A New Nest

I first started this blog when it was just Sonny and me and Miss Ryen Olivia. I began this journey as a way to share Ryen's life with her birthmother. Little did I know it would also become our family journal and even lead to my own business. For some time now, I have wanted to switch our blog, but now that we are moving into our new home, I figure it is the perfect time to move our blog as well. So, from now on, you can find us at:

{ http://farmhouse5.blogspot.com/ }

Please update your links and become a follower! Thank you so much for your comments and your support. It has meant so very much.

Bootiful Ghouls

We went to our church's Trunk or Treat tonight and it was really fun. I felt so bad for poor Ryen though. She is still so sick. Her eyes were all puffy and swollen and she was just miserable. I think we were the last ones there and among the first to leave so we could get our little monarch home and back to bed. I just didn't have the heart to make her miss the party altogether. Anyway, she wanted to be a monarch butterfly this year and was so excited about that. She looked so cute, sickness and all.

Madelyn is still obsessed with "The Wizard of Oz" so I was able to talk my fabulous mother into whipping up a Dorothy dress for Maddie. (Most years she changes her mind a million times before Halloween, but this year it was Dorothy all the way!) She was so cute and so insistent that her costume be as accurate as possible. I looked everywhere for a toy dog that looked like Toto, but couldn't find one anywhere. She was going to bring "Invisible Toto" but at the last minute Sonny found some sort of porcupine or something and that made her happy. She was worried about her sleeves being long and not short with puffy shoulders, but I assured her no one would notice. I know I would have never noticed that at her age, but Maddie takes fashion very seriously. :) She was just adorable!

Ally was our little pumpkin. Since it's a pretty common costume, I had to Megan it up a little though. :) I found a striped orange and white baby hat and matching socks at Target that were really cute. (Good thing Ally is so small because they fit her without any problems!) I sewed on a stem and a big flower and some curled green pipe cleaner. Then I found some orange tulle at a thrift store for $1 and cut the top elastic off a pair of shorts from this past summer. I just tied strips of tulle onto the elastic band and had her wear that over an orange shirt and green pants. It was super cheap and really fun and easy to make.

I found a Robin Hood costume at a thrift store as well, but I couldn't find any tights to go with it. It's harder than you might think to find man tights. Also, I didn't see any costumes I really wanted to wear and all of my usual ones are packed away. So, sadly, Sonny was off the hook. He was pretty devastated, but with time and therapy I am hopeful that he will recover. :)

It's Official

The papers have been signed and we are now the proud owners of a 119-year-old farmhouse in the country. We move in next week and we are so excited! You can view photos of the interior by clicking on the image below. Yaaaay!

Ashley Farmhouse

Also, I just have to say something to my sister Caitlyn and her husband Joel. Thank you so much for letting us totally invade your home and your lives for the past few months. I feel like we have seen each other at our best and at our worst, but we are leaving loving you as much (or more!) than ever. That's pretty awesome, if you ask me. :) You are amazing people and we have learned so much during our stay with you. I honestly don't know any two people who are more forgiving or more generous or more prayerful. Thank you so much for putting up with us. You'll have to do it lots more in the future. :)

Tinkerbell Coupon

If your kids are anything like mine, they have been waiting for October 27th for a loooooong time now. Today the new Tinkerbell movie came out! Poor Ryen is sick with The Big One so the timing couldn't be better. We've got our glow-in-the-dark green necklaces, our Tinkerbell costumes, our "fairy cakes", and our coziest blankets all ready to go. I am such a sucker for a little chick flick. :)

If you are thinking about purchasing this movie, snag this coupon for $10 off.

Warm Fuzzy Labels

If anyone is interested, here are a couple labels you can use on your "Warm Fuzzy" jars. You can just print them, cut them out, and either glue them right to the jar or get crafty with some ribbon. :)

Click on the image for a larger version if you need them bigger.

Pumpkin Patch '09

Ally & Lydia

When we tell people we moved to Michigan from North Carolina they always ask us WHY. This is why. :)

Chicago

When we realized Ryen had no school on Monday, we decided to take advantage of the long weekend and go on a little vacation. We originally wanted to go to Nauvoo, but didn't feel like driving that far- especially since most things couldn't be done on Sunday. Plan B was a trip up to Mackinac Island, but a crummy weather report ruined that idea. Plan C was a weekend in Chicago...so that's what we did!

We spent Saturday night at a hotel in Grand Rapids so the kids could swim and play and so we could go to our new church without having to get up suuuuper early. :) We loved the ward that will soon be our own and feel really excited to be a part of it. Everyone was so friendly and the spirit there was wonderful. The girls met lots of new friends and feel excited to start going there as well. It was really neat. From there, we headed to Chicago where we stayed at the W Hotel. It was very sleek and trendy and not the kind of place that caters to families- especially families with young children. As much as Sonny and I love nice hotels, this one just wasn't our style. Having said that, we try to let our kids experience as much diversity as possible and got a kick out of their excited reviews of the ultra-modern features and decor.

While in Chicago, we went shopping (American Girl store, H&M, Ikea) and took the girls to the temple and the Shedd Aquarium. We had lots of plans to do lots of things, but there is just never as much time as you think there ought to be. Next time!

Click here for photos

Warm Fuzzies

Glass jar: $2.50
Bag of craft balls: $2.50
Finding out Madelyn cleaned her room without being asked: Priceless

Is it just us or has everyone started a "warm fuzzy" jar after listening to this talk by Thomas S. Monson?
FYI- both jars and fuzzies are 50% off at Hobby Lobby this week. :)

A little help please?

I love our new house and can't wait to move in! Our closing date should be sometime at the end of this month, but we probably won't get to move in until the beginning of next. Until we sell our house in NC, we won't be doing any extensive remodeling- just painting and switching out fixtures. I don't hate the yellow color of our house's exterior, but I am not a fan of the maroonish red and blue combo. It feels a little McDonalds/80's to me. I want to paint the blue parts white (like the window frames) and the porch front and shutters a cream color. Sonny thinks it will make the house seem bland and washed out. I think it will make it look clean and fresh. He suggested black. "Yes, turn left at the stop sign and we'll be the giant bumblebee on the right." No thanks.

What would YOU do?

Here we go again...

Ryen, Ryen, Ryen. Our sweet child is always bumping, bruising, bleeding, and bewildered. After a frantic phone call from her school last week, we were afraid we'd have to add "broken" to the list. While playing on the monkey bars, Ryen slipped and hit her shin on the platform. It was a wicked bruise and swelled out like she had a golf ball under her skin. I'll never forget the look on her poor little face when I came to school to get her and our eyes met. I ran to her and hugged her and she just buried her face into my chest and sobbed. It melted me. I carried her out to the car and Madelyn started to cry because she was so worried about her big sister. It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Maddie asked Ryen if she was hungry and when she said she was, Madelyn quickly handed her the apple she was eating. She kept telling Ryen that she loved her and that everything would be okay. Then, she asked me if we could go get ice cream- but none for her, just for Ryen. Maddie's compassion and genuine love for Ryen completely overwhelmed me. What amazing children we have been blessed with! Within a few hours, Ry was running around on her leg so we felt confident it wasn't broken...thank goodness. But what a scare!


{This is a picture of Ryen on the monkey bars a couple of days before her injury and then a photo of her leg that I took recently. You can't really see how gross it looked, but trust me!}

Sweater Weather

Don't you just LOVE this time of year?

Megan Day

Joel watched the girls this morning. My mom watched them this afternoon. Why? So The Hubster and I could hit a flea market at my faaaaavorite antique shop. I got an awesome china hutch for our new house (I have been wanting one for ages!) for $100 and a huge old cupboard thing for $30. It's hard to explain it, but trust me- it's fantastic! From there, we headed down to Saugatuck and hit a few other favorite places. I was able to get a ton of great photos to use in my blog designs. Today was totally Megan Day. Heaven. Loooove my hubby for being such a good sport!

Little Girls

Some women are dripping with diamonds

Some women are dripping with pearls
Lucky me! Lucky me!
Look at what I'm dripping with
Little girls

Sometimes I feel like Ms. Hannigan from "Annie." Everywhere I go it's little girls! Unlike Ms. Hannigan though, I love every minute of it. :) I recently decided to pull our dress-up clothes out of storage. As a result, I haven't seen Madelyn in "real" clothes in days. It's amazing how much happier she is...in all seriousness. All these little princesses! They crack me up. (It also cracks me up seeing Tanner in our ladybug tutu costume, but I will refrain from posting photos of that. Poor outnumbered little guy!)

The Office

There is only one show I watch on TV. Uno. I am soooo glad it's back.

Freaky to Fabulous

I am addicted to thrift stores, antique stores, and flea markets. I can't help it. There is something so thrilling to me to turn trash into treasures. I was at a thrift store a couple weeks ago and came across this huge picture that was so enormously tacky that it both alarmed and amused me. Who this guys is, I have no idea- but he scares the bajeezers out of me. The big gaudy frame his cardboard self was placed in, however, was just too awesome to pass up. So...for $2.99 I snatched it up and turned this:

into this:

It's now a totally shabulous chalkboard for Ryen and Maddie's room. You can thank me later, Sonny. :)

This is it.

Oh, yellow farmhouse. We've been through a lot together already. Several visits, thinking you were the one, thinking your floor plan just wouldn't suffice, thinking we'd look at other homes, not finding anything else that we liked as well as you, feeling drawn to you, feeling torn by your shortcomings, but loving the essence of you all along. Though you weren't our ideal, we felt drawn to you, like we belonged together. And so, yellow farmhouse, after everything we've been through, you should know that the floundering is over. We are buying you. The Hastings family is going to take good care of you. We'll paint your shutters and carpet your floors. We'll give you a bigger kitchen and plant fruit trees by your side. We'll do everything within the power of man to protect you from mice. Most importantly, we will fill your rooms with laughter and love and memories.

Blah Blah Blah

My mom got together with her sisters this weekend. They call themselves The Blah Blah's and whenever they get together, my mom turns into a 14-year-old. :) It occurred to me that someone should be documenting the sisterhood of these 4 wild women so I volunteered to drive to my mom's for a little photo shoot. It was such a neat experience to spend a couple hours with these amazing women. I learn so much from each of them. What a blessing to know them and to be able to peek into life at the Crandall house.

First Day of First Grade

Today was Ryen's first day of school. I can't believe our little pixie is a first grader! Was she nervous? Uh...no. Was she hesitant? Uh...NO. She was ready to go and off she went like a rocket! That's the Ryen way. :) I asked her how school went when she got off the bus this afternoon and she flashed me a huge smile and said it was GREAT! She was really excited about getting three recesses. I have no idea how long we'll be here, but I'm glad Ryen's school year seems to be off to a good start. I am so proud of her!

Happy Birthday Honey!

Sonny turned 33 on Labor Day. We celebrated by taking a little day trip to Traverse City while my mom watched the girls. We had so much fun! We brought our bikes and rode all over the city. We discovered a secret garden that seemed like a portal to Fairy Land. It was so fun, just him and me, riding our bikes wherever the wind blew us. On Sunday night, we had cake and Sonny opened his presents. I can't believe he is 33. And, even after almost 10 years of marriage, I still can't believe he is mine. For you Sonny, here are 33 things I love about you...

1. You don't get embarrassed easily- which is why I can post hilarious pictures of you on my blog
2. You humor me- which is why you were walking around with a giant green leaf on your head in the first place
3. You always say you're sorry
4. You never raise your voice and rarely get angry
5. You try harder than anyone I know to be the person God wants you to be
6. You see the best in people
7. You are generous
8. You are an incredible father
9. You are humble
10. You are brilliant
11. You act on your dreams and ideas
12. You have a gentle soul
13. You endlessly encourage me
14. You are honest
15. You never keep score
16. You are hard-working
17. You are selfless
18. You tuck our girls in at night
19. You don't think there is an ailment in life that can't be fixed with hot wings
20. You laugh like you mean it
21. You love without conditions
22. You do an amazing job supporting our family and do it happily
23. You help me see things in a different way while always respecting my point of view
24. You appreciate a good bargain
25. You are never chauvinistic
26. You are romantic
27. You make me laugh
28. You do a horrible English accent
29. You love goodness
30. You aren't afraid to wear reindeer pajamas to the grocery store...in June
31. You sing to me
32. You are my best friend
33. You show our daughters the kind of man they should aspire to marry

I am the luckiest.
Happy birthday, my love!

A Daredevil & A Diva

Before school starts, we like to take our kids out to do something fun. It's sort of a final celebration to usher in the new school year. Last year we went on a little vacation. This year Ryen asked us to take her to a theme park called Michigan's Adventure. I volunteered Sonny to take her. :) What? I'm a chicken. Ryen, on the other hand, is a total and complete thrill seeker. The child is fearless. Roller coaster? Yes, please. Would you like to sit in this seat and drop several stories to your eminent death? Yes, please. How about this thing where we launch you into space? Yep. She has been that way since the day she was born. So...while Maddie and I were safely doing girly things (shopping, ice cream, manicures) like this:

Ryen was doing this:
Where does that girl get her courage??? I went to the same theme park when I was her age and didn't ride anything bigger than this:This girl is craaaaazy! :)

Youngest Love

I realize to many of you this picture may be alarming. Looks like Maddie is going to drop her, doesn't it? She won't. She's been carrying Ally around for ages and hasn't dropped her yet. Ryen has, but that's a different story. Sadly, Ally spends a good part of her days being carted around by children barely larger than she is. It's the curse of The Youngest.

Hastings House Hunt

We went back to the big ol' farmhouse with my sister and then again with my mom. We came close to buying it. Really close. But the thing is...it just wasn't right. There were so many things we loved about it, but so many things that weren't great. We kept feeling so torn and then we realized that if it was right, we would feel peaceful. So, that settled that. It's a bummer, but we did realize some things during this experience. The main thing we learned is that we may have to build in order to get what we are looking for. We found this beeeeeautiful land near the farmhouse. 10 acres, half rolling meadow and half wooded with a creek. It's pretty much heaven. But do we want to build???

We don't believe in beds.

...At least, our kids don't. Ever since Ryen was a baby, she was hopping out of her crib and setting up camp in the strangest places. Under tables, bookshelves, chairs, and beds. In closets, hallways, bathrooms, and boxes. In beds? Nooooo. In the last five years, I can count on one hand the number of times I have entered Ryen's room to discover her (gasp!) sleeping soundly in her actual bed. Madelyn usually follows suit. Why? I don't know. It's another Mom Mystery that I may never know the answer to. Sigh.

What next?

Sonny is often on the radio. It's just something I have come to know and love about the man I am married to. I've often been in my car listening to NPR and just started laughing as they announced that their next caller was my husband. Imagine the smile on my face when that familiar voice chimed in to plug my website on The Diane Rehm Show today. The topic was about blogging, so he wasn't just giving a random shout-out, but still... I love that man.

This could be The One.

Here she is, folks. Our favorite. I'm hesitant to even say it because properties tend to slip by us, but we are really excited about this one. It's out in the country, surrounded by cornfields and orchards. This home was built in 1890 and has been totally renovated. It is 3,800 square feet of country perfection. :) We drove by it tonight...about 4 times, but we haven't been able to get inside it yet. If this house is even half as good as we hope, we are totally buying it.

It's a sign!

Here's the tin poster I bought, for those of you who wanted to see. It's huge and fabulous and totally going in my kitchen.

...And here is one of the books I bought. It's full of fantastic illustrations and cute stories. Ryen and I are going to read it at bedtime...and I may frame some of the pages later.

I also bought a small shabby metal frame and a necklace with a turquoise pendant, but I was too lazy to take pictures of them. :)

Flea Market Diva

I love this kid. I love that she was willing to go with me to the flea market this morning. My sidekick and I found some fantastic goodies! You can't find things like this everywhere. I was always so sad when we lived in AZ because I could never find great antiques. There were some fun things at thrift stores sometimes, but it just wasn't the same. Anyway, I bought some vintage children's books to add to my collection for 10 cents each. I also found a poster-sized vintage red tin sign that I loooooove for $12. It is totally going in my kitchen! I've been toying with the idea of opening my own online store so that everyone can get their hands on the cool stuff I find. What do you think?

That's what I'm talking about.

We met my brother Drew and his family and my sister Caitlyn and her family at the beach a week or two ago and I wanted to post a few photos before I totally forgot it happened. :) Drew and Amber were so great to bring everything we needed to roast hot dogs and marshmallows on the beach. (I love that you can still do that here!) I took a million pictures and snuggled with my girls next to the fire. It was such a relaxing and fun evening. Ahhhh.

Tickled Pink

Things have been going well at Shabby Blogs. It keeps me soooo busy, but I really love it! Okay, I hate some of it (the 500+ emails currently in my inbox and the icky ordeal of getting my designs properly online) but the actual designing I love! :) I've been really blown away by how kind people have been. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many supportive people. I recently hit 1,000 followers and will soon hit 1,500. Not too shabby. ;) To celebrate, I decided to do something just for me- which made me feel really guilty on one hand, but really excited on the other. I bought myself a bike. A PINK bike! And I found a basket for it at a thrift store for $1. I am SO excited! The best part is...I bought it with "my own" money. It's probably lame of me, but I am really proud of that. It's nice to do something just for myself. Creating Shabby Blogs has been such an awesome experience for me. A HUGE thank-you to all of you who have been so supportive and encouraging! I appreciate you more than you know.

PS. Isn't it funny that all of the money Sonny makes is our money, but the money (what little of it there is!) I make is "my" money? Ha! I married such an awesome man.

Ally Bally Nudey Pants

I had to crop this picture to keep things modest, but trust me...it was cute.

Lily

Poor Lily. It's hard to be a dog in this family. She is constantly being bossed around by our kids.

"No, Lily!"
"Down, Lily!"
Outside, Lily!"
"Kennel, Lily!"

She's such a good sport...even if she did chew up Emma's shoe.

Another one bites the dust.

Sonny and I...we love this house. Looooove it. It is perfect. Priced well with over 4,000 square feet and every imaginable upgrade and feature your little heart could desire. Excellent schools, great location. This house is gorgeous. It is mouth-watering. It is...on no land. There is no backyard AT ALL. There are a bunch of other homes that butt up against each other and share a sort of free-for-all "common area." Ugh. We are never moving.

The Perfect Day

When my children woke up this morning, I told them we were going on an adventure today. We piled into The Pilot and took off for Saugatuck. I like Saugatuck. It's beautiful. We only made it to Holland, but that's because we stopped at every thrift store and antique shop in between. :) After thoroughly wearing myself and my girls out, we met Sonny for dinner and then headed to the beach. We swam like mermaids until the sun set. I wish Sonny could have come with us this afternoon, but besides that, today was The Perfect Day.

My Little Ladies

I'm going to edit these photos, but I just had to post this one. The girls were getting restless so I handed them this old book. Ryen started reading to Maddie and Ally and they just sat there quietly in a big blue chair in the middle of a park in the middle of two roads...happy as can be. I adore my little ladies.

The Blue Chair

I've always loved portraits using furniture outdoors. While Sonny was away at a business conference this week, I dragged my baby bargain hunters to several thrift stores. Besides the purchases I already mentioned, I've been watching for the perfect chair to lug outdoors for some portraits. I found it! An old blue chair whose unknown history scares me slightly, but is wonderfully perfect for pictures! In the past few days it has been dragged to the park and to Lake Michigan. It has seated my three girlies, Caity's kiddos, and the Drew Tracy family...plus their dog. This chair has been busy...and it has been rocking my world! I am such a nerd, I know. We got some reallllllly strange looks lugging that sucker out onto the beach. I love the way the photos turned out though. (I'll post them soon!) Best 15$ I ever spent. :)

Can I have your watch when you are dead?

I found the most fabulously won-der-ful thrift store on the planet! It's in this weird part of town in a building that used to be a Walgreens. I have only ever seen reeeeally old people there. I'm not sure what that means. BUT...they have the most awesome prices and coolest items I have ever seen in a thrift store. It's all really old stuff. Not the usual junk you'd find at an icky garage sale, but RAD stuff you'd find in your grandmother's attic...if your grandmother was awesome! I found the coolest tin boxes for 49 cents, an ancient black suitcase for 2 dollars (which is going to be soooo cool as a photo prop!), and gobs of super old books that I would marry if I could marry inanimate objects. I also found a collection of really old records that cost 5 dollars and is so neat! They are very, very old and I can't wait to find out more about them! I was so excited today. My only worry is that this really fabulous thrift store somehow gets their things mainly from people who have "passed on." Is that weird? It makes me feel kind of bad. But, hopefully they will be happy knowing that the belongings they left behind are being utterly treasured by Yours Truly. That's what I keep telling myself anyway.