Wrap Them in Love - Making Baby Quilts

What a whirlwind!

 

 

The last two weeks have been filled with anticipation, preparation, and organization to get ready to welcome our two new baby girls to this big world.

 

 

But the desire to love and welcome them makes it all worth while.

 

Even when one has to borrow a sewing machine (since hers is broken), one has extra furry help (though it is not requested), and one has to shuffle to meet all those little deadlines so all could enjoy the parties.

Baby quilts are my favorite gift to make for newborns. The last go-round included several boys, so this crafter was excited to add some pink and flowers!

 

 

Love them, snuggle them, wrap them in quilts.

 

Congratulations mommy's, daddy's, sisters, and brothers

(and grandmas and grandpas).

 

Wrapped in love. 

 

Way to go, Amplify!

What in the World is a Gender Reveal Party? - Part 1

My daughter is pregnant with her third baby. She almost immediately began talking about gender reveal parties. And then, voila, she requested a gender reveal party.

Here is my journey with gender reveal.

1. First and foremost, figure out what in the world a gender reveal party is!

Simply put, a gender reveal party is a fun way for the parents-to-be to let family and friends (and the world) know if the baby is a boy or a girl.

Some do it via photo opps and social media, others plan out parties and elaborate schemes to surprise attendees or viewers. Either way requires that the mother find out the sex of the baby during an ultrasound and keeping it secret until the reveal. Really, that secret is the hardest part of the entire event.

2. Pinterest. This so far has proven to be the best source for ideas for all parts of a gender reveal party.

3. Plan for: decorations, games or activities, food, photo opportunities, location, scheduled date, invitations, and reveal plan.

4. Enlist help. In order to do this, either the person helping is in on the secret, or the one-in-the-know keeps the secret as themes of blue and pink are interspersed throughout the event and keeps said helper in the dark.

5. Send out invitations. I used a Facebook event invitation.

6. Shop for and collect necessary items. Party and craft stores have many cute options for boy and girl babies.

7. Bake or prepare whatever it is that you choose to use as the reveal.

We used cupcakes. I baked 48, half in pink cupcake papers, the other half in blue. I found a cool tool at Micheals that let me take a core out of the center of the cupcakes. I then filled the hole with the correct color of icing (blue for boy, pink for girl) and iced them in a neutral color. Sprinkles of blue and pink plus a blue and a pink plastic diaper pin were added to the top of cupcakes.

8. Decorate. Seriously, this is why my sister helped me. Decorating is not my strong suit. She's the girl with the gift. Some of the things we did for decorations will be featured in Part 2. But a few examples are balloons, a big yellow question mark on the door, a banner hanging from the fireplace, and a cupcake tree.

9. Charge the camera battery.

10. Celebrate!

Angie Quantrell blogs about life, love, family, and kids. She appreciates all of her readers. Thank you for reading!

The New Toy

Three cousins finally met. One won't remember the occasion, possibly two. But for sure, the witnesses and the oldest cousin will recall the fascination with the newest member of the clan. He was cute enough to steal the show and hold the attention of all audience members.

Baby Donavyn

Sister and Brother check out the new playmate

Nana and Papa with all three of their grands

Two cousins could not get enough of Baby Watch TV

What a blessing new babies are! As they grow, they just mature into bigger and more energetic blessings.

Signed,
One Content Nana

The Baby

The miracle of being a Nana. X2. The first time around was fabulous, and quite interesting from the other side of the stirrups. Emotions ran high, exhaustion set in, awe and wonder sprang forth with joy as baby Boy made his appearance. Too amazing.

Again. Even with the previous experience and the current juggling of care for the Boy as Sister made her splash (literally) in the world, nothing could compare to the excitement of finally meeting her face to face. She would be late, as her mother is always late. Named. Expected and longed for.

But a week overdue seems like seconds when I hold that precious baby Girl. Minuscule fingers and toes, bum and pointy head.

Delightful.

The Third Advent

Already!?! This Christmas season is going amazingly fast. The winter storm that dumped upon us oodles of heavy snow was awesome. Really feels more like Christmas when there is snow falling or piling or causing difficult driving.

Today marks the third day of advent. Light the third candle, which symbolizes and reminds us of the angels and the shepherds and the part they played in the first, original and true Christmas. (The REAL reason for the season is the birth of Christ, contrary to a current anti-Christmas ploy by unbelievers.) The story (as in true life account) of the birth of Christ is non-fiction. It happened.

"And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased," (Luke 2:8-14).

Which shall be for all the people...that is all the people of the entire world, past, present, and future!

You and I. Us and them. These and the others. ALL people.

What excellent news the shepherds received that night! And they went and told all they had seen and heard.

Join together as we praise God and give Him glory for His indescribable gift, one that came in a tiny and unexpected package. Looked for, but not in the way He arrived. Willingly and humbly, Mary and Joseph accepted the role God had for them to play.

Yes, another reason to give glory to God. Amen.

The Incovenience of Volcanoes

Did you know, Aunt Angie,...??? Just an observation, but volcanoes disrupt lives? All of that awesome, scary, amazing power and energy, bursting forth, or oozing out, or blasting off tends to impact lives nearby. Or right now, in many cases, lives are at a stand still all over the world.

Take the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. I was in high school. The majority of our problem was the tons of ash that covered everything, I mean everything. And school was out for a week. But seriously, is that really a problem? Nope. Still have my jars of Mt. St. Helens ash complete with peeling, yellowed, and disintegrating handmade labels.

Jump to 2010 (I know I'm skipping a few volcanoes in there). A mostly under ice volcano in Iceland, vibrantly active, spews ash in clouds that interrupt flights all across Europe, and consequently all around the world. Millions (according to news reports) of travelers are stranded, unable to get home or back to work or leave for vacation.

Personally, my baby, due to be home for his two-week r & r before finishing up his deployment, due to leave TODAY and be home very soon, is stuck on his FOB, no way to get anywhere, no place to go, no room where he needs to go to link to flights and home, backed-up people everywhere.

He is not alone, I know. Schools opening in parts of Europe, but missing teachers and students who are on holiday, and stuck on holiday. Officials postponing big talks. Businesses losing massive amounts of money due to inability to ship freight. Airlines laying off employees. No planes, no income, no payday. What a mess!

Despite my inclination to whine a bit, I know my baby is safe (don't let him know I call him that). It is safer to not rush the schedule if ash is in the air...I'd personally like to know how 'they' convinced pilots to test the airplanes in the ash to see if it is safe and if the planes sustained any damage. ??? A teensy thought, but you cannot spend overtime or hazard pay if your plane hits a cloud of ash and stops working. Hmmmm.

So, Aunt Angie, well, you know that God made the volcano. Yes, he did, nephew. I guess we will just have to leave it in His very capable hands. In His time, all will be sorted out.

Until then, I'll face each day with hope and His promises. It's gonna be fine. Hang in there, baby of mine.

(not a volcano, but signs of hope and a promise)