That ROCKS!

I have talked about my love for the website etsy.com here before....well, a few months back I browsing the site and came across some paperweights/magnets that I immediately fell in love with.  They were the cutest little things....small river rocks painted with metallic hearts.  I was really tempted to buy one, but instead channeled my creative excitement into something very special!  

As I announced last week, Matt and I have purchased a lot back in Nebraska and hope to start building a home for our family within the next year.  There is still a lot of planning to be done and decisions to be made, but there is one thing that we have known from the start...our home will be filled with and surrounded by memories of Miss Charlotte.  One of the ways that we are planning on doing this is by planting "Charley's Garden."  It will be a beautiful reminder of our little girlie, hopefully filled with lots of bright colors and lively butterflies!  This garden was one of the first things that came to my mind when I started thinking about those rocks from Etsy.

Though Matt and I couldn't be back with family this Memorial Day, we did provide a little bit of entertainment from a distance.  About a month or so ago we made a trip to a local landscaping place to pick out some rocks that will eventually find a home in Charley's Garden.  We took those rocks to my mom's in Omaha a few weeks back they were just BLAH and dirty.  When we see them again, however, they will have been transformed into beautiful works of art courtesy of Charlotte's' big loving family!

Below are some pictures of "arts and crafts" time on Memorial Day.  I initially thought this would be a fun project for all of the kids in my family...but it turns out that there were some BIG kids who wanted in on the action as well!  

 

 

 

 

Pretty sure this made Matt's day! Thanks Dane!

Look familiar?  This one is painted just like Charlotte's chair!

Here's the whole group!  I have a pretty crafty family, huh!?

We still have a few rocks to add to the pile from Matt's family and I can't wait to see then all in person.  Then we'll get them all sealed and patiently wait until said garden can become a reality! I love that everyone was willing and able to help make this little idea of mine come to life...especially Charlotte's little cousins who worked so hard to make their rocks just perfect!  This was something so simple, yet it that totally warms my heart and makes me smile.  I'm pretty sure I know someone else who is smiling too!