Bare Feet on the Dashboard

11
May
2014

Happy Mother’s Day! {Free Printable}

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mamas out there! I hope you feel blessed and loved today. I am thankful today and every day for my precious babies and am grateful for the gift they are in my life. I do not take the challenge and responsibility of motherhood lightly. The role of mother to these darling babes has been the greatest challenge and reward of my life. Being at home with them full time is not something I ever thought I would want, but I can’t imagine life any other way. I’m thankful for and content in this place of joy, messes, frustration, and play, where the Lord has me right now. To each of you who are mothering a child through birth, adoption, foster care, or circumstance, thank you for the important role you play. I cannot imagine what my life would’ve been like without the love and care of my precious mother, my grandmothers, and the many women who stepped in to mentor me when I needed it.

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05
May
2014

Simple Ways to Bring Jesus in to Your Marriage

categories: family, jesus, love, marriage

Marriage is the best, hardest, most challenging, and most fulfilling life relationship. My husband is an amazing man and his love is a blessing to me every day of my life. We’ve been married six years, so we are still total beginners in the grand scheme of things, but we’ve picked up a few habits that help keep our faith in Jesus in the center of our marriage that I’ll share with you today. Much like my post about Simple Ways to Bring Jesus in to Your Child’s Daily Routine, I’m not coming to you from a place of having anything figured out. I write this more as a fellow traveler on this journey of marriage who wants to share and encourage and protect marriages. Everyone wants their marriage to succeed, and I think that best happens when both partners are on the same page about faith, money, and family goals.

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02
May
2014

Create a DIY Silhouette Portrait Painting with Tutorial

categories: crafts, decorating, diy

At a local high-end department store they feature a silhouette portrait artist a few days a week who will create a silhouette of your child while you shop. These darling portraits are outrageously expensive, but really cool. I decided to create one for our living of the Bear back when he was about a year old. I started it, then it sat in my craft closet for TWO YEARS while I had another baby, forgot about it, etc. I finally finished it and I love it. It was easy, though a bit intimidating. I’ll walk you through the process I used so you can make one of your own. I think it would be fun to do the whole family, pets included. It only cost about $5 to make, and would be cheaper if you made more.

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24
Apr
2014

Create a Discovery Garden for Your Kids to Explore

categories: green living, kids, play, toddlers

My kids love to explore and play in our yard. We’ve been hard at work on our massive yard project trying to get our yard to look better and be more functional. On a whim I decided to dedicate a space for the kids so they could dig in the dirt and play without destroying any of our new plants. This little discovery garden has become one of our favorite daily play spots and it cost nothing to create and took about ten minutes. Both kids love it and it gives them a sweet little place all their own that has become a home for all the treasures they find as well as the perfect spot for imaginative play.

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23
Apr
2014

Evenflo Symphony DLX Platinum Convertible Car Seat Review ~ The Only Car Seat You’ll Ever Need #EvenfloPlatinum

categories: baby, parenting, pregnancy, review, shopping

Our little Pearl Girl just turned one and we have been on the look out for a new car seat. Her infant seat has been great, but she is getting to the point where she wants to sit up a little higher and see more of the world around her. We knew we wanted to upgrade to a convertible seat because we want to keep her rear facing as long as possible. When I had the opportunity to try Evenflo’s new Symphony DLX Platinum Convertible Car Seat, I thought it looked like the perfect fit for us. The seat is designed to fit children from 5-110 pounds, so it is seriously the only one you’ll ever need. We wear our kids rather than tote them around in infant seats, so a convertible car seat is just right for our family. Read on for our convertible car seat review to find out what we loved and didn’t love about the seat and our recommendations.

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22
Apr
2014

A Shared Birthday

categories: baby, family

One year ago today, labor pains started around 2 in the morning. Around 6 am I woke Jed up and told him he wouldn’t be going to work today because we were having a baby. It was his 32nd birthday. Our Eleanor Pearl was born that afternoon, and now two of my loves forever share a birthday. You can read her full birth story here. I am so thankful for their lives and their love. In Jed I have a partner who loves me unconditionally and is more to me than I could ever imagine or deserve. We will celebrate 6 years of marriage next Saturday. Our Ellie Pearl is truly a blessing, a gift, and a reward. She brings us pure joy every day and we are so thankful to be her parents.

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21
Apr
2014

Our Massive DIY Yard Project and a Big Home Depot Giveaway from Savings.com #SpringIntoSavings

categories: diy, giveaway

We always have a project under way at our little Duck Creek Ranch, and right now it is all yard, all the time. Today Jed is going to share a bit about how we are completely changing the look and usability of our yard in another “He Says” post. Savings.com sponsored this post so that you could hear about their amazingly huge Home Depot giveaway. They are giving away 150 Home Depot $20 gift cards over the next three days and you do not want to miss out. Use the link above or click the box below to enter.

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20
Apr
2014

Happy Easter from Team Eby!

categories: family, holiday

The Bear is covered in dirt and Pearl Girl is trying to climb out of Daddy’s lap, but we got one with everyone looking and smiling. Victory! We hope your Easter is filled with joy and peace and family. Love, Team Eby

Babies + Baskets + Bluebonnets = Easter in Texas

Celebrating new life in our risen Lord today. He is risen, indeed!

17
Apr
2014

Itty Bitty Bunny Cupcakes {Perfect for Easter}

categories: holiday, recipes

I made these darling little bunny cupcakes for the Pearl Girl’s first birthday party, and thought they would be perfect for Easter. Her party had an Easter theme because, well, I’d already decorated for it and didn’t feel like taking the Easter stuff down to put birthday stuff up. You can find some of my other Easter posts here. I’ll share more about our little party soon, but had to show you these little cuties because they were so easy and I really loved how they turned out. I am obsessed with my mini muffin tin lately, so I used it to create 24 itty bitty bunny cupcakes – bite sized for adults and perfectly sized for toddlers.

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16
Apr
2014

Create a Thumbprint Cross to Teach Your Child About Easter

categories: crafts, holiday, jesus, kids

Holy Week is one of my favorite times of the year because we get to take the time to focus on Christ’s work on the cross and what it means for us. I’ve shared with y’all about simple ways to bring Jesus in to your child’s daily life here, but talking about Easter and what it means can be a bit more difficult. Christmas is easy with the baby Jesus and all of the manger scene and Jesse Tree activities. Death on a cross for the sin of humanity is slightly more difficult to discuss with preschoolers, am I right? One way we’ve made it personal for our kids this year is to create a thumbprint cross with each of them. Their unique thumbprint represents the personal nature of Jesus’ death and resurrection – that it means the possibility of real relationship with God and eternal life for them. Plus, they are super fun and easy to make.

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