The Counting Continues~

~Counting my Blessings #36-50~

36. a loving and forgiving Father
37. time spent with my sister
38. box fans
39. a garden that is growing well
40. times of testing

41. Beginner Choir kids :)
42. watching my nephew graduate from high school on Friday night
43. enjoying time outdoors
44. watching the hummingbirds find our feeder
45. watching the kids watch for the hummingbirds

46. friends coming to visit
47. a clean kitchen
48. new candles
49. vinca flowers that do so well in the sunshine
50. reading books by Elizabeth George

Planting...

Planting season...not that we are gardeners of acres and acres, but we are really excited about our little garden this year! The Lord has given us a great back yard, and we have been able to carve a little space for some fresh veggies! We started the garden a few weeks ago, and things are really starting to fill in and spread out. We tried some vegetables a few years ago, but they got eaten/destroyed...we are praying that this year, the critters stay out of the garden.  :) Marigolds are recommended to keep squirrels out of an area, so we added those around the perimeter of the garden.

We made raised rows (which we first saw in some gardens in Colonial Williamsburg) and planted corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, 4 varieties of peppers, cucumbers, crook-necked squash, zucchini, peas, carrots, green beans and watermelon.

~week one~

~week two~

 ~week three~

The entire family is involved in this endeavor, and it's so much fun to see the kids smiling when they look at their plants...

My First Diaper Cake

In honor of a sweet friend's baby shower, I decided to do something non-traditional. She is having her second son (actually at the hospital right now!) and had saved a lot of things from her firstborn. She did not need a lot of items...and did not register for gifts. I thought and thought about doing a diaper cake but had no idea how to assemble one.

Enter: "Google" and you know the rest of the story...oodles of pictures, videos, and I was all set! So, here's my version of a diaper cake.

Items needed:

tray (I used one that came from some take-out from Famous Dave's)

one box of small plastic hair bands (find them in the girl's section of Target or Wal-Mart)

about 60 diapers (I used some that were left over from "S")

wide ribbon (I bought two spools)

thin ribbon (1/8" or even 1/16" to coordinate with the wide ribbon)

one corsage pin

goodies for the cake

• teddy bear for the top
• pacifiers
• travel-size items (baby powder, baby soap, lotion, etc.)
• small baby bottle
• rattles

~the supplies~

~I started by rolling each diaper~ 

~from the open ends to the fold~

 ~then securing it with a plastic band~

~stand diapers on end on the tray (about 36) and tie with ribbon

around the center of the diapers~

~after you secure the diapers with ribbon and

pin it at the back of the cake,

take out a few and replace it with some

of the travel-size bottles (this picture

shows the bottle in the middle, but I ended up

using that on the top

and putting a bottle of lotion on the bottom layer)~

~the top layer is about 28 diapers, filled in with different items...

I opened the pacifiers and tied them onto the cake with ribbon~

~and the finished product~

~here he is on the table at the shower~ 

I had a lot of fun making this...thank you for stopping by today!