around here lately

the boys are playing baseball.
aren't they so adorable in their uniforms?

 on wednesday avery finally lost one of his top front teeth.
that thing has been loose for over a year.
i thought it was going to wittle away to nothing before it ever fell out.
he looks pretty cute, i think.
not looking forward to the big honkin grown up tooth that will replace it.

no we did not go to the creek.

that's our yard.
 or was.

all that rain that hit alabama, hit us first...except it was stable when it was here.
no tornados, thankfully.
so sad for all those hurting families in AL right now. :(
anyhow, we had like a foot and a half of rain & flood conditions.
several families in our church had major flooding in their homes & lost a lot.
we had a nice layer of water in our detached garage.
thankfully most of the cardboard boxes that were out there were garage sale.
the only thing i was worried about was the old wicker bassinet that, at one time, held my niece, nephew, little sister, & all my babies.
thankfully it was in the one dry spot and aj was able to get it up off the floor before more rain came.

i took sawyer to get his hair cut today.
we went to a new place, pigtails and crewcuts.
it was awesome.
sawyer, who is not a fan of being messed with, actually tolerated this hair cut.

how could he not?
he had a flat screen in front of him playing toy story, he was riding an airplane & he had a cup of animal crackers.
tough life, kid.

they also have a play room, a train table, bubbles, suckers & and a prize box.

and yes, that is my 8 and 6 year old sitting in the kiddie cars.

the big boys have ONE more week of school! yay!!
so looking forward to a nice long break with my boys.
bring on summer!! Pin It

living room ~ a progress report, part 2.

i am a slow decorator.
maybe it has something to do with the fact that i have 3 boys under the age of 8 and i homeschool part time.
or maybe i'm just a.d.d. and indecisive.
i wish i had a little of the nester in me.
she moves all the time and within a week the whole house looks like a show room.

it takes me forever to get a room the way i like it.

case in point, our living room:

this is what she looks like right now.
pretty, darn bare.
so i sold the white pottery barn sofa on craig's list.
i loved it...loved the shape of it. loved the look.
did not love dealing with white slipcovers and 3 little boys.
i was so stressed out all the time with that sofa.
if they even breathed on it, they got something goobery on it.
i decided that no matter how much i loved it, i did not want to be a slave to my couch.
plus i don't have the time or inclination to be washing a slipcover that often.

so i found this in-perfect-condition leather couch on craig's list for a song.
i used the money from selling the pb sofa and even came out ahead.
high five.

then i found this 1940's chair at a yard sale...also in amazing condition.

i plan to paint it and recover it.
i would like to do it in a really fun print.
but...i'm waiting to figure out the rest of the furniture.

my plan is to move the sofa 90 degrees to where this chair is now.
the chair would be where the sofa is.
facing the sofa would be two really comfy/cute side chairs.
make sense?
clear as mud?
here's an example...

 anyway...i have to find chairs first.
i feel like once i find chairs, the whole room will come together.
i have been searching for months and can't find just the right thing...for the right price.

so here is our sad, big ol' blank wall:

i am thinking a big collage wall would be good over there.

the other blank wall:

 even though this living room is in some desperate need of finishing, it really is a cozy room that we love hanging out in.

i plan to move the big armiore to the play room and put a low dresser in it's place as a landing spot.

i've been on the lookout {again, for months} for curtains.
my main problem is that i'm cheap and i haven't been in the mood to sew lately.
right now, i'm thinking i may just get some basic white curtains from target and sew a burlap ruffle along the bottom to make them longer.
but i may change my mind tomorrow.
a simple pattern would also be nice.
oh and i also need to whip up a slew of throw pillows.

and other suggestions for this room would be so, so welcome!!!

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a sweet morning.

 this year, easter was extra special because our two oldest boys were baptized.

 this is a very important day in their lives.
they are giving a public testimony that they love and want to follow Jesus with their whole hearts.

what made it even more precious is that their daddy was the one to baptize them.

 our children's pastor talked about each of the boys' favorite verse and then AJ asked each of them, "have you committed to follow the Lord and to serve Him and glorify Him with your life?"

they said, yes. :)

then he said, "I baptize you, my son and also my brother in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. "

it was so precious. 
such a gift to watch my husband baptize our boys.
we also have it on video. so thankful for that.

to commemorate this special event in their lives, we gave each one a nice leather Bible with their name embossed on the cover.
i look forward to those Bibles being worn out with the study of God's word.  Pin It

easter twenty eleven

we had a wonderful {albeit rainy} easter.

i didn't get great pictures because our camera was misbehaving.
i had to resort to our old little pocket nikon.
i either had to use the flash {blech} or take a blurry pic without it.
either way, i documented the day so that's what counts.

sweet little easter baskets for sweet little boys. 

for breakfast we made these resurrection rolls.
they were so easy & very yummy.
a great visual for the empty tomb.

we had a wonderful service at church...which i'll tell you more about tomorrow.

{note to self: self, stand up straight. love, me}

after church {and naps} we dyed easter eggs.

we also hid a bunch of plastic easter eggs around the house for the boys to hunt.

it was pouring rain all day so we had to have our easter activities inside.
it was a wonderful, cozy, family day spent with the ones i love. :) Pin It

and the truth of this Good Friday

Sunday's Coming. Pin It

today.

thank you all so much for the girl name ideas.
the list of names i love is now huge!
i knew i could count on you. :)

today is good friday and i'm feeling overwhelmed.
this month has been a non-stop race against time, it seems.
so many good things.
but those good things require more of me than i have.
more energy.
more focus.
more stamina.
just more.

but my Jesus is all that i need.
i'm choosing to put on His peace today.
do the next right thing.
let the things that don't matter go.

so thankful for the unfathomable sacrifice Jesus made on this good friday so that i can truly obtain and walk in His peace.
not peace that the world gives.
but His peace.
His rest.

ephesians 2:24 "for He Himself is our peace."

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you'd think i'd have a whole list by now.

okay friends, i need some help.
we need a baby girl name.
i have many ideas floating around in my head, but none that i am just crazy about.

the name has to have at least 2 syllables because her middle name has one syllable.

here are some that are swirling around my head right now....

lucy
lilly
ruby
allie
evelyn or evie
hazel
eliza
adley
nora

a good meaning is really important to us as well.
so pretty please, share your names!

i want to LOVE the name.

i feel like i will know it when i hear it.

can't wait to see your ideas. :) Pin It

crafting with courtney, the loo & a giant belly.

last week, my girl courtney, came over for some girl time.
she ate dinner with us and then we got down to business making some crafts.

we started out making cards.
after looking through my big pile of {extremely neglected} scrapbook paper, i had another idea.

i grabbed a couple of frames from my stash & we went outside to give them a quick coat of black spray paint.

when they dried, we cut our chosen scrapbook paper to size, added a word with scrapbook stickers, & popped them into the frame.
it took courtney about 2.5 seconds to pick the paper she wanted.

a quick & easy craft that makes me smile.

i added a strip of ribbon & hung mine in our downstairs bath.

oh, you want to see more of our downstairs bath?
well, sure.

gray walls & slate tile.
love the gray and love that the slate hides a multitude of sins.

and the other side. . .

with my pretty, new anthro towel that i picked up when we were in little rock on friday.
i l-o-v-e this towel.
it's super thick and cushy and i love the vintage look to it.

i'm hoping it will hide a multitude of sins as well because my boys don't actually get their hands clean when they wash them.

while i was taking these photos i caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
oh my, i am worried about how big this belly is getting.
seriously.

i don't normally wear lime green....i am working at rhea lana's consignment sale this week.
i tried to pick the photo where my stomach looked the smallest.
there was none.


FIVE MONTHS, y'all!

i am for sure this is the biggest i have ever been at 5 months.
i'm a little worried about what i'm going to look like at the end.
there's another preggo girl working at rhea lana's that looks about the same size as me.
although....when i see these pictures, i think i am actually am bigger.
i asked her when she was due.


three weeks.

uh huh. yep.

i really am so happy to be pregnant and so happy to get the joy of carrying this sweet girl.
but i am nervous that by the end i'm going to look like violet beauregard...except not blue....hopefully.

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beth moore, i love you!

after such a crazy busy week, i am so excited to get to have a girl's trip today!
four of my dear bible study friends and i are going to little rock for a beth moore conference.

i am looking forward to a grown-up girl day.
i am so looking forward to hearing beth speak.
i have journeyed through the Bible with her for about 9 years now.

i am going to miss my little family....but aj will hold down the fort well.
he's good like that. :)

here's a little clip of beth doing what she does best...story telling.
take a few minutes and watch it, you'll be glad you did.



i bawled my eyes out when i watched it.
she's the real deal . . . i want to respond to Jesus' whispers like that.

happy weekend, friends.
xo-sara Pin It

random tuesday

happy tuesday all.

this is a weird week for us.
the boys are in school two extra half-days this week for sat10 testing.
i actually mopped my kitchen floor yesterday morning. so, that was exciting.
of course i used mrs. meyers' basil because that stuff smells a.maz.ing.
and mrs. meyers actually makes you want to clean.

for some reason this month is crazy-busy.
like, 3 things written on my calendar every day, busy.
it's a little overwhelming but we're making it.
it's mostly good stuff...just really hectic.
i tell you what, i'll be ready for our vaca next month {!!!}
i can't wait to sit around and be waited on. :)

i am addicted to the brick breaker game on the phone that my friend lent me since mine broke.
like, i think it's becoming a problem.
i'm pretty sure i have an addictive personality.


the nester wrote a really good post about educating your children.
i've been pondering it a bunch.

and now for my official {not sure what that means} 5 months shot.

it's a little bitter-sweet that this will be my last time doing this.
even though it's hard work, it's such a privilege and a blessing to get to carry my sweet babies. 
i'm thankful to be entrusted with this work.

have a great day y'all!!! Pin It

birthday at the park

 

we had the perfect weather for finley's birthday party on saturday.

we let him choose a few little boys his age to invite.  

between siblings and family, we had a good amount of people to celebrate & play in the park together.

my niece & nephew....

not sure who told them they could grow up and get so big. 

make way for big mama.

it was a really fun, low key party. 

just some playing in the park, snacks, & hanging out with friends.

present time is very chaotic exciting. :)

a little thanks-for-coming favor.

and here's a little video of us singing happy birthday and pretending the candles are lit.

Untitled from Sara Neufeld on Vimeo. Pin It

pure joy.

that would describe fin's birthday on tuesday. 

we all had such a great time celebrating him.

and by the way, no, i cannot believe my sweet little finley is SIX.

 we started off the day with a happy birthday breakfast & presents. 

don't those donuts just scream birthday?!

our sweet birthday boy...sleepy eyes, bed head, and all.

 we put his #6 candle in his birthday donut & sang to him.

please excuse my crazy, just-got-out-of-the-shower-didn't-have-time-to-fix-it-yet hair.

 after the boys got dressed for school finley opened his family presents.

 avery is so excited and happy for finley. :)

 i am so happy we captured his excitement.
i've never seen him that thrilled over a present.
it was so. fun.

i sent birthday cookies with him to school for their snack time.
i also put a special birthday note in his school box.
when i picked him up from school he was so, so happy.
he kept telling me that i was the best mama ever because i put a birthday note in his school box.
i was so happy that he'd had such a great day at school on his birthday.

we met aj for dinner at Shogun...a japenese steakhouse that has the hibachi grill right at your table.
the boys had never been and the only thing we told them was that they cook your food in front of you.

we all had a blast.
the boys were so excited & thrilled over everything.

the boys loved using chopsticks and were amazed at all the tricks our cook performed.
it was so fun to get to experience it through their eyes.
they make everything so fun!

happy 6th birthday finley abe! Pin It