new look - updated!

I told you to hold onto your seats!  The updates continue!

I'm sure this is all very confusing for those of you who didn't see the blog this morning, but it has changed again.

Rather than doing it all myself I decided to do a combo of bought components and homemade goodies!  Thanks to Key Lime Designs for the awesome header and wallpaper background.

I still really love the light blue and pink combo that was up this morning - it will definitely be back at some point.  For now, I think this is it.  Thanks for all the great feedback blogging friends!

Back to all-about-Asher tomorrow...I promise.  :o)

new look!

I got a little tired of my old blog look and decided to try something new!

The turquoise and orange was feeling a little BRIGHT! so I toned it down a little.  It's still a work in progress - I have a perfectionist problem with this blog and tweak and tweak until it's time for a complete overhaul again.  ha!
 
I could never pay for a custom blog design because I get bored with how it looks too quickly.  Doing my own for free is much easier on my wallet!  I'm still not sure that this look is the one.

What do you think??

I might try something more 'scrapbook-y' - be on the watch for more changes!  I know you're all on the edges of your seats.  :o)

it is awards season, after all

So why not toot my own horn a little?

I won an award!

Bridget over at the Mama Belly Blog gave me a Stylish Blogger Award.  Wow!  Thanks!!

Both Bridget and I have little ones that were born in December 2009.  We "met" when we were both pregnant, so we've been reading each other blogs for almost 2 years now.  I love my blogging friends!

So here are rules that go along with winning this award.

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers, or less, up to you.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

7 things about myself.  Ok, here goes!

1.  I desperately want to be crafty and constantly attempt new projects to {hopefully} deserve that title.
2.  At the beginning of 2011 I took on the challenge of reading the bible in a year.  2 months down and still reading daily!
3.  My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary yesterday. Such an inspiration to have them in my life.
4.  I have 2 different thumbs {weird, but true - proof and explanation to come}
5.  Asher has my exact eye color.  I love it!
6.  I secretly watch The Bachelor.  It's kind of like a train wreck - I don't want to watch, but at this point, can't look away.
7.  I get a huge thrill out of organizing.  There's nothing I love more than seeing a chaotic mess, clearing it all out and putting it back in orderly arrangements.  If I could get a job re-organizing people's houses/stores/offices I'd do it!

And the award goes to...

Harris Happiness {my sister!}
Huskey Happenings
Jack, Emily, and Holden
The Branches
The Browns
The Averitt Fam

There are so many great blogs out there that I read.  Some are private, some have already been awarded!  If you're not on this list - you know I still love you!!  ha!

wilkinson way

Welcome to Wilkinson Way!

I've been wanting to come up with a name for my blog that I will be able to keep no matter who else comes to our family.  'Emily and Drew plus Asher' was great - but I can see it getting a little cumbersome if a few other friends join the party!

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

I have heard this verse twice over the past few weeks and was really inspired by it.  It seems in life like there is constantly a pressure to make the 'right' job/school/family decisions and we've decided to turn it over to God.  All of it. 

We'll still do our best to make good decisions and plans {of course!}, but it's such a relief to remember and trust that God sees the big picture, even when I can't.  God will direct our steps towards our best life - yay!

As I'm sure you've noticed, this blog is mostly about my daily experiences as a stay-at-home mom to my little man, Asher.  It will continue to be mostly all about him and his antics that keep me hopping!

If you're new to my little blog - or have been following for years - welcome to Wilkinson Way.  It's a great place to be!

{when I get some time I'll make a new button too - stay tuned!}

emily, unplugged

Since you all are my friends I wanted to give you a little heads up as to what is happening this week.

I am taking a computer break.

That's right.  A break.  As in, not using it.  For 7 days.

I can't really explain how this came about except to say that I feel prompted to unplug for awhile.  I've been feeling out of sorts recently and need some time to reflect and redirect my efforts.  The thing is - I love to blog!  And I love to read blogs!  The problem is that recently, every time I have some down time I find myself drifting over to the computer and all of the sudden POOF my whole evening is gone.   

How does that happen?

Instead of doing that {or checking Facebook, my other major time hog} I want to spend my free time serving my family, praying, writing in my journal, etc.  I couldn't make it forever {hey - I'm not going Amish here people}, but for an intentional, dedicated block of time I want to be without my computer.

Since my email comes through on my phone I'll still be checking all of that, so if you want to chat send me a note or give me a call.  I'm not trying to be isolated here - just taking a break from the internet at large!

All this to say, I'll miss you, but will most definitely be back!  In fact, I'll be back next Friday - you can set your watches by it.  There's no way I'll last longer than 7 days.  HA!  See you all on the flip side!  :o)

{Sorry especially to the grandparents, aunts, and uncles who look for Asher each day - thanks for understanding}

just one more!

I have 49 followers - that's awesome, thanks readers!

But...

the odd number sort of {really} bugs me.  Any chance there's 1 more person out there who would consider following this little 'ole blog of mine?  Anyone?  Please!

Making it an even 50 would really make my day!

And quite possibly make my diagnosis of OCD finally a reality.  :o)

{If by any chance there are more than 1 of you out there I could probably handle seeing the number be higher than 50...even if it's an odd one.  HA!}

UPDATE:  Yay! Thanks, Soldier Girl for being #50, you rock!

expecting the bean

I know that some of you started reading along with us after Asher was born, so you might not realize that I documented virtually every important {and silly, but fun!} thing that happened during my pregnancy here on this blog.   

Emily and Drew {later to become Emily and Drew Plus Asher!} was around long before the bean was conceived, but it almost completely became an electronic pregnancy diary once I found out that I was expecting.

I love looking back at this time last year to see how big the bean was, what my belly looked like, and what I was feeling at the time.  However, clicking back through the dates isn't quite the same as flipping through the memories in a book.

So, I had my blog made into a book!

I love, love, love it!!

These memories are so special to me.  I know that I'll always treasure this book, especially if {God forbid} something happens to the archives of this blog.

It takes us from the first big announcement...

To the biggest announcement.

And everything in between!

The book was made using Blog2Print.  Creating a blog book with this service is a very simple process.  You choose the cover style, cover photos, posts to include, and whether you want the photos in the orientation that you created or in a space saving mode.
 
I thought reorganizing the photos really messed with the integrity of my posts, so I chose to keep my original orientation {even though it made more pages = cost more}.  Although, if I had it to do over I would definitely go for the hardcover.  The default choice is a soft back, which is fine, but since I plan to keep this forever I'd rather have the hard back.

When I make a book from Asher's first year I'll go with the hard cover upgrade for sure!  And I will be making a book for him -- how could I not?  This is his baby book!

And let's face it -- he's too adorable not to document!

Overall I'm really pleased with the final product.  What they do is simple, but exactly what I wanted.  If you're looking to publish your blog I'd definitely recommend it!

making a blog signature

Lots of people have been asking me recently how I made my blog signature and button.  I'm happy to help anyone who wants it, but thought it might be easiest if I posted some references here!

{Why reinvent the wheel, right?}

While I did make my own signature and button, I didn't figure out how to do it on my own.  I used some really great web tutorials to design the button/signature and insert them into Blogger HTML.

If you're wanting to personalize your blog a bit, I'd highly recommend checking out these tutorials.  Then just play around {and around} until you come up with something that you like! 

I designed my blog stuff in Photoshop, but this tutorial at The Cutest Blog on the Block also tells you how to do it in paint.net in case you don't have Photoshop.

Another great reference is:  http://www.kevinandamanda.com/  They have blog design tutorials as a link on the righthand sidebar.

Finally, I've found a ton of great general info at: http://www.bloggingbasics101.com/

If anyone needs more details or help designing buttons or signatures, just leave me a comment or email.  I'm happy to help!

---------------------------------------------

In a completely unrelated note, Internet Explorer won't let me open up The Souders Saga blog anymore.  Ashlie, I want to see your new posts and can't for some reason!  Is anyone else having this issue??  It updates on my sidebar, but then when I click to open it says the IE can't open.  Boo. 

Happy 7 months to Miss P in the meantime -- hopefully I'll get the problem figured out soon!

grab my button!

I have a new blog button!

If you want one, it's all yours!

Just copy the code in the little box {over there -->} and paste it into an HTML widget on your blog.

Presto!  Easy access to my lovely bambino any hour of the day!  :o)

new look!

I got really tired of looking at my same old blog background, so I decided to play around and came up with this!

What do you think?

There is still some tinkering to do {including making a new blog button} but so far I like it.  I was looking for something a little cleaner and less fussy.  Plus I'm lovin' orange these days!  Yay summer!

Happy Friday!

{By the way I still have my old template, so if you like the other one better, please be honest!} 

new blog look *update*

I changed some things about the header already.

The last one just wasn't sitting right with me, but this I love!

How long before I change it again?...

Hopefully only 3 more weeks, then I can add the bean's name and an actual photo of him to it!

new blog look - kind of

I've been playing around with HTML and Photoshop recently, trying to do something new and interesting with my blog.

I managed (by following lots of directions I found online) to make a custom header, signature and post divider!

What do you think?

I also designed a new button, so feel free to grab it!

These are the things I don't think I'll have much time for once a certain little boy makes his debut, so might as well play around now!

new blog button *update*

So.

Since I posted my new blog button, I showed it to my other half and he informed me that it was "pretty girly."

I guess on some level I realized that, but what I didn't think about was the fact that it also had his name on it. I don't think Drew really cared, but since it does have his name on it, I wanted something he wouldn't be embarrassed over.

That brings us to now. I made a new button in a more "gender neutral" palette.

I love this one too!

Here it is...



I updated the HTML code, so feel free to post it all over the place.

Whoopie pies to those who do (and live along I-80 in PA).

Graditude to the rest.

new blog button!

After seeing so many blogs with cute buttons, I decided to try and make one for myself!

It took some web research and lots of playing around with HTML and Photoshop, but I finally pulled something together that seems to work the way I hoped it would.

Here's the final result...



What do you think??

Feel free to grab it for your page!

Not only do I not mind if you grab it, I'll give you all kinds of props here if you do. :o)

All you have to do is copy and paste the code (found beneath the button on my sidebar) into a new HTML/Java Script widget on your blog.

If you want to make a button for yourself, I'd recommend looking here for a great tutorial on making the button and adding the code scroll box (which I found to be the hardest part).

Thanks, Erin for testing it out for me and being the first to grab it!

As a prize you get lots of whoopie pies delivered to your house on Friday.

The benefits of posting my button begin already!

blog makeover

I got a blog makeover!

It took me awhile, hopping from site-to-site, but I finally found a blog template that I love which wasn't too expensive. There are lots of people who offer custom blog design, but those can be really pricey and with our current job situation I didn't want to spend a lot.

After much searching I came across Smitten Blog Design, which offers lots of free and $5 pre-made templates. A lot of their free ones are great, but I found this this template in the iSmitten collection and decided it was worth the $5!

I also put in some elements from the Corina Nielsen "Sweet September" digital kit to add a little something unique.

What do you think?!

I love it!

new signature

I don't really know anything about HTML.

Seriously.

Nothing at all.

I don't even know what it stands for.

But, now that I've starting blogging (and really have fun with it!) I decided to try my hand at some.

I found instructions on The Cutest Blog on the Block for making your own signature and decided to give it a try.

It was surprising easy and, I think, adds a little something special to my posts.

What do you think? :o)

follow us!

Being a leader is overrated...

Become a follower of our blog!

If you like to keep track of our little adventures, just click "Follow This Blog" on the sidebar.

You can choose to get updates or not -- honestly it probably won't effect your life at all.

But it will make me feel good.

In fact, I'll probably make a face like this.

Or like this.

Or like this.

Well, probably more like this.

Our First Post

Welcome to our blog! This blog started as a way for our friends and family to keep up with our life. Currently Drew and I are living in Cleveland, Ohio. Drew is working for Booz & Company as a business consultant. Emily is working for Case Western Reserve University as a research assistant in a Pulmonary research lab. Please let us know what you all are up to as well!