Busy Busy Busy!

I feel bad that I haven't blogged anything in a few weeks, but please believe me when I say I have been so busy! And when I say busy, I mean going from when I wake up to when I go to sleep (which is rarely before 1 am), not having time to even cook or eat at home! Needless to say, Im pretty sick of fast food and eating out right now! Summers are supposed to be time for teachers to relax and do things they have been putting off all year. . . . but not this one! Here is a brief update of what's been going on.

1. The first week I was planning a baby shower for my sister-in-law, so I knew I would be busy getting my house clean and decorations made and all of the food ready for the celebration.What I didn't know was what was really going to happen. Ashley had to be admitted to the hospital that tuesday morning because of some complications and at that point was told she wouldn't be leaving until little Jacob was born, so we decided to move the shower to a room at the hospital. I was really torn between going up to the hospital to keep her company and getting ready for the shower. When Justin's mom came into town, I at least knew she had someone with her and I could put all of my eggs into one basket. Until . . . .

This is the diaper cake I made for the shower!

2. Jacob Philip Craig was born! Thursday of that week things took a turn for the worse in the evening and the doctors decided it would be best for mom and baby to take him early. So he was born that evening 11 weeks premature. He weighed 2 pounds 6 ounces and was obviously taken to the NICU where he could be cared for. So we were really glad we had moved the shower and it turned out great! I just brought all of the decorations to the hospital and tried to make it as cute as possible for a hospital conference room!

His first night! Tiny little man!

This is his tiny little diaper. The smallest made and it was even too big!

3. Once all of the visitors went home, a new routine developed. Ashley couldn't drive, needed some company, and Jacob needed visitors! So for the next couple of weeks, we got a lot done! We would go visit the little man twice a day, morning and evening and tackle all kinds of projects in between. Like making hats and blankets for him to wear so he looks his best, and making things for his room. We also worked on getting his room ready. We got to know all of the nurses really well and it was great to see the little man make improvements and grow! I have to say that over this time we become much closer than we have ever been and I am truly thankful for that.

He smiles for his Aunt Mallori!

He's holding my finger with his sweet little fingers.

We accidentally matched but it made for cute pictures!

4. After a couple weeks of creative projects and hospital runs, it was time to change gears. As you may know, we have a "family business" called Patriot Defense Arms. The boys came up with the idea and have turned it in to something pretty big. They have a retail website and manufacture AR-15 guns and sell all kinds of accessories for them. www.patriotdefensearms.com We have all 4 been working hard to get things ready. We had our first gun show coming up and alot to do. I spent most of my week painting display cases, display stands, sign stands, and making all the little things we needed to make the gun show go as smooth as possible.

5. Then it was time for the gun show. We pulled an all-nighter to get ready for the thing. We had to get everything packed up and travel to Murfreesboro, TN. All in all it was a success! The boys and I worked really hard, and even though it took a few 5 Hour Energy drinks to get us through the weekend, we made it. We were very proud and got tons of compliments of our products. People generally said that they were the highest quality guns they had seen. All in one weekend the website went up and we got out in the public! It will be interesting to see what happens from here! Hopefully lots of sales!

Our booth at the gun show!

6. I was elected the NMI President at our church and now have to figure out all of my new responsibilities and jobs for the coming year. I know that it is my job to bring this focus into the current times, but am excited to see where I can take this ministry! It will be challenging for me but I know I can make good things happen!