Easter Goodies

http://www.the-good-life-blog.com/

I completed the Easter baskets for the hubby and E yesterday but I am just now getting the chance to post and join the Easter basket blog hop!!! I got lots of ideas from Pinterest and here is the final product!

I put together Chris's basket with three of his most favorite things!
1. Ghost River Beer (A local Memphis beer)
http://www.ghostriverbrewing.com/
2. Beef Jerky
3. Sour Patch Kids

I added some sports plastic Easter eggs filled with candy and a little sign for the beer. I totally stole the saying from Pinterest.

E's basket was a lot more difficult than I expected. She was a week old last year and I got her this sweet bunny basket with her name monogrammed. I am planning for her to use this for the couple Easter egg hunts we have planned.

I wanted something bigger to put all her goodies in. Originally, I wanted to purchase a basket from Pottery Barn Kids and never got around to it. I searched ALL over town for a large white wicker basket and had no luck. My father-in-law came to the rescue and found this basket at Dinstuhl's, a local candy shop. It was exactly what I was looking for! I painted a wooden E and tied it to the side with pink organza ribbon. I am a true southern girl when it comes to monogramming and personalization ! And here it is..........

Easter 2014

I hope you have a wonderful Easter and rejoice for our Lord is risen!

5 on Good Friday!

<ONE>
Happy Easter! He is risen! I am excited about all the Easter festivities this weekend and so thankful for God's recently answered prayers.

<TWO>
My sweet friend, Kaitlyn sent me these flowers on the day of my mom's surgery! It was such a blessing and of course I teared up.

<THREE>
I recently scored my second Sweet Honey dress for E! The first one is suppose to arrive today and I can't wait to see it!

<FOUR>
I am so excited I finished the Easter baskets for E and the hubby! I'll tell you all about them later but here is a little sneak :)

<FIVE>
Before all the Easter festivities begin this weekend..... my girlfriends and I are having a Ladies Night Out tonight! I am super pumped. We are starting at my place before we hit the town. I even made everyone a little party favor. Not going to show yet in case any of the girls get on my blog! We have had this planned for months and I am looking forward to a great night!

http://www.the-good-life-blog.com/

It's NOT Cancer!!!!!

Last party post will be up sometime soon! I really appreciate all your sweet compliments and encouragement to get out on my own and start something.....we will see what the future holds. But RIGHT now it's time to rejoice and praise our God almighty!!!!

My mom is THE most awesome woman I know! She loves our God and has never met a stranger. Recently we received some disturbing news. My mom was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer. My mom is not a smoker and only 50. She is also very healthy, except for her occasional sugar splurge every now and then! :) So, this came as a complete shock to me and my family.

Once we received the news we were engulfed in prayers and love from so many friends and family. A Facebook group was started and it was amazing to see the around the clock prayers my family was and still is receiving. Although, the diagnosis was not good we were told the tumor was very isolated, and the surgeon would remove part of my mom's lung. The doctors were very positive and thought cancer wouldn't be an issue for my mom's future. What happened next can only be described as GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

My mom went into surgery today! She kept telling me she didn't have cancer. She told me she had talked to God and she just knew she didn't have cancer. There was a 10% chance the tumor was not cancerous, but the family had pretty much accepted the fact that it was after her needle biopsy last week. The doctors said she did, therefore her surgery went as scheduled this morning. Then my father received news from the surgeon that the lesion was in fact not cancer and was removed! Praise God! I can only describe this as a God moment. I can't tell you how many people have grown closer to Jesus or may have met Him for the first time through my mom's "diagnosis." I understand now what my mom has been telling me all along. We may not always understand God's work but there is ALWAYS a greater purpose. A purpose that we can't see but He knows every reason and outcome for. I am thankful we have a loving God. I am thankful we have a merciful God. I am thankful we have a caring God. I am thankful!!

I am flying home next week and I can't wait to hug my mom's neck and tell her she was right! YOU DON'T HAVE CANCER! And OUR GOD knew it all along!

My mom blogged about her story on her ministry webpage. She is much better with words than I am! READ HER STORY! And keep in mind when she wrote this she was coming to terms with her diagnosis! (Even though I think she still believed she did not have cancer.) Her story is ALL for the glory of God!

karenbarrows.com

Part 4: Candy Table & Photo Props

Party posts are coming to an end! I'll have one more after this to wrap up the whole party, the outside set up, and any details I haven't covered yet. Today, it's all about junk food and fun!

I put together a candy table for the favors at E's party. Each guest got a bag and was strongly encouraged to take LOTS of candy home! I purchased white lunch sacks at Wal-Mart and used twine to tie a thank you card to the top of the bag. I stamped Evan's monogram on the back of the card and on the bottom of the bag. I placed the bags in a tin bucket. It's too the far left in the picture. (below)

The candy table was a little bit more difficult than I ever expected! I had a vision but it definitely took some time to put together. I bought red fabric from Hobby Lobby to lay over the center of the table. I tied bows in the front using yellow tulle and red burlap. I had most of the glass jars already but purchased some extras from Wal-Mart and the Dollar Store. I got the candy from oriental trading, SAMS, and Wal-Mart, and the scoops to dish out the candy are from Hobby Lobby. The banner on the fireplace is from Etsy and matches the one on her high chair. The candy labels are also from Etsy. Here is the final product!! I was really proud how it all turned out.

I had a section in the dining room set up with photo props! We hung the cute little banner from the ceiling and on the table we had clown noses and stick photo props. On the buffet I set out top hats for the boys and I made bow headbands for the girls. For the top hats, I added a little detail. I got the animals and the ribbon from Hobby Lobby and attached to the hat with hot glue. In addition, I got two little top hats because we had two baby boy guests. All of the hats came from Party City. The headbands I made out of fabric, elastic, and a plastic headband. I think they turned out super cute!!I placed the headbands in another tin bucket.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about Evan's Big Top Extravaganza!

5 on Friday!!!!

Happy Friday everyone! Here is my first attempt to link up and join in on the 5 on Friday!!! To be quite honest I have no idea what I am doing but why not?!?!?!?

<ONE>

MY MOM!!! There has been a lot going on with my mom lately and soon, with her permission, I am planning to blog about it. However, right now we are still figuring out the next step. We would appreciate any prayers for her and my family. She is one incredible lady and has used everything thrown at her to glorify God!

<TWO>

MASTERS WEEKEND!!!! A couple years ago Chris and I went with our dear friends, Greg and Erin to Augusta to watch a practice round. It was an absolute blast and I hope we can all go back in the near future. Last year, we spent Masters Sunday at their house and this year they are coming over tomorrow to keep the tradition going. There will definitely be pimento cheese, egg salad sandwiches, and cold beer.

<THREE>

EVAN LILLY!!! Her newest "trick" started just a couple days ago! She loves stuffed animals! When we say "love the baby" she holds the animal(s) so tight and cuddles with a BIG smile on her face! I mean how stinking cute is that?!?!?!?!

<FOUR> 

MY BESTIES!!! I was collecting pictures for Evan Lilly's party and came across this one. I absolutely love my friends and I think this picture sums us up :) E's party quickly turned into an adult party as the day...night went on!

<FIVE>

E's PARTY!!! What else?!?!? I am having such a blast posting all about her party. Here is a little sneak for the next party blog. Only a couple more and then it will all be over! It's a little blurry but we'll just pretend I planned for that ;-)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

P.S. If I didn't do this whole link up thing right or I am missing something, leave a comment and let me know!

http://www.the-good-life-blog.com/

Part 3: Highchair & Cakes!!

I knew ever since Evan was born I wanted to find an antique high chair to paint for her first birthday and then keep in our dining room. I read a blog when she was still a newborn about how to paint the highchair, but that the hardest part for this mama was locating the chair to paint. I came across one on a Facebook swap page and immediately bought it for $40. I think I even purchased it back in the fall. Of course, it remained in our attic until the day before E's party! My parents were in town and my dad sanded, painted, and sealed the highchair which became my favorite piece of the party! It's special because it's something we get to keep forever and not just a decoration that gets put or thrown away. So here it is........

I made a ribbon banner and attached it to the tray with a little bit of hot glue. After the party I was able to scrape the hot glue off without messing up my dad's hard work. I also ordered the banner from Etsy! I really need to invest in a circuit machine as much as I purchase these things from sellers on Etsy. SO here is the finished product......

THE CAKES!!!!!!! Well, this was a bit of a challenge. My cousin was very gracious and made Evan's big birthday cake. She lives almost 45 mins away from me and on the way back to the house, let's just say we had a bit of a catastrophe! The top layer did not make it :( However, I was in party planning mode and no need to freak out! On the way home I immediately went to Kroger for white icing and Target for a cake topper. I planned to use only the bottom layer as her big cake but I had to make some adjustments. From this catastrophe I found a new love. I highly recommend this icing. This stuff is amazing!!! I purchased the elephant at Target and made a tutu out of tulle. I think it turned out pretty cute! So here is the final product of her big cake.......

Finally, is her smash cake! My  mom actually made this one! I love the fact that she made E's smash cake because I remember my mom making our cakes growing up. She is not a baker but the cakes were always filled with so much love ;-) This is what I wanted for E! I purchased the elephant off of amazon and made a tutu for it as well. I originally was only planning to have an elephant on this cake but sometimes plans change!

So there it is, the highchair and cakes! I hope you are enjoying reading about my daughter's birthday. I just LOVE this stuff!!