how to download and install new fonts

finding fonts online is one of my favorite things. that might be pretty nerdy, but it keeps things much more original and personal when you need to make something with words on your computer.

i am currently working on a couple of graphic bible verses to hang in our house, and i downloaded all of the fonts i'm using in them for free from websites like fontspace.com and dafont.com. there are lots more. do a search to find exactly what you need.

when you find a font you like, how do you get it onto your computer and into a place where your computer recognizes it as a font? it isn't enough just to download the font from the page. hopefully, these steps will help you download and install your favorite fonts and keep you far, far away from some of those more cliche fonts.

follow these step by step and it should work for you. i do this often enough that it goes pretty quickly, and i'm not any kind of computer pro.

1. getting the font on your computer:
first, find a font that you like. i chose "my turtle" by billy argel. find the download button and click it. (and make sure you are clicking the actual download button for the font and not one in a strategic and tricky advertisement.)


choose the save option in the dialog box and click ok.


it will ask you where to save it. you choose. i usually start with mine on the desktop so they are easy to find.

minimize or close your web browser. you don't need the internet for the rest of this.

2. making the font usable:
find the folder of the font you just downloaded. it will have a zipper on it, because most font files come as zipped files. zipped files are basically compacted files for easy downloading, and they have to be "unzipped" in order to use them.

right click on your folder and click "extract all." (apple users, maybe control click. i haven't dealt with this on a mac.)


it will ask you a couple of questions about where to put the extracted files. figure out where you want them to go and click ok. i usually just go with the default options. you can always move the folder later on as long as you know where to find it.

3. opening your new downloaded font folder:
NOW there will be a matching font folder without a zipper on it. this is your unzipped font. open the folder. it will look something like this:


4. opening your computer fonts folder:
leaving the downloaded font folder where it is, open your control panel (it should be on your start menu). in the search box at the top right, type "fonts." this will appear, or something like it.


click "view installed fonts." it will look like this.


5. copying and pasting your new font into your computer fonts folder:
click your downloaded font folder, in my case, "my turtle," and find the font file. it is a true type font file, the last one listed here (placement will likely be different in your downloaded font folder - that's ok, as long as you find the font file). right click the font file. in the right click drop-down menu, choose "copy."


click your computer font folder. right click somewhere within the folder, but not directly on a font that is already installed (you may need to scroll to the bottom for this). choose "paste."


let it install. check to make sure your new font is in your computer font folder. see "my turtle?"


i hope this helps if you've ever wanted to download a font but weren't sure how to do it. :)

sam at 21 months, levi at 6.5 months

sam is talking SO MUCH. like, constantly.

we have a lot of fun, and we also have some challenges with fit throwing, though a lot of it stems from trying to communicate. i think that will disappear soon and then we will just have the battle of wills type fits. excited about that. haha.

he is not interested in potty training, and i'm giving myself a break on that for a couple more months, though i do ask about and encourage it.

his favorite tv show is super why. if you ask him if he is a super reader, he will nod his head emphatically. (no, he can't read yet lol.)

he loves all things transportation - trucks, cars, trains, airplanes (he says, "airMAIN!"). he can even say "helicopter."

some of the fun words sam is now saying:
alriiiight! (excitedly)
yeeaaah! (also excitedly, i say these things to him when he is doing what he should)
yes (he enunciates this one so well it makes me laugh)
dinosaur...i can't really spell this one how he says it, but it's something i can understand
paci (another well-enunciated one)
nooooooo (whiny...not my favorite word)
he can say all of his letters and numbers 1-10 after i say them, just repeating me. he does have some numbers memorized.
rrwwwwice! (rice)
he can say any color we ask and recognizes some of them.
muck (milk, chocolate milk is his favorite)
juice
moooof (move)
outsiiii (outside)
weevi (levi)
a bee! a bee! (we talked about bees on easter and ever since he says this and then says, "bzzzzzz")
wok (walk)
shoes (usually repeated because he wants to wear them always)
happy
i on't knoooow (i don't know)
how 'bout this? - a very consistent sentence that he uses appropriately
daw (draw)
a-mote (remote)
fowfur (flower)
uh oh!
oh no!
oh gosh!
tactey (tractor)
hooome (home)
house
...he will say just about anything he wants to say. he can be super stubborn (like i've said, that's all from his dad, because i'm definitely not stubborn...ahem) and usually that's what keeps him from saying things.

he can work the ipad on his own - turn it on, slide the lock screen, find his apps, and play them. it is totally crazy since we didn't even have personal (slow, expensive, large, desktop) computers on a broad scale until i was much older than he is now. he plays games with letters, numbers, colors, and animals, and i think they really make a difference.

he loves to run around, dance, climb things (his head has two bruises and several scratches on it), "hop" (stand on his tip toes), bounce/jump (he can't really jump up off the floor yet but he says he is jumping), and snap together and take apart his mega blocks.

he loves books and reading. he knows his bible from the rest and says "bible," though we are still working on the patience to sit through an entire "story" most nights.

he is starting to pretend. he "feeds" us pretend food and yesterday he got his toy keys and looked at me and said, "bye bye!"


levi says a whole lot of dadadada, and he will mimic the sound of "hi" when you say it to him.

he already has two teeth, both middle bottom ones.

he "sings" himself to sleep (a jabbery growly song) and he loves to yell. just yell.

he is excited about life. he smiles easily and laughs a lot.

he is also fussy a lot (the extremes). he doesn't want to be alone in a room even for a minute for me to go pee, and he will sob over it if he is in the wrong mood. even if you're in the same room, he probably wants to be held about 80% of the time, which is even tougher when you have two under two. sometimes he will sit and play by himself with toys or books, and i think as he gets more independent he likes it more.

he does love to sit and play with sam, and sam loves to play with him but doesn't like to share, so we are working on that.

he eats a lot and he loves peanut butter and animal crackers and hates baby food. he is a big boy.

he loves reading books and watching sesame street.

he LOVES his daddy.

he rolls and scoots and spins to get where he wants to, and sometimes to get where he doesn't want to be. i don't think crawling is far off for him.

he CAN sleep through the night, but he will wake at 4am for a bottle if he deems it necessary.

he loves stuffed animals. he chews on them (like he does with everything) and cuddles with them.

he can sit but he falls over if he isn't supported. a lot of times he will "fall" over on purpose to roll somewhere or get something.

he gives kisses (very slobbery), and will reach out and sweetly touch the face of whoever is holding him.


so that's what the boys are up to, and more. i'm tired so i probably forgot something, but you get the idea: they are awesome.

our number three

two weeks ago, i was pregnant.

it was our first try for our number three kid, and the test was positive saturday morning, february 23.

sam and levi both "showed up" early on the pregnancy tests, but this one didn't. things didn't feel the same physically either, though i was tired and nauseous. i had the worst headache i'd ever had by noon on monday.

by lunchtime tuesday, i had started spotting. i was terrified. dr. jones had me stop by for blood work that afternoon.

my hcg was only at 4, when it should have been at around 10,000. the next day, the spotting got worse. my blood test thursday showed no hcg. when i got my blood drawn, i cried, and the girl drawing blood gave me a hug and said it happened to her once, too.

hcg, no matter how little, no matter how early, means a pregnancy. no hcg after having hcg means a miscarriage. dr. jones said it was random, and that it happened in 10% of pregnancies. he said our next pregnancy would probably be fine. he said, "so i guess this pregnancy was good - you wanted to be pregnant?" i told him yes, and he was sympathetic.

it was, and is, sad. i never knew you could miss someone you never even met, but you can. i never knew someone who never got bigger than a poppy seed would leave a void, but he or she sure has.

my nausea and exhaustion, along with headaches, stuck around for a week, making it harder, being symptoms that reminded me of what i no longer had.

it has made me thankful for our two healthy boys, and made me realize how much of a miracle they truly are (as if i wasn't convinced already). the girl who hugged me at the hospital asked me about other kids, and i told her about levi and about sam and how he was the only one from ivf. her eyes got huge and she said, "THAT doesn't happen." oh i know. i know.

it has also made me want another one that much more. many times i have said to justin, "i want our baby back." he agrees. but it can't happen.

and we are ok, but very sad. we would love to be announcing soon that i'm seven weeks pregnant, but we can't. we know God has a plan, and it is greater than our plan. that helps, though it doesn't take the pain away.

i miss my baby, but i believe that when i die and go to heaven, i'll have a little one rush into my arms who i have never met, but knows his or her mama has been waiting on that moment since february of 2013.

holding sam

life is fast and fleeting, right now more than ever it seems, as we are so busy and the boys are growing so quickly. levi is already five months old, and sam is so big, he never falls asleep on his mama anymore.

but today, he managed to skip his afternoon nap. he seemed tired around 5:30, so i asked him to come snuggle with me while we watched veggie tales.

i felt his head roll to the side periodically, heavy and exhausted. finally, justin told me he had fallen asleep.

it was good.

feeling the weight of his little sleeping body on my chest and stomach was welcome after a long spell without it. his hair glinted a very light golden blonde in the dim light of the living room. his long, dark eyelashes rested on his cheeks.

his breathing was steady and deep - the breathing of a tired little boy who has spent the day playing, coloring, dancing, and throwing the occasional fit.

and i just held him in my arms, rested my cheek on his soft, short, little boy hair, and soaked it in.

i'm writing this not to share so much as to remember it, and to have this for him when he is older and maybe has kids of his own, so that he can understand that i love him more than words can say.

christmas card 2012

our christmas card:

Initially Snowflake Christmas

Custom Christmas cards are always available at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

what a year of blessings.

our last few days

the past several days have been a whirlwind, and with three nights in the hospital, there aren't clear endings and beginnings to the days.

wednesday i was scheduled for a 4pm induction. it would have been in the morning, but the nurses in labor and delivery were at a conference all day and my doctor had to argue to get us a spot even that late. i'm thankful he did, because delivering at 41 weeks is late enough. on the way, we got stuck in road construction that had been scheduled but was never actually happening. then, we were supposed to be pre-registered, and that wasn't in the system, so it took us until probably 5 to get into a room and ready to go.

i think they hooked up the medicine around 6pm, after i had been checked over and had signed a bunch of papers. my parents and justin's mom were there, along with sam, who just played in the room with whatever he could find and had a fun time.

i had contractions on my own before the pitocin was hooked up, so that was great news. they were about 5 minutes apart, and with the pitocin they came closer, around 3 minutes apart. nothing else was really happening, so everyone went home and we stayed. during the night, the contractions got bad enough to keep me awake but not bad enough for an epidural. they offered me pain medicine through my iv, and hoping that i would sleep, i agreed.

instead of sleeping i just felt drunk and woozy and still woke up with every contraction, so basically i slept about 2 minutes at a time. justin had the birthing ball (which i tried to use but the monitor wouldn't stay on the baby so i couldn't) next to the bed, sitting on it, trying to comfort me into sleeping. i slept a few minutes and then woke up to him sitting there looking exhausted on the ball and i said sadly, "oh justin, you don't have to sit on that ball!" he thought it was the funniest thing. i didn't want him to have to sit there, but the overly sappy nature of the comment was definitely the result of the medicine.

i guess i got to about 3 cm that night, and levi dropped enough by 5am thursday for the doctor to break my water, which wasn't exactly comfortable at 3cm. on a gross note, oh my gosh how much "water" can fit inside you? seriously. there is a lot of it. my belly felt somewhat deflated, and the contractions got a little worse.

i was trying to wait until i was 4cm to get my epidural, which seemed fine at first. i wasn't hurting, and even when it did start to hurt, it only hurt for a minute and then it was over. then, i DID want my epidural. i was about 3.75cm at my last check and things were starting to hurt pretty badly. the girl told me it would take 30 minutes for the bag of iv fluids to go in and then i could have the epidural. it took an hour. then the anesthesiologist took so long to get there, i wanted to poke him with his own needle.

i had two contractions while he did the epidural (i didn't think he could even do that, but he did it) and then it was glorious and it didn't hurt anymore. before the epidural, i had several contractions that made me cry because they lasted about 3 minutes each and were in my back, and before those i had a lot more (shorter, not in my back) of what the nurse told me made most first time laboring moms scream. one of the crying ones, i was turned sideways, holding tight to the bed rail, moaning in pain, tears streaming down my face, and i said, "it HAS to be almost over!" the nurse said, "it just peaked, you're about halfway." after that i told justin i didn't want any more kids. i am pretty sure i was serious.

this was all sometime thursday afternoon. things were going well and then two nurses ran in, shut off my pitocin, gave me an oxygen mask, and had me lay on my left side. levi's heart rate was still up, but it wasn't where they wanted it, so they had to be careful. my contractions also stopped completely, meaning i was no longer having any on my own. levi was fine, and they started the pitocin again, at a low dose. i was at about 5cm, 90% effaced, and that was as far as i would ever be. each check from then until 9pm was the same. we went from a normal chance of a regular birth to a 15-20% chance. i cried. a lot.

i didn't know what i wanted to do, and justin didn't know what he wanted to do. we had been praying all day long and all night and all day before, and so we prayed again and decided on a c-section in hopes that levi would be safer that way.

we were in the operating room by 10pm and he was born at 10:22pm. one of the people assisting in the c-section encouraged justin to watch as they pulled him out, and so he looked over the curtain in time to see them pull him out and the doctor unwind the umbilical cord twice from levi's neck. justin said it was the scariest thing he had ever seen.

the doctor said, "happy birthday!" and then, "he is huge!" i watched as they weighed him...9 pounds, 3.5 ounces. one nurse measured his head. "38 cm. he wasn't coming out," she declared.

all that time i wanted a vbac, and everyone tried to help me have that happen, and he was better off with a c-section because of the cord and his size - something that nobody can know or account for or write about in a medical article or a blog about vbacs. Nobody except the One who made sure i didn't progress enough to put levi and myself in danger.

the doctor told me that we probably would have been in the operating room for an emergency c-section because the cord was wrapped around his neck, even if i had progressed. so strange how things pan out, and how something can be "for the better" even though it might seem like the worst option initially.

levi is great - perfectly healthy and fine. i am sore, taking medicine, and hoping to recover quickly. it all worked out for the best.

and so that is my long story of how i ended up with a second c-section and a second fabulous little boy.

september!

we were really hoping for an august baby. by "we," i mean me, and by "hoping," i mean pleading with justin to learn to do a c-section to get levi OUT. ok, not so drastic as that, but i am VERY ready.

i have already gained 10 more pounds with this pregnancy than i had with sam at 39 weeks, so i feel more pregnant than i have ever been. in addition to that, levi is head down and engaged, so he is way low and way painful. i can't say if i prefer low or high, because sam's melon head in my ribs was not a fun time either, but then it didn't hurt to walk. i haven't progressed since 36 weeks, and i'm 38 1/2 weeks now. (i think that cervical checks are just a cruel joke doctors play on you to make you excited that labor could come any day, when in reality it will probably never come and you'll be pregnant forever.)

so we will just say i'm a bit impatient with the last bit of this pregnancy. you'll all be so excited if i get pregnant again to hear me whine and complain about it - but then again the end of pregnancy isn't fun for anyone, so i'd say i'm pretty normal.

sam is almost 14 months old now. he is fantastic, as always. he is walking more and more but is still not a huge fan of it. i'm not sure why, but it doesn't matter. he CAN, and it's not really a delay, so we just let him be. he walks when he wants to.

he is talking a lot too, but he always has been one to repeat things, starting with whispering "teeth" to us. he tells us he is a "big boy" and that he wants a "gnk" (drink). he signs "more" and sometimes will say it, but not often. he says, "YUM!" when he likes something. he says, "get get!" about calvin still, but it's much more clear now than four and five months ago. he can pretty much repeat whatever we ask him to if he's in the mood to.

this weekend he is telling us, "hi baby." he told levi and then kissed my belly. so sweet. he won't know what to do when levi is no longer in there! he also says that he loves us all the time. so sweet. he shakes his head no and tells us, "uh huh!" for yes. he also says, "BOOOO!" or "GOOOO!" for gross. we don't really know why.

animals either neigh or growl, unless it is a bee. a bee buzzes. horses are accurately in the neigh category, along with puppies and giraffes, and lions growl, along with gators, cheetahs, and the toy farmers that go with his farm set.

he has become a fit thrower. he is stubborn, but we are bigger than he is, so he can only resist our will so much. sometimes parenting a 14 month old, you feel like size is the only thing you have going for you - that is, when they won't listen very well. i know it's a hard phase where his will and his lack of understanding of certain situations (and what is and isn't appropriate or nice) are conflicting, and it will get better. it is definitely easier to take care of a little baby (as demanding as they can be) than to parent a toddler.

work is hard, but not the job. leaving sam hasn't gotten one bit easier - it's harder, even. i still cry to leave him some days, and it's not just the hormones. and levi does make it more tiring as well. i look forward to maternity leave as a time to spend with my boys and rest and recover. i wish i had more than 6 weeks but i am thankful to have what i have.

justin is enjoying his student teaching and is picking up some more responsibilities as time goes on in the semester. we will both be glad when he is finished for good in december.

that is pretty much what is going on with us these days. keep praying for this baby to make his appearance very soon! i've tried all the tricks aside from castor oil and i can't get those contractions to start! i know they will when they are supposed to - i just want "supposed to" to be today.