He Loves Us

Ava and I have a simple bed time routine, at three months old I started this routine with her. I'm sure it's much like other children's, we read a few books after that we turn off the lights and I sing a few songs to her before laying her in her bed and closing the door.

They are simple songs.

They are songs that my Grandma sang to me as I child, and now I sing them to her.

I was thinking a couple days ago about the words to these songs. They all begin, end and somewhere in the middle tell her about how much Jesus loves her.

Since giving birth to Ava, I know the Lord has revealed to me a whole new outlook about how much he loves me, how much he loves my family and people. I never experienced love quite like the way I love Ava. It's such a different kind of love than the love I had for Orion.

Sometimes it's overwhelming how much I love her, and sometimes I cry just because of the blessing that she is, and how thankful I am. I feel overwhelmed at times hoping and praying that I will be the mother she needs, that I will show her and tell her how much Jesus loves her. I hope and pray that she will grow to love him, have a relationship with the Father and serve him with all of her heart.

I'm convinced that having Ava has given me a glimpse and somewhat understanding of how much God loves us. There are so many reasons for him to not love us, but still he does. We are his children and he loves us beyond anything that we could ever imagine.

God gave his only son for us. Sometimes I ask myself could I do that with Ava? Truly?

What he gave was the ultimate sacrifice and love.

I understand the Father now in a way that I never did before. It's humbling, it breaks me to the core.

And in all the uncertainty of life, the storms that come I am reminded that He LOVES Us. This simple truth helps me get through those times, and let's me know that even though life will not always be perfect, God is.

Things do not shake me or rattle me the way they used to because I know no matter what everything will be ok, the promises of God are still true and he will be there with us, walking with us, and loves us through every step.

The last couple weeks there's been a song replaying over and over in my head.

A few nights ago I found myself humming it and singing it to Ava while I rocked her one night before bed.

The words are simple.

But they are so true. So powerful.

A truth I want to pass onto her, to teach her about God's love for us.

Listen. Be encouraged today. He loves you.



Watch Me Grow: 10 Months

Ten Months. Let's just pause for a second. A moment of silence if you will. 

Mmm'kay. 

I can hardly believe that she's ten months old. She'll be a year soon. But, for now I want to relish in her ten month glory. A lot has been happening in her life. As each month goes by she becomes more and more active. This month she's been really getting into playing more with her toys and discovering them. 

She's been eating lots and lots. She has a bottle still every two hours, I don't know her exact weight but I would guess she's up a couple pounds since her last visit. I'm going to guess she weighs around 19-20 pounds. 

She smiles so much, and claps a lot. She's becoming more vocal too. Which is really fun to see. I can't wait hear her speak sentences and talk. She is still napping twice a day. 

I am really loving her at this age, she's a lot of fun even though she's into everything. I love to watch her explore and see her personality come out each day as she discovers new things. 

Another thing she's been doing a lot is spontaneously laughing. It's pretty cute to see her burst into laughter. 

She's been fighting her first real cold these past few days. It's been so hard to watch her so sick. I'm hoping she gets better soon, I hate seeing her so sick. 

It's getting harder to take pictures of her, and keep her still. She wants to move everywhere, and the fact that we take these months pics on the glider in her room thinking back it wasn't the best idea to do baby pictures on a moving chair. But, we're always safe. I always have someone to help me and be close while I make a complete fool of myself and get her to smile and laugh. 

I had to include this picture, it's the first one I took that day when we were documenting her 10th month. It pretty much sums up her personality and how much fun she is. Take a look:

Big thanks to Aunt Jess & Uncle Sam for this adorable outfit. Her headband is from Banner Boutique. 

{DIY} Cupcake Stands

I first saw these little cupcake stands over at Andrea's blog I knew I just had to try and figure out how to make them. I thought they would be a perfect addition for Ava's birthday party, as well as other holidays and events. Turns out, after looking them over closely they are super easy to make.

Here's what you need:

You could pick up as ornate saucers as you wanted, or just do them simple too. I choose to do mine just plain white since I wanted to use them for different events like Christmas & other holidays. White dishes are easier to build color into for things like that. There's tons of different saucers at thrift stores, you can make so many different kinds of these little stands.

E-6000 glue you can find at any craft store, use a coupon since it's kinda expensive (I think) for glue.

Here's what you do:

I let mine dry for 24 hours, as recommended on the glue bottle. Want to see the finished product? They turned out really cute, it's got me itching to make some more just for fun, maybe to giveaway!





Aren't they so fun and classy too?! I just love them, they turned out really great and I can't wait to show them off at Ava's birthday party.

Marriage Matters

Last week I talked about simplifying my marriage here, this week I've really been thinking a lot about what I can do? What is my part in my marriage? And how can I help my husband, and be the wife he needs? Orion is currently doing a 21 day media fast from all t.v., social networking, and web/Internet. I feel blessed and encouraged to have a Godly husband that desires to hear the voice of God and what he'd want for our family and marriage.

During this time of fasting and prayer I really want to encourage him, and help him along in this process as much as I can. This week, I've been praying and reading my Bible asking God for wisdom in these areas to help me be a better wife and for our marriage.

I came across a list on a blog I read often by Pastor Steven Furtick, I loved it so much and it was very encouraging and so on point for me and where I'm at I thought I'd pass it along to you. I believe these are great ways to help your husband, and be the help mate he needs, to encourage, uplift and pray for him.

This is a list from a Husband to their Wife:

1. I need you to take care of you.

-your health, happiness, your intimacy with God

2. I need you to believe in me.

 

3. I need you to encourage me.

-I'm with you no matter what

-I know you best and love you most

-Who cares what they think

4. I need you to help keep me focused on what really matters.

5. I need you to make our home "base," a place where I feel safe

6. I need you to pray for me.

-You know what to pray better than anyone

7. I need you to remind me of God's past faithfulness.

This list was so eye opening for me. It seems so obvious sometimes and other times I can feel completely stuck as to how I should be encouraging my husband and his needs. This word gives me a lot of perspective and a way to continue to pray and act!

What are some of the ways you keep encouraging your husband? What are some ways you keep your marriage fresh, and alive?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Go!



Katie's Kloset Visual Decor Board

Do you like my title of this post? It's very Kris Jenner of me, don't ya think? My friend Katie is living it up in NYC, while although she has a fancy life in the BIG Apple she's living in a little apartment trying to maximize every square inch!

While, I've never been to Katie's space and seen what she's working with I like to live vicariously through her Youtube videos while channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw. Onto the visual decor board, here's what I whipped up to help solve some of her storage issues and help create a space for her and her roomie.

Katie's Kloset Organization Board by worleyhouse featuring tiered skirts

The Container Store > 6-Tier Folding Skirt Hanger, $7.99
The Container Store > Drop-Front Canvas Shoe Boxes, $7.99
The Container Store > Canvas Necklace & Bracelet Organizer, $20
HEMNES, $129
TJUSIG, $100
Sheridan Storage Bench with 2 Side Ottomans : Target, $91
KONSMO, $80
ANTONIUS, $55
LERBERG, $20
The Container Store > Brocade Magazine File, $15
SKUBB, $9.99
Walmart.com: Rolling Closet Storage: Storage & Organization, $21

Here's the break down & some thoughts about what we're working with;

In small spaces it's great to have a few key pieces that can pull double duty in your space giving you the most for what you're getting.

• We've got some vertical closet storage options to hang coats, clothing and more to maximize closet space.
• The while slim line book shelf is great for anything not just books. Use some of the boxes noted on the board and you've got a sleek way of storing and hiding it all.
• The 4 tiered cart can be perfect for housing bathroom toiletries, hair brushes, blow dyers & flat irons, the bottom one can be used for  towels, wash cloths, etc.
• The bench with 4 cubbies would be great in an entry way for shoes and purses when you walk in the door, or in the living space adding extra seating, add a padded cushion so your guests tushies don't go numb.
• Six tiered hanger for skirts or pants will get the most bang for your buck in your closet without creating bulk.
• Leather storage bench & matching ottomans you can use the bench it doubles as a coffee table when you flip the lid over, use it to store your laptop, cords and other odds and ends in the living room you need to store. Move the ottomans around for end tables or extra seating when guests are over.
• These covered shoe boxes aren't just great for shoes use them in your closet to hold small clutches, wallet and other things you want to keep free from dust that you don't use daily.
• The hanging jewelry organizer is one of my faves (I have one of my own) you can get a lot of jewelry in the little guys and just hang them up in your closet or on the back of your door with a 3M hook and save tons of space by not having a bulky jewelry box.

What do you think?! Doesn't it motivated you to maximize your space, or move to NYC and see how much stuff you can cram in a small space!

Wanna a visual decor board of your own? Email me at andreaworley@live.com

{ORGANIZE IT} WITH IKEA

We hit up Ikea this weekend to pick up some stuff to help organize the new t.v. cabinet. I really love Ikea for a lot of reasons, we have a ton of their accessories and furniture. I know not everyone is a fan like I am but, one of the things I love Ikea most for is organization products for the home. They have some really cute, affordable, awesome finds. Did I mention they are reasonably priced {aka: cheap, cheap}!!! So, I thought I'd put together a little list for you of some of my fave products that we actually have and use in the home.

My Fave IKEA Organization Products by worleyhouse on Polyvore.com

KOMPLEMENT
$20 - ikea.com

KNODD
$15 - ikea.com

AGEN
$8.99 - ikea.com

DRÖNA
$4.99 - ikea.com

KASSETT
$3.99 - ikea.com

BURKEN
$3.99 - ikea.com

KARDEMUMMA
$1.99 - ikea.com

IKEA 365+
$2.99 - ikea.com

FLYT
$1.99 - ikea.com

IKEA 365+
$1.99 - ikea.com

SOCKER
$0.99 - ikea.com

• The KNODD trash can was our solution to the diaper genie! It's working out great so far with an Arm & Hammer air freshener masking the oders.
• AGEN baskets are nestled in our book case, coralling all our board games, decks of cards, photo albums and other random books that don't fit.
• DRONA fabric boxes, I love these and use them just about everywhere in our home. In our dresser to manage socks and other unmentionables, under the sink to house all our different tolietries and my nail polish.
• KASSETT boxes are what we got this weekend for all our DVDs, CDs & VHS tapes to put in the t.v. cabinet.
• IKEA 365 are all over my pantry! I love them for pasta, rice and cereal! They are awesome and come in 3 different sizes.
• SOCKER metal pots, are what I use for all my parties for silverware. They are cute, and you can jazz them up with ribbon on the outside for you party.

What are some of your favorite Ikea products?

Gearin' Up for Next Week!

Next weekend is our 3rd Blogaversary here on the ole' blog!

I wanted to do something fun for all my readers & blog followers,

here's a little sneak peek:

Be sure to become an "official" blog follower

to enter the giveaway. You can sign up to

the right of the blog -------->

You don't have to have a Blogger account either, so now there's

no more excuses! Can't wait to share more next week!

Starting A New Year

I can't believe that this month is almost already over, where did January go? We've had a busy, busy month here at the Worley House. I don't mind it, I actually like to stay busy but I wish time wasn't going by so fast. Here's little bit about how we've spent the last month;

My Mom, Brothers and Sister in Law came to spend New Years with us here in Arizona. It was awesome to have them all here, we packed them into our 950 square foot apartment and it wasn't as bad or nearly as crammed as I expected it to be. We all were troopers and made the space work for us. We had a lot of fun having them here, to enjoy this holiday with us. We miss our family a lot so it was good to have them here.



Orion and my brothers spent New Years Day at the Fiesta Bowl watching the Oklahoma Sooners win. Remember Orion saying "this is his Miss America" well it pretty much is just like that. I'm glad he was able to make it to a game, and that my brothers could go along with and they all could spend some time together. 

Right after my family left, she came to visit! You've heard me talk about Elizabeth before here, here, , here and here. She needs no introduction. She came to visit us for 4 days, I'm so glad that she got the chance to meet Ava and spend some time with her. We had a great weekend watching Miss America, going to the Farmer's Market, did some shopping, hanging out and laughing a lot! She's competing at Miss Minnesota this summer I'm so very proud of her, and graduates this Spring from college, someday she's going to be my live in nanny and teach Ava. Someday.

With all these visitors and exciting things the month has flown by us!

Ava turns 10 months old, today! Crazy how fast time is flying by. I kinda want to freeze time just a little bit, she's growing to fast. I'm planning and finishing up things for her first birthday party in March. I can't wait to celebrate this day!

On an even more personal note, the church that Orion and I moved to Arizona for to take a position at has closed its doors, our last service was yesterday. Now, obviously churches don't just close for no reason, and this has not happened over night, it was a shock to us but we are not surprised on some aspects (if that makes any sense) anyway without going into the nitty gritty we are facing some decisions, I ask if you think about it to pray with us and for us about what's next for us. There are a lot of things up in the air, and we have a lot to pray about. But, we know that God has a plan for us, we are no stranger to change or transition. But, really in my heart I didn't foresee any of these events taking place when we moved here almost two years ago, but God knew. I would really like to be settled and have our family plant some roots and have a place be "home." But as much as I would like that I am realizing that where ever we are together that is home, and as long as we're doing what God wants us to be doing we have a peace.

So, as we look forward to the next few months we're optimistic and praying about what is next. We're going to enjoy our daughter turning ONE and having family here once again!

How has the first month of a brand new year been for YOU?

The Story of a Television Hutch Pt. 2

I told you a couple days back about how we dissembled our old t.v. cabinet, and made room for a new one. I was pretty excited to get rid of it and make room for the new one. It's more me, and more my style or what we're morphing into. Here's a little peak of when we tore the old one apart.

(my brother doing most of the work, he enjoys taking things apart)

Yup, there it is all torn apart. I did however save the door & drawer fronts of this piece. I have a few projects in mind for re using them into something fab! You'll have to stay tuned for that. I'm pretty sure my Hubby thought I was crazy silly for wanting to keep them, it was made obvious by his groan. And then followed by "Where are you going to store these Babe?" and "How long will this project take?" Not to worry Hub, project #1 is already on it's way!

Here's a little peak at my other Brother helping us Orion build the new cabinet. Once again, yes; we love to build furniture!

(lots of parts)

So this weekend, we're making a little trip to Ikea for some organizational products to put together the contents of this t.v. cabinet, it's a mess right now so we're going to make it pretty. And plus, who doesn't love a little trip to Ikea every now and then?!? Once we've done that I'll be showing you a reveal of the new cabinet.

(I didn't watermark these photos because really who wants to steal these..wink, wink!)

{Simplify}

A couple weeks back I was challenged when I read this post from one of my favorite bloggers. Challenged to take a look at the year and challenge myself with reflection, and choose 1 word to describe the year, to bring purpose for the year, to make a difference in my own life little by little.

2010, brought with it much change. Many joys like the birth of our first baby. And lots of other challenges we had to face and look straight in the eye and make the most of situations that were not of our own choosing. Some where along the way things got messy, out of order, haywire if you will. I've spent the last couple weeks praying and seeking what God would want to teach us and mostly ME about the season of life we walked through last year. I am convinced that God cares more about how we react to situations more than the situation itself.

It's how we respond that defines our character, and challenges us, and brings us closer to the Savior or takes us farther away.

This year in thinking about one word for the year, my word:

Simplify

Growing up I used to think being simple, meant boring or un original. But now I realize that there's peace in the simplicity of knowing exactly who you are, and where God has you for the season of life he has you in. I am no stranger to change, our family, marriage and personal lives have seen more change in these last three years than we ever could have imagined. I've realized that as one season ends, another begins and God continues to open doors along the way.

This year I want to challenge myself to simplify in every area.

Simplify my relationship with the Lord, reading, studding and praying about where he wants us to be. Not making it complicated or putting pressure and letting my flesh want to control things. But, just waiting and hearing from God. Having the peace to know that he has us right where he wants us to be.

Simplifying my home. I talked about before about getting rid of clutter and one of my goals for the year was to clear out the things that we don't need or use and get back to basics. I don't want to have stuff, just to have it. I want every thing I bring in to have purpose and something we love.

Simplifying my marriage and personal life. Some where along the way the chaos of the last year, all the changes and situations we've been through Orion and I haven't made the time for each other. Date nights have taken a back seat. This year I want to date my husband again, and get back into a routine of regular date nights and spending intentional time together. I also want us to have regular family days or nights. I feel like this is really important now as we become a family and begin patterns for a healthy family and home life.

Orion and I are facing yet another transition in life, while we pray through this time and seek the Lord my prayer is that God "simply" speaks to us and gives us his peace during this time. That we don't make hearing God's voice to complicated and that he will show us where we're to be. 

Even though this time is confusing, sad, and not what we expected I know that God is with us and we have peace in that. 

This year I want to simply enjoy all that God has blessed us with. 

Enjoy each other. Grow closer to him. 

Grow closer in love with each other. 

Simply Be.

Blog Roll Monday: All Things Thrifty

It's the first blog roll of a new year! I'm taking a little break from watching the crazies on the Bachelor to tell you about one of my fave blogs. I read a lot of decor blogs, I'm always looking for new ideas and inspiration. But, my favorite decor blogs are the ones that take the best ideas and make them easy and affordable for people, like ME to re create them in their own homes.

I found Brooke's blog a couple years ago, it's one of the first decor blogs I started reading because I loved all her thrifty ideas. Her and her home proves that you don't have to have a lot of money to make your space really great. 

One of my fave projects is her fabric headboard, that she gives step by step directions on how to make your own. And what she can do with some Lima beans is truly awesome, I've always wanted to try making this. I'm also in love with her tips and tricks for re painting and re finishing furniture. Someday when we have the space I want to try my hand at re finishing a few pieces of my own. 

So, if you're looking for some fun tips and new decor ideas jump on over and visit Brooke's fantastic blog. You'll be so glad you did!

Happy Monday!

Now......back to the Bachelor & his ladies! 

{Ava's 1st Birthday} Cupcake Liners & Toppers

There's so many awesome things out there to make parties personal and special, it makes it really fun to plan a birthday party. One of my favorite sites is Etsy. You can search pretty much anything you like and find really handmade unique things. So, in keeping with my color and cupcake theme I've been searching these last couple weeks for some cute things to jazz up her cupcakes for the party. So today, I finally ordered these two little items.

 cupcake themed toppers

cupcake liners

I'm excited, I think they'll make a perfect addition to making this party special for my little one. These items are from a little shop called Little Monster Hugs, you can see more of her stuff here. She has some really cute things for parties, and some some fun cupcake kits that come with liners and matching toppers. Check them out, you'll fall in love too.

Miss America 2011

A new Miss America was crown last night. I gathered some girl friends last night and we watch the pageant, ate junk food, and made our own scoring assessments from the evening. Miss Nebraska was crowned last night on the 90th Anniversary of Miss America! Such a milestone year.

There's so many wonderful things that I have to say about this program and how much it's been apart of my life and why I continue to give my time and service to this Organization. This afternoon I watched the Miss America press conference from last night, and truly the new Miss America is going to do an amazing job as the ambassador of this program for the next year. She's very well spoken, and handles herself very well and I can't wait to see what she does this next year. 

I know a lot of people don't agree, roll their eyes and have a lot of negative things to say about a program that I still think is relevant and important today. I challenge you to watch this press conference and see if she doesn't change your mind and perspective and make you a fan along the way. 

Where Do You Blog? {Link Up Party}

Hey everyone! Happy Wednesday morning! I meant to link up and post last night but the evening got away from me, and to be honest I wanted to spend time with Ava and my Hubby, please forgive me. So here we are today, blogging and linking up.

Let me tell you about my little space where I blog, I used to blog and spend my most creative days in my office in our old house. But since moving to Arizona in our new place I find myself blogging most days here:

Let me tell you a little bit about this space, first of all there's the chaise lounger one my most favorite pieces of furniture we own. We bought it off Craigslist a few short months after we were married, it was a steal and is the most comfortable to lay on and curl up with a blanket. What you can't see from this picture is the coffee table that sits next to it, that is perfect for holding beverages while I blog and other odds and ends that I might stash there. This is also one of my fave places to watch t.v. and it's super cozy when we've had a fire lit. I've also added since then a plush and warm blanket it that makes this space extra cozy.

Most nights after the baby has gone to bed and we've eaten dinner together is when I blog. I started reading blogs well before I actually had a blog, one of my first blogs I started reading was this blog and it's been a fave ever since. I actually was so inspired by reading this blog, and thought it was such an awesome was to stay in touch with people, gain new ideas, and a source for creativity that I decided one day that I needed my own blog.

When I first started blogging, I didn't know what I was doing I was just writing. And over the years I feel like I've found my groove and even though I write about a wide range of things this is a place where I've seen growth in my life and an outlet for me, kinda like therapy only free.

So on evenings when the baby has gone to sleep, or lazy afternoons when I'm feeling inspired I park myself on the chaise with a good cup of coffee and write and share with this wonderful community what's on my heart and mind.

Where do you blog?

Why do you blog? What do you love about this blogging community?

It's your turn! Leave me a comment telling me you've linked up and link up below!

I can't wait to read and see where you blog! Happy Linking everyone!



{Ava's 1st Birthday} The Invites

I thought it would be fun to do a series of posts on Ava's first birthday, little tid bits on preparing for a celebration of our baby girl. I knew I wanted to do something with cupcakes for her first birthday party.

For me it all started with the invites from Party Box Designs, I won a blog contest a few months back and got to pick a custom invite for free, the theme and colors have all been made around this invite:

(click to enlarge)

I really wanted something different than her nursery theme and colors, which was done for all my baby showers and as much as I love it I wanted her birthday to be different. I really like the pattern, and the colors and how it incorporates the cupcake into the invite as well. 

Jessica at Party Box Designs sent me the hi res file and I was able to upload it and print it out which ever way I liked. I decided to do post cards to mail out to family and friends (cheaper postage). I'm excited about how they turned out. I printed them at home on some heavy card stock. 

I've got a lot more ideas brewing that I'm excited to share with you, so stay tuned and see how it all comes together!

Where I Blog Link Party

In an effort to get to know my readers & dare I say "followers" I thought it would be fun to show you where I blog, where all the magic of every post is written. I'll warn it's not fancy, but it's comfortable!

Later tonight, I'll post a little ditty about where I blog, and then give you the chance to link up and share with myself and other Worley House readers too. You can share anything you like, a picture of your dreamy office or your place at the kitchen table where ever it is I wanna see it and hear about why you started blogging yourself? Or if you don't have a blog and are just a faithful reader tell me that too.

So get ready tonight to link up!

Also, I wanted to answer the questions about the domain name change. The benefits of using your own registered domain besides feeling really fancy and "official" is all about more storage and more options with Google, like use of the calendar, email, and the ability to add administrators. Worley House is not a business/blog like some blogs out there but this would be a big benefit for anyone who wanted to take their blog to the next level. I don't see Worley House going the business route but you never know, for now I just wanted my own domain name for myself and I really wanted to rename the blog address without losing posts/readers which would have been to confusing had I just changed the blogspot.com address. Does that make sense? So while although I'm not completely utilizing all the benefits yet, I hope to soon once I get my mind wrapped around it all.

Next, the watermarking is all done through Picnik, you could also do this through photo shop or any photo editing software. I use Picnik because it's fast and free. And I have to add the watermark one by one to each photo I upload.

Hope that answers some questions you have.

See you tonight! I can't wait to read your stories.



Free Tip of the Week: Valentine's Day Printables

One of my favorite things about the blogging community is all the wonderful and talented people who so graciously share their talents and ideas with other people. There are so many awesome tutorials around for decor and crafting, and one of my other favorites are the amazing graphic designers who share free print ables for stationary and artwork. I thought I'd share with you today two FREE ones that I found this morning from two of my fave blogs.

These ladies are awesome! Their talent is equally as awesome, and the fact that they are givers and want your home and family lives to be great too I appreciate that as well about them.

First up, Kim from The TomKat Studio: Kim has a great party site where she sells and shares her ideas for creating fun kid's parties as well as adult parties. You can read all about Kim here, and why I love her. But, this week she's offering some free print ables for a special Valentine's Day for you and your family. She seriously has some good ideas, go check out her site and print off these great cards for Valentine's Day.

Next, are the ladies at Eighteen25. Three crafting sisters, what could be better than sisters who craft together and share their ideas? They made and shared with us some awesome ideas for Christmas and now they're back with a cute artwork printable you can frame and hang up for festive Valentine's Day decor. Click here, to check out the print and make it apart of your home.

I hope you find them as helpful as I have! Happy early Valentine's Day planning for you and your family. And, on another LOVE related note are you watching The Bachelor this season? I am, I can't wait for tonight's episode. And be sure to check our Mrs. B's commentary and high lights of it all the next day at She's Star Crossed.

Friday Frills: {Cover Mamas}

Happy Friday all! It's our first Friday Frills of a brand new year, let's start it out right talking about some of my favorite things like magazines and fun Moms on the covers! I would totally let someone take my picture and stand around all day and make a good days wage, what about you? Yes?!?

Instyle, is always one of my faves. Amy Adams rocks the cover and there's some pretty pictures of her in a yellow dress on the inside. I'm kinda obsessed right now with that color so I LOVED it!

Katie, Katie......she's always one of my personal faves. I think she's pretty classic. I admire how private she is in a business that doesn't always make it easy and is always classy when the tabloids trash her marriage and personal life.

Nicole Kidman, or Nic as I like to call her. She's married to Keith Urban and that's enough for me to want to be her friend! Maybe I can buy LeAnn Rimes' house and live next door.....I hear it's on the market! 

Happy Friday ALL! 

photos: celebritybabyscoop.com

CHA, CHA, CHA....Changes!

Maybe you've noticed some changes in the last few days to Worley House, or maybe you heard my shout outs on Twitter & Facebook. Or, maybe you haven't either way I'm here to tell you about'em and give you a little explanation about some.

First things first, we have our own domain name! Yes! I'm so excited about it I've been debating about it for a while now and as we come up on the heels of our 3rd blogaversary I thought it was fitting and time for our own domain name. Now you can reach us http://www.worleyhouseblog.com/ don't worry your readers and RSS feeds will still re direct you here and update, but if you'd like to change them over to the new blog address that would be fantastic!

Next up, I've gotten a few emails & questions about the watermark on my photos. Mostly what's up with it? And why? Here's my response to that, over the last couple months I've noticed photos and blog posts showing up on other's blog that are not my own, nor have then given me a reference. Here's the thing, while although I love sharing my ideas with everyone I don't so much like people stealing photos especially when it comes to the photos of my family and my daughter. So, from now on you'll see a watermark on the photos. And if anyone steals them, re posts them or tries to claim them as their own it will have our watermark on them, and everyone will know they didn't come from said blog but that they are from the Worley House blog. This is just an extra measure I'd like to take with my own blog to make sure people aren't using what they aren't supposed to. It's pretty sad when people claim photos they didn't take as their own, this happened to a friend of mine. Someone copied her daughter's photos as their own and posted them on Flickr calling her daughter another name. They we clearly not theirs and she was very surprised to see her daughter's face on Flickr and named something. People aren't honest always, so I choose to protect myself and photos this way.

And lastly, Sponsorship. This is something I'm trying out we'll see how it goes. If you're interested in learning about becoming a Sponsor see that tab to the right hand side labeled so cleverly "Sponsorship Info."

We hope you like the changes, and come along with us as we enjoy the ride that 2011 brings ahead!

The Story of a Television Hutch

<----- {2007}




                      {2008} ------->

When Orion and I first got married we had very little, I had a few things from my single girl apartment that had been handed down to me from other family members, or I carried it from my college apartment and it landed in my now married dwelling. Either way, we had to buy a lot of stuff and get rid of a lot of stuff. One of the very first pieces of furniture we bought and invested in was this t.v. hutch. Besides our bed, it was the second piece of furniture we bought together and it was a BIG purchase for us newlyweds. We put this t.v. cabinet together ourselves after hauling it up two flights of stairs.

What truly makes this cabinet special or annoying depending on how you look at it, I'll stick with special is the fact that Orion and I had our very "first" married fight, quarrel, squabble if you will over how to put this thing together. He thought it should be done one way, and I thought it should be done another way and before we knew it we were in a full blown fight over a t.v. hutch. We had to take a break and come back to building it once we got over ourselves and learned to compromise.

I learned that it's ok if your Hubby wants to follow the directions to a "T." Let him do it. Who cares how long it takes. I learned to be more patient. And since then, we've put together many, many pieces of furniture together and made it out alive.

This poor hutch has been moved 4 times, dropped on the concrete once, dropped on my foot once. The drawers fell out busted and one is now held together by duct tape in the back. The shelf that holds the t.v. up is standing alone one 2x3 inch blocks of wood after a collapse. Yes, she's in bad shape to say the least.

But, even with all her imperfections she's held up for us and been trusty these last three and a half years.

But, this past weekend we put her to rest. We decided that it was time to get ourselves a new t.v. cabinet. So after doing some online research and then taking a look at our long term decorating desires we decided to get a new one.

So we say good-bye to the furniture piece that provided us our first real married fight, and helped us learn a few lessons too.

You we're good to us.

And now we'll enjoy you as fire wood. You're the gift that keeps on giving! (seriously, we chopped her up and have been having a fire with her remains.)

Ava: 9 Months

Ava is already 9 months old, it seems a little crazy that it's gone by this fast. I can't believe in just a few short months we'll be celebrating her first birthday. But, for now I want to remember this month and how she's grown and changed. We went to the doctor last week and I'm so happy to hear that while although still a peanut she's gaining weight and growing. Right now she weighs 16 pounds, 10th percentile for weight. And she's 26 1/4 inches long 25th percentile for height.

She's still eating every 2 hours, 4-6 oz. of formula each time. She sleeps through the night and takes two naps a day still.

As each month goes by I see more and more of her personality coming through. This last month I feel like she's laughed more than ever. Spontaneously too. Like she's laughing at herself, or maybe us. :)

Ava turned 9 months on Christmas Eve, it was so much fun to celebrate Christmas with her around this year. She just makes everything better and fun! It's fun having a baby in the house this year for holidays.

Ava is getting more and more mobile, she's zipping across the floor crawling like crazy. She's pulling herself up on whatever she can get her hands on. We've really had to baby proof.

In the last week, I also taught her clapping and waving. Both are pretty cute to watch her do. She seems to love music and bounces and claps whenever she hears sounds or music.

We've started feeding her small bites of our food and seeing how she does. Otherwise she's getting oatmeal in the mornings, and baby food during the day/ evening.

She loves to splash in her bath water while taking a bath at night. One of the other special things I've enjoyed is seeing how Bentley and her interact. From day one he's been great with her, I was concerned when I was pregnant how our dog Bentley would take to her but from the first moment he saw her he's been great. Now, they play together. Ava tried to get him, he runs away. He snuggles close to her when we're sitting on the couch. While she's in her excersaucer and if I turn away he runs over to her and stands in front of her like he's guarding her or something. He also enjoys when she drops food. :)

My family was able to come visit us for New Year's, they haven't seen Ava since she was three months old. It's been 6 months since they have gotten to see her and interact with her. We loved having them here, she loves them and it was so fun watching my little brothers interact with her. I've only ever seen them with my Sister's kids, so it was really cute seeing them as Uncles to my child. The family loved her and spoiled her like crazy and Orion and I are so thankful and feel really blessed to have had them here with us for the last couple days of 2010.

Next up on the list, getting her 9 Months pictures taken. I've got some new ideas I can't wait to try and see how they turn out. We're also going to be getting family pictures taken. Real ones, where I don't have to fight with a tripod or self timer, and I can actually focus on being with my family instead of taking the picture. I can't wait to have them for our memories.