life...

is oh so good! We have such a sweet, precious baby! Don't you just love that beautiful handcrafted blankie made by our talented, wonderful friend, Miss Tia Bennett? We are so thankful to have such a treasure...the blankie and Tia! There are so many reasons why i love life! xoxo

happy birthday...

to my dear friend Teresa McFayden! Hope you have a foofalicious birthday. Wish I could say a special party hat is coming your way but this year we are sending you tons of hugs and kisses from Mr. Carson instead. We adore you and you deserve to have the bestest day ever! xoxo

smitten...

we are so in love with our precious son Carson. Have been enjoying and savoring every moment. I am hoping to post some more photos soon. Grammie Sue has been great at posting photos if you'd like an update before I get a chance to load photos from my camera....until then I'll be changing diapers, feeding or just snuggling and loving our sweet sonshine. xoxo

p.s. thank you for the warm wishes via e-mail and comments here.

introducing...

'Carson Paul Henkel'

Saturday, July 14, 2007
6 lbs 8 ozs, 19 inchesmommy & daddy are filled with pride & joy
and enjoying their new parenting roles!
Kim will post more pictures in a few days
~ in the meantime, little Carson is giving everyone
a 'high 5'...
(and from me (grammie-sue), I cannot begin to say how happy we are right now -
I have been patiently waiting for this special day!!! - a dream come true!!!
please feel free to visit me for more photos)

tomorrow...

is our due date and trying to take it easy but not laying in bed. Went to a feel good movie and lunch with my mom yesterday. Last little hoorah with mom and daughter...thanks mom...such a special time. Just want to soak it all in...have loved being pregnant and feeling all the movements and hiccups. Baby boy's daddy and mommy are so excited to celebrate his birthday in the next couple/few days. Who knows when he will make his debut. Going to meet miss yindi today...so excited. xoxo

p.s. had to take a pic of those funny jack balls on this car. Just made me smile! Hope it makes you smile too!

tick tock...

time is ticking by...have received e-mails asking if any action for baby boy yet and wanted to let you know that we are waiting very patiently. Room is ready (will have to get pictures to share of the room), mommy and daddy are ready too...and i think the friends and family are definitely ready for the big debut. Will have my mom or hubby post on the blog when he does arrive. xoxo

don't wanna forget...

this funny little conversation between daddy dave and our kitty yoshi....

Yoshi: "meow...meow...MEOW" (really loud)

Daddy dave: "yoshi please use your inside voice"

me: (smile-laugh)

Daddy dave: "I'm practicing my skills"

gotta make ya smile! xoxo

one week...

from tomorrow is our due date. Room is pretty much done and he is "in place" ready to go. Feeling good luckily...trying to keep my feet up to avoid swelling from the heat. Will have to take some more pictures of his room...kinda wanted to do that once he's in it...but we'll see. Here is a picture my mom took yesterday while she was here helping me hang the mobile and doing some other finishing touches. Have a great weekend and hope you all don't melt. xoxo

growing...

and still feeling good at 38 weeks...luckily. My mom came out yesterday and drove me to La Jolla to PB Kids. Had a nice morning and lunch with her...always do. Hope I'm as good of a mommy as she is! Guess we will find out soon enough. xoxo

foof-a-life...

is here! Excited to be a part of this project with Autumn Leaves and to be in it amongst some friends and talented people that I admire...Emily Falconbridge, Kelli Crowe, Becky Novacek, Jenni Bowlin, Marlyn Healey, Jennifer Pebbles, Candice Carpenter and Jackie Bonette. I was first asked to be a part of Foofala a few years ago before Teresa McFayden (one sweet gal and dear friend) before her company joined Autumn Leaves. Never did I imagine that she would lead a book with a company that I have been lucky enough to be able to create for. Maybe Teresa will pop on here and tell you what her meaning of Foofala is. (thanks miss T!) If you're near a scrapbook store, you should check Foof-A-Life out! xoxo

chair...

thought it was going to be my favorite spot in the house but looks like someone else may have claimed it. ha! silly grammie...although don't blame her afterall it is in the baby's room and is oh so very comfy! xoxo

fun stuff...

for wee ones...but why are some so expensive? Guess some of them are handmade. Just had to share since they make me smile!

anne claire petit ...the weiner dog is my fav! Just adorable! Love them all!

sigikid ...gotta love the croc which encourages learning with the zipper mouth, buttons and ties.

love this site... so bright and fun!

if you have wee ones, what are your favorite toys for them? I know it will be a while before our little guy is playing with things like this but fun to start thinking about it now. xoxo

daddy...

in the making. This is similar to the new chair we bought for the babies room....ours was way less expensive than this one and is so very soft and cushy (is that a word? it is in my vocabulary). Bought ours at Costco. Will be one of my favorite spots for sure. Just couldn't resist this photo of dave testing it out.

want to welcome our dear friends the Falconbridges to San Diego! Can't wait to spend more time with you...espeically after our babes come! Hope you are getting settled and enjoying your company!

Today is my first day at home from work and so excited to be able to relax and enjoy some time before our lives change for the better.

xoxo

less...

than one month for a big birthday! :-) Looking forward to finishing up at work before my leave...only a handful of days left. Really looking forward to going to the Oasis tomorrow for a Tim Holtz class. Will be sure to take a pic of the finished project. Hoping that I finish. xoxo

2 things...

that make me smile! This sock monkey that my mom made...reminds me of the one she made for me when I was a wee one and this hat that I found today at a cute store I found in encinitas! xoxox

music and the week in review...

love finding new music and this is definitely one I'm happy I found. Was looking for sweet children's music and found the Innocence Mission on the Land of Nod. Scooped up that CD (love her voice) on i tunes along with the newest cd they have called "we walked in song". Hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Was a busy week! Tring to get ready at work for being gone for 4 months. In fact, going in for a short time today. Had a late night there one day last week, another night we went to disney for a sneak peek of the new submarine ride, "finding nemo" to find out it was out of service...so home late that night...then another night was a baby care class which was great to have some one on one time with a pedatrician.

Went to Babies R' Us yesterday to stock up on more baby things...diapers (love how teeny tiny they are and the smell of them (wonder how I'll feel about the smell once baby boy has worn them)), crib mattress, and more...so getting there! Baby boy's room is almost in ship-shape condition. Hard to believe just a little over a month to go.

Was talking with another preggo friend about hiccups and how we haven't felt our wee ones have them yet...welp, he had them twice yesterday. Makes me smile.

Have so many photos that I've been wanting to share just been so busy...hopefully soon! xoxo

whirlwind...

what a weekend! Finally winding down to get ready for work tomorrow! Had a dream weekend with friends and family...started off with my mom and Bryan and Bryan coming to our doc appt. on Fri. and being able to see baby boy and then our baby shower yesterday with some of my favorite ladies (and a couple guys) (only wish the rest of my favorite ladies could've joined us for the celebration...Chihiro, June, Kimberly, Suzanne, Suzie and Emily to just name a few) and then Sea World with our best friends today...along with purchasing our stroller and then hanging out with same friends tonight. Feel like I'm on cloud 9 and can only imagine what it will be like on baby boy's birthday! Will be sure to share photos once Dave sends them to me. So grateful and blessed to have such great memories from this weekend!
p.s. don't think I will have time this week to post until then...have something going on every night this week. sweet dreams! xoxo

you can see some of the pictures on my mom's blog here!

be a good cook! huh?

funny little story I had to add to a page to not forget it...journaling from the weekend...photo from New Zealand. Having a baby can be a tad overwhelming...like you all didn't know that...buying new furniture, getting the room ready, if you work you have to plan and train and do all the things needed to be able to leave for a few months....but thanks to my wonderful hubby the first part is all taken care of...now it's the work part that I need to try to not stress over. whew....a wise woman (my sweet mom) always tells me that everything always has a way of working out. deep cleansing breath...oh and need to do some more classes too.... xoxox
p.s. a little wonky scan makes the journaling look a tad off...but it's okay in real life. Click on the page and you should be able to view it larger to read it if you'd like. xoxo

mmm....

cherries! Always know summer is coming with cherries and strawberries. Makes me smile to know summer is almost here...which means baby boy is almost here too...7 weeks left! xoxo

busy bee...

made a few pages last weekend (how fun to be able to see them at the Oasis)...been awhile since I have been able to playing with glue, paper, felt and more...wish there was more time...love doing all that creative stuff sew berry much! Another productive weekend this weekend...hubby is painting the baby's room and I went out shopping for a few gifts...and it's only Saturday. Hope your having a great memorial weekend! xoxo

p.s. monkey was inspired by this site!

love...

the idea of being able to park here...although the last time we went to Babies R Us these spots were all taken...maybe next time. Have a fun weekend planned of just errands, organizing and scrapbooking...the best kind of days are the "get-it-done" days! Love it! Hope you have some fun "get-it-done" plans for the weekend too! xoxo

happy mum's day...

as they say downunder! Here is an example of what an amazing mom I have: while we were on our trip she came to our place and totally rearranged and made space for baby....moved our dining room table into our family room to make space for our office/creative place which makes space for baby upstairs. So much work that we didn't have to do...Of course we still have more to do and of course she is so great that she has offered to do that too....paint, assemble furniture and welcome baby boy! The whole time we were on our trip I knew the little elves were here and couldn't wait to see what she would come up with...to top it all off she left me roses from her garden, spaghetti in the fridge (with help from her hubby the chef), cupcakes and some fruit too! Of course, I love EVERYTHING she did...always do! We are so lucky to have you as our mum and hope to be 1/2 as fabulous as she is! We love you with all our hearts! (dave and kim...and your grandbabyboy) xoxo

a good read...

finished "The Book of Bright Ideas" by Sandra Kring while on vacation. Makes me want to create my list of bright ideas just like the 2 young characters did....think that just might be the topic of a few scrapbook pages in the near future. xoxo

happy NSD...

Did you ever think Scrapbooking would have it's own day? Well it does and today is it so Happy National Scrapbooking Day! And in honor of it's special day I think I will either be here, purging and organizing my new space that my mom arranged for me while on vacation (thanks mom)...this helps free up the extra bedroom for baby henkel (will be sure to share a picture once it's all done) or possibly here to do our registry. What does the last have to do with scrapbooking? I'm sure there will be a picture involved in that trip which I will want to add to the scrapbook for baby. Hope you have a great NSD! xoxox

p.s. journaling on page reads, "just a place to store all my favorite ribbons from my favorite store in Toronto, Canada...Mokuba ribbon."

ahh...

home safe and sound...will take a few days to get back in the swing of things...unpack, do 3 weeks worth of laundry and get in the work groove again. Will share some pics hopefully this weekend...will have to do it all in stages though since I have over 700 on my camera alone...who knows how many dave has. Was an incredible experience in such beautiful parts of the world. We (Dave and I) have such awesome memories of the whole trip...teaching, sightseeing, the food...but most of all the people. Many thanks to the amazing David Roberts with Kiwiscraps for inviting us and creating such an amazing event...and Rhonda also with Kiwiscraps for her big heart and organization! Was so happy to spend time with some of my favorite girls (Emily, Rhonna and Tia) and their families too! Can't wait to hear and see all the freestyle creations from New Zealand and Austrailia...be sure to share! Now off to unpack! xoxo

p.s. thanks sweet tia for sharing this photo! (l to r: tia, me, emily, rhonna, zina, mary roberts, david roberts and rhonda)

a few favorite photos...

to share from New Zealand....and we have more (dave still has hundreds on his camera too) Loved being in Auckland...loved all the people I met...so nice...wish I could remember all the names...Yolande, Leann, Eileen, Y, Leslie, Deb, Andrea, Karen, Jo, Sam...hi to you all! Now in Wellington and meeting so many more nice ladies....Rachel, Carolyn, Elsa, Kay, and more. On our way to Sydney on Monday...xoxo

just...

checking in to let you know we are in New Zealand and having a great time! xoxo

leaving...

on a jet plane at this time tomorrow for the event downunder. Dave and I are so excited and can't wait to hang out with friends, take lots of pictures and meet all the great people with kiwiscraps! Don't think I will have a chance to update the blog until we return...but will be thinking of you! oxoxo

merry easter...

had these eggs outside my office all week...man the smell of chocolate was makin' this preggo crazy. There were about 20 of them all lined up in various sizes....along with beautifully decorated cookies. Hope you all have a happy day! We're just finishing up getting ready for our trip downunder. xoxo

lullaby...

this is the crib where our sweet little boy will sleep. Purchased it last weekend at Bergstroms on sale and such a good price...better than Babies R Us. This photo is from the store model. Ours is still in the box and will assemble it upon our return from downunder. So much to look forward to!

sweet...

love for these girls...my sweet nieces...always have a great time at the Henkel house! This time was to celebrate my sis-in-law's (adore her) and that sweet Ava's special days! Love that photo of miss lilly giving love to her cousin...even if he is a boy..."blagh" say the girls at that age about boys! ;-)

xoxo

and the winner is...JENI!

So excited to have you in class JENI! I had dave (my husband) pick your name out of a cup...and boy was he thorough in his selection...shaking the cup...dumping them all out and then putting them all back in! e-mail me and I will let you know the next step to get you in one of my classes miss JENI! Hope I get to meet all of you! Space is still available for all classes and if you're on the fence and just don't know yet, we are going to have a great time and don't want you to miss out! E-mail david at david@kiwiscraps.co.nz if you have any questions or go to the website for more details! xoxo