:(

Woo hoo... that man is HOT! ;)

We've known about this for two stinkin' years now, and I still can't get over the fact that Lorin is leaving for Chicago next week for 3 MONTHS without us!

Lorin will be doing the Clinical Portion of his schooling at Northwestern for Prosthetics starting January 11th. It's 11 weeks long, and I am SO SO SO sad that he is going. Like I said, we've known about this for a long time now, but it still seems so surreal. I'm sure some people reading this are thinking, "Shoot, 11 weeks is nothing!" And I'm sure others are like me and are thinking, "Wow.... that's a long time!"

We had the option of going with him, but we didn't think it would be such a good idea for a newborn and Lily to be stuck in a VERY SMALL apartment in Chicago during the winter. I think we would go insane, and I think we would be in the way of Lorin's studies. It would also be very expensive for us to be there with him. Fortunately, we will be able to fly him home a few times in between.

I just wanted everyone to know so that if I'm a bit of a grump, you'll know why. Lorin is my BEST-EST friend in the whole world, and it's going to be really hard for me to be away from him so long! :(

Enough of the sad news...
We had a wonderful Christmas and I'm so glad we could spend it with so many friends, and with all our family. It was so fun watching Lily get into the season a little more this year. She went around telling everyone that "Santa is coming to town!" And she was so excited to tell everyone she wanted a candy cane for Christmas... pretty low expectations (hopefully she's that way every year - ha!) It was also fun celebrating with Gavin - he's my little stud, and I love that he already loves me so much!!

We hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas, and one of these days when I actually have more time I will post more pics.

Song about Mormons on Conan & Alice in Wonderland

I just love Conan... he's so funny!

Check out this video if you have a few minutes to spare...

Song about Mormons on Conan O'Brien

Also, here is the new trailer for Alice in Wonderland... I CANNOT WAIT!

Alice Trailer

Busy Busy Busy Busy

You know how it is with the Holidays... BUSY TIME!

Even though things are crazy, I love it!! The hustle and bustle just reminds me that Christmas is coming, and I'm so excited!

Of course we were busy with the boutique, but we were able to fit in a quick trip to mine and Lorin's favorite place... Disneyland! We couldn't resist because we had free tickets! Lily & Gavin were awesome, and Lily is still talking about the rides and how Mickey Mouse gave her a kiss. Gavin was way too good... he hardly said a peep the whole time, and we were able to take him on a TON of rides. I wanted to do a blog post that continued from last year's post about Disneyland, but just haven't had the time. Oh well!

Here are just a few pics of what we have been up to lately....

Our Christmas Card Family Pic
Part of the Boutique
At Disneyland
At the coolest new ride at California Adventure... the Toy Store 4-D Ride
Lily with Cinderella... she was so happy to meet her

Discounted CRAFTS!

Hey guys!

I had some leftover CRAFTS from the boutique I just did, and have discounted all my items so I can clear out my inventory. If you are interested in getting anything, just email me at: kristynmerkley@gmail.com.

No items will be shipped. Payment due at pickup. First come, first serve basis.

**Not pictured - I have FLOUR/SUGAR Labels to sell that are for glass jars
Small are 50 cents and Large are 75 cents - Great Stocking Stuffers!!

Twilight Car Vinyl - $4 - Most are about 2.5 inches by about 16-24 inches long

Give Blood, Date a Cullen
Watch Out! I Drive Like a Cullen
Edward Prefers Brunettes
Plan A: Go To College, Plan B: Join The Vampires
I Like My Men Cold, Dark & Sparkling

Give Blood, Date a Cullen #2
Edward Prefers Brunettes #2
I Run With Vampires

Edward prefers Brunettes Cabinet Door Hanging - $10 - SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT

Give Blood, Date a Cullen Cabinet Door Hanging (Also in Red) - $13 - 1 of each available
SOLD OUT
Family Home Evening Board - $16 - 1 in off white, BLACK SOLD OUT

SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT

SOLD OUT
Love is All You Need Tin Ceiling Tile - $10 - 2 Available
Together is a Wonderful Place to Be Til Ceiling Tile - $10 - 1 Available
SOLD OUT
Love is All You Need Tin Ceiling Tile - $10 - 2 Available
SOLD OUT

Thank you!

Thank you to all of those who came out and supported Kellyn and I on Saturday. It was awesome!! There were close to 800 people who came, so we were very happy about that. Tune in later this week for discounted items I will be posting on here. Most of the gifts make AWESOME Christmas presents!

Thanks again - you guys are WONDERFUL!

LeChic Polka Dot BOUTIQUE

So...
I decided not to have my boutique this year because I just had Gavin. I was kinda bummed but okay with the idea of not being stressed out of my mind. I found out a friend was doing a boutique and decided to just be a vendor this year. I am so excited about it. It's going to be awesome, and Kellyn and I have made a lot of fun stuff!

So far I've made:
3 Our Family Forever Boards
4 Cabinet Doors with Wood Letters
4 Word Plaques
5 "The Stockings Were Hung" Boards
7 Twilight Cabinet Doors
35 Twilight Car Vinyl
10 Scrapbook Pails
8 Temple Ceiling Tiles
18 Vinyl Ceiling Tiles
60 Christmas ornaments
10 Christmas signs
14 Vinyl Glass Frames
4 Vinyl Cabinet Doors

Yes, I've been busy...
Here are pics of some of my products:
(Not pictured are the Stockings Boards, Ornaments & Twilight Car Vinyl)

COME CHECK IT OUT AND GET SOME FREE STUFF!
THE FIRST 50 CUSTOMERS GET GOODY BAGS!

I will also be taking orders for Christmas if you cannot attend the boutique and want to order one of the products. I will add pics of the other items when I have a little more time. :D
Our Family FOREVER Boards

Word Plaques
Family Home Evening Boards
Temple Ceiling Tiles
Cabinet Doors with Wood Letters
Twilight Cabinet Doors

Vinyl Cabinet Doors
Twilight Ceiling Tiles
Vinyl Glass Frames

Vinyl Ceiling Tiles

LECHIC POLKA DOT BOUTIQUE
Gilbert, AZ
Saturday, Nov. 21st 10am-5pm
3303 E. Baseline Road

Gavin's Blessing Day

We blessed Gavin this past Sunday. I cannot believe my little boy is already 7 weeks...almost 8! Time flies by too fast.

Also, sorry for the lack of blogging... I'm in a boutique in a few weeks and have been busy crafting. I know, I know... I'm crazy. I will be sure to post more info about it as it gets closer. :)

Gratitude

Thank you, Thank you, Heavenly Father, for such a sweet little boy!!
I cannot even express how grateful I am for him and my precious Lily!

Clint

Lily, Travis, Clint, my Lily, Jackie, Mikey, Ali & Joey (Paige is missing).
This was on Christmas last year. They had bought Lily a Little Einstein set which you can see she is very distracted by. Lily LOVES the Blasers, and so do we!!

This weekend has been so sad...
Clint Blaser, a loving husband and father, passed away Thursday night. I nannied for his family for 7 years and have come to love them as my own. Clint was like a big brother to me, and his wife, Jackie, is one of my DEAREST friends. He leaves not only Jackie behind but 6 beautiful kids - Paige, Ali, Travis, Lily, Joey & Michael.

Clint had gone running Thursday night after 5 pm and never came back. After a few hours Jackie called the police. They had informed her that someone had been found in their neighborhood who had been jogging and needed to be ID-ed at the hospital. Unfortunately, it was him.
Someone in the neighborhood saw it happen. She had waved to him while he was jogging. He waved back and collapsed right after that. By the time she ran to him, he was already gone although she administered CPR until the paramedics came. They know he died of plaque build up in his arteries causing a heart attack which killed him instantly. Their family is still in shock, as well as myself. Clint was a WONDERFUL man and will be dearly missed. As you can imagine, the family is devastated and is having a hard time imagining life without their dad and husband. Please be sure to keep Jackie & the kids in your prayers as they go through this unimaginable trial.

Funeral is Wednesday at 10 am at the Corona Stake Center.

Two WEEKS old!!

Holy crud, I could eat this little boy!! He is just so darn cute!!

I have to say that having a kid is so much easier (not easy by any means, just easi-ER) the second time around. You know what to expect and everything isn't as hard... especially nursing!

I am so grateful for these two little kids,
even if they don't look like they're mine! ;)