

And of course "if big brother can do it, so can I!" Sammy even managed to move a few for us too.


Our Quality Check Dept. Manager

Ummmm...... I'm pretty sure it'd be easier for you to move the wagon if you were not actually inside it.....

"But I don't want to take a break!"

Even Bean was happy to lend a hand!



Thanks for being such awesome helpers guys!

Diving back in there!

Hey all!

Today seemed like a good day to jump back into the bloggy world. I know it's been a VERY long time and I am happy to report that my Dad is still doing wonderfully. Thank you all for your prayers, your heartfelt messages and kind emails, they've truly warmed my heart!

I even have a card to share today!
Supplies used: CTMH paper, Bazzill cardstock, Greeting Farm stamp, CTMH stamp, Prima flowers, K&Co pearls, Prismacolor markers

I made this for my Taylor's 14th birthday, earlier this month. She's really into learning about Asian culture and as soon as I got this image (thanks Sparkle!) I knew it'd be perfect for my birthday girl! She loved it but did wonder why Anya's head is so big, lol! That's Taylor for ya! She's always willing to ask life's more important questions ;0)

It's good to be back! Hope you all are having a great Monday!

Just a quick post...

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything....AGAIN....but it's been a rough couple of weeks for my family. My dad went in for minor surgery last week and at his follow up appointment on this past Monday, he got the news that he has prostate cancer. I had to just go to what I know and put all my faith in Christ that the outcome will be alright. I actually find it quite relieving and peaceful that I don't have to shoulder this burden alone and that Christ will carry our family through.

There is a ton of hope for my dad already too. At a second appointment yesterday, he received a write up that further explained his condition. His cancer is slow growing which means he doesn't need to undergo any surgeries, chemo, or radiation treatments, which at his age would be more of a hindrance than a help. He just needs to have his blood checked every 3 months to monitor his condition. They also told us that men with this condition have a 99% survival rate and live on for many, many years. Praise God!

So I've not been feeling up to posting much lately, but I hope to get some new artwork up here again soon. Please keep my family, especially my dad in prayer and God Bless!

My little fashonista

Well, I'm not even sure this picture needs much of an explanation...... but, boy are we in for it when this little one grows up!

baby girl scrapbook pages

Over the past few weeks I've been working on a couple of custom scrapbook albums for a new client. This was one of my favorite layouts that went in an album for a 2 year old girl. I'd originally bought this paper to scrap some of my own pictures of Bean, but I hadn't gotten around to using it by the time this new project came up. I ended up liking these pages so much that I'm pretty sure I'll be making another set of them for my little darlin too. Althought I don't know what I'll do to about the little acrylic ribbon slides since CTMH retired them at the first of the year and I don't have a website anymore. :0(

supplies used : My Mind's Eye papers, CTMH flowers & acrylic ribbon slides, brads, ribbon

Tonight is Family Movie Night at the Gautier house! We're going to watch The Chronicals of Narnia : Prince Caspian tonight and my kids are so excited! We'd planned to go and see it in the theater but never found the right time to go, so it should be a treat for all of us!

Happy Friday!

Happy New Year...a little bit late ;0)

We started out the new year with a bang, and a couple of really nasty colds! Yay! Not so much. I've spent the past few days being the official runny nose wiper (double yay!) and have become quite used to being Bean's "mommy-chair". And I also think I've seen enough Nick Jr. shows to last me a millenium.

Now that we appear to be past the worst of it, I finally have a free moment (and free hands) to update my blog.



Every Christmas I like to make Nate a calendar for the following year. He really loves them and just gets a kick out of looking over all our favorite pictures from the year. I went the easier route this year and bought a kit by Basic Grey where the pages were all preplanned and all I had to do was assemble and add my pics!

I'll probably post some more of the pages throughout the year, maybe it'll help me post artwork more often, lol! Although I have made it one of my resolutions to create and share more projects.

Hope you all are having a great start to your new year!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox greeting

My little stampin man

Nick just loves to stamp with me when he gets the chance! I think it's super cute and love to indulge a fellow arteest! A few weeks ago I was working on some Christmas cards and he just couldn't wait to make his own. He HATES when I take unauthorized pictures of him and will usually put his hand in front of his face, but he was soooo in the crafting zone that he didn't even notice me clicking away!

Awesome job Buddy!

Update on Bean

Little Ella went in on Monday for kidney tests and all of her results came back normal! Praise God!

She is such a brave little girl. She barely cried at all during either of the procedures (making it soooo much easier on me). I took her out afterwards and she picked out a tiny little baby doll as a little treat for being so brave. She's such a sweetie!


Thank you so much for all of your prayers!

Scariest day of my life...

Last Wednesday was the scariest day of my entire life. Around 5 am, I woke up to find Ella having a seizure. Her face was white, her eyes wide open and so dialated that there was hardly any blue left in them and her lips were blue. I screamed for my husband to wake up and scooped her up thinking at the time that she was choking. I was so scared, I thought my baby was dying right there in my arms. Terrified , we called 911 and the paramedics raced to our home. By the time they arrived, she had stopped seizing, the color had returned to her face and we could tell for sure that she was breathing. She looked exhausted and she had begun to fall back asleep. I just held her crying and praying for her to be alright.

It was discovered that she had a fever of 106 and everyone thought it would be best that we take her to the ER to have her checked out. On the way to the hospital, she sat in her little car seat, strapped to the gurney in the aid car. She was awake but didn't respond at all to our voices. She didn't cry, she just made this little whimpering sound. Her little arms were drawn up close to her body as if she didn't know what to do with them and she was drooling from the corner of her mouth. She looked like a child with severe retardation.

I kept praying that she hadn't stopped breathing at any point during this ordeal, that she hadn't suffered permenant brain damage. I just held her tiny little hand and prayed. I thanked God for letting her be alive, for letting her still be with us. I was so, so very thankful that she was still with us. I prayed that her tiny body be healed of whatever was causing her to be in distress. I looked at her and thought about how she had been just a few hours earlier; laughing, dancing, singing and talking up a storm. She always amazes us with how advanced she is for a 19 month old! I just continued to thank the Lord that she was still with us. I knew if she had suffered brain damage, I would be heartbroken but at the same time I would continue to praise God that she was still with me.

Once at the hospital, they brought her in and layed her down so they could get blood and urine samples. She began to cry a little bit during these procedures, but still was not quite herself. It wasn't until the decision was made to put in an IV that she let us all know that she was going to be alright. She did not like the doctors and nurses holding her down to put in that IV AT ALL! That's all it took and she was fighting and screaming and calling out for her mommy! I was so happy to hear my baby girl calling for me! I immediately began sobbing and thanked the Lord for answering my prayers again that morning! God is so very good!

After several tests it was determined that Ella had a urinary tract infection and that had caused the huge jump in her body temp within such a short period of time. She had a Febril siezure as a response to this sudden rise in her body temp. She recieved an IV dose of antibiotics and was cleared to come home with us by 11am that morning. By that afternoon she was laughing and playing with her siblings.

We're asking for prayers for little Ella because she has to go in for more testing on Monday. With children under 2 years old who have had a urinary tract infection, it's recommended that testing be done to rule out any anatomical defects. She'll be going in for a renal ultrasound (kidneys) and a VCUG (the bladder is filled with blue dye and watched to make sure it's emptying properly). We're just asking for prayers that her little body is formed and functioning properly and that the Lord comforts her during these procedures.

If you've made it all the way through, thanks for reading this really, REALLY long post. ;0) I've just been playing a bit of catch up as life returns to normal around our house. I've also been working on a couple of projects during the last day or so that I hope to finish and post soon. Fingers crossed!

Give your babies an extra big hug today for me and Ella Bean!

Love....

Supplies used: CTMH Caprise paper packet, cardstock, button & waxy flax; Fiskars "filigree" embossing plate, Prima flower;


My parents will be celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary on Friday. Aren't they cute?!


They recently took a trip across the country to check some items off of their bucket lists. My dad's a HUGE fan of westerns, so he wanted to go visit Monument Valley on the Utah/Arizona border. He was in cowboy heaven!



My mom's choice was Disneyland. It was so funny because they didn't tell any of us that they'd be stopping in Disneyland before they left because they didn't want to have to listen to my kids whine and beg to come along. We found out when they sent us an email from the Buzz Lightyear game! Nice move folks, very clever!


Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

my little artists

The other day, Sammy and Bean got into an box of stickers that I'd been keeping for the kids for school and decided to have at it!



They were busily creating their masterpieces! And their choice of a base for their creations? Canvas? Paper? No! Don't be silly! Why, these two would never limit themselves to such boring artistic media! They are true artists after all, and what is the world but their empty canvas on which to paint, or to stick as the case may be.

(those would be my cabinets they're "decorating")

North Head Lighthouse

We arrived at the the North Head Lighthouse in Ilwaco only to find out that Sammy and Bean weren't allowed inside because it was being renovated and was potentially unsafe for wee ones. Sooooo...... what do you do with a 3 year old who's completely full of energy while his Daddy tours the lighthouse for 20mins? Well, you play an exciting game of "Ring Around the Lighthouse" of course!



"Watch me Mommy, I'm faster than McQueen!"



Then I thought it would be fun to get a group picture of the older 3 kiddos on the steps of the lighthouse. They didn't think that sounded very fun.



Next, I begged pleaded threatened asked very nicely for the boys to sit and get their picure taken together. They responded to said request by repeatedly elbowing each other. Thanks guys.





I ask ya.... Who has more fun than us????

Long Beach - day one

We just got back from a little family trip to Long Beach, WA and we all had such a good time! As I'm sure you can imagine, taking 4 kiddos on any sort of excursion is no joke! But we had an absolutely wonderful time! We got to take the kids to play on the beach and did a little site seeing while we where there, including an awesome trip out to see the Northhead lighthouse in Ilwaco.

The first evening we headed straight for the beach! The weather was absolutely perfect and my kids were in the water almost immediately!

Beanie on the beach


Sunset


Taylor


Sammy


I think Nick really got a kick out of seeing how huge the Pacific Ocean is!


Bean and Daddy making a sandcastle

A Little Bedtime Story

Any guesses as to what this is?

Well, after a 20 minute interrogation we were all enlightened. It's applesauce shoved in a hole that was carved out of the drywall in my son's closet!

I just don't know why my boys do some of the things they do!!! How on earth did that ever seem like a good idea to them?

We discovered this little beauty the other night while getting the boys ready for bed.

Me: "What the heck is this?!"

NIck(7 yrs old): "I don't know. Sammy probably did it."

Me: "Really. Hey Sammy, what's this all over the wall in here?"

Sammy (3 yrs. old) comes in and inspects the applesauce filled hole.

Sammy: "Umm....it must be yellow in there."

Me: "Thanks Bud. You're so helpful."

Nick: "I saw Sammy put that in there.....yesterday."

Me: "Really, cause he doesn't seem to know anything about it."

Fast forward several minutes later,

Nick: "O.k. I did do it. But I didn't want to tell you and Daddy because I didn't want to get in trouble."

Me: "Uh-huh....good plan. But what do you think is gonna happen to you now? You know, you really shouldn't tell lies. Have you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?

Nick: "No."

Me: "Oh, well, then I guess I'll have to tell you that one.

There once was a little boy just about your age. He thought it was fun to lie about things.

One day the little boy was out in his yard and he started yelling 'Help! Help! Wolf, wolf!' Everybody dropped what they were doing and ran out into the yard to help the little boy, but when they got there, he just stood there laughing saying 'ha ha! I was only joking! There's no wolf!; So everyone went back inside.

The next day the little boy was out in his yard and he started to yell 'Help! Please come quick! There's a wolf!' Again everybody came running out to help the boy. And again they found him laughing because there was no wolf this time either. Again, they all went back inside.

The third day the little boy was outside playing and and he turned around to see a big scary wolf right there in his yard! The little boy yelled, 'Help! Help! There's a wolf! Help!' Everyone inside heard him yelling again but this time they didn't come outside. They all thought 'Oh, he's probably just lying again. I'm not falling for it this time.'

And do you know what happened to the boy?"

Nick (with eyes as big as saucers): "What?"

Me: "The wolf ate him!"

Nick: "But I don't want a wolf to eat me!"

We spent the next few minutes assuring Nick that he was not going to be eaten by a wolf. So basically, that little lesson on lying went really well. But hey, it did make for a pretty funny story. ;0)

Visiting the Nina

Last Friday we took a fieldtrip out to Lake Union in Seattle to tour a replica of Christopher Columbus' ship, the Nina. I was amazed at how tiny the ship was! The kids had fun looking around and I had panic attacks the entire time we were anywhere near the water. My kids just don't seem to be afraid of ANYTHING lately and Nick made it a point to let me know at several points during the tour, that "that water doesn't look very deep". Note to self: sign kids up for swimming lessons.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the tour:

The Nina




Taylor's thrilled to be here!





Sammy checking out the water to see if it is in fact "not very deep"