Oh Baby!

this is the follow up post to Make It and Love It.

i told you i was going to attempt to place appliques on onsies, but i CHICKENED OUT!!
i took one look at the onsies and realized that the material was so flimsy that i wouldn't have a finished product i liked in the end (tell me where do you buy good quality onesies these days).

i decided to embellish some burp cloths instead. they turned out fine, and compliment the cushy blocks nicely.

and here is a $ saving tip for you, decorate a gift bag. instead of spending up to $5.00 for a gift bag, i purchased a solid colored bag, got out some old scrap-booking supplies (i gave up scrap-booking shortly after josie was born), and whipped up this bag. a little creativity goes a long way, especially in this economy!

what creative, $ saving, gift giving tips do you have?

twirly skirts

during vacation, my sis-in-law lindsey and i whipped up these twirly skirts for my girls.sewing with lindsey is always lots of fun. she is okay with the "imperfections," and sees the beauty in them. this makes it easier to learn to tackle something new (like sewing) along side her.
i began writing down directions and taking pictures (i'm a visual learner) in hopes i would be able to make more skirts on my own, but half way through the jotting down and photographing i called it quits! i enjoyed that lindsey was doing all the thinking, all i had to do was follow directions and sew. i figure if i see something i love that lindsey has whipped up (which happens a lot) i'll just load the kids and the sewing machine up in the ol' mini-van and drive over to s.l.o. for a lesson. after all lindsey won't mind... will you linz!

how do you like this posey pin we made to compliment the twirly skirts?you can buy your own posey pin, and a number of things at lindsey's shop, The Pleated Poppy.

unpacking

i'm home. everything is unpacked and put away. but i'm still unpacking. i've realized that i have brought home an additional piece of luggage... the one that is in my heart.
the time away from our home and in bass lake was full. i feel as if i have packed each person, conversation, all the embraces, laughter, tears, wonder, every moment in a suitcase. this is a suitcase i won't be able to empty in a day. i don't know where it's contents go. but God does.
even as i write God has given me this beautiful image of a chest of drawers. each drawer being filled with sweet memories.
and here is the thing, at the end of this unpacking the drawers won't close neatly. no, they'll look more like my chest of drawers from high school (o.c.d. didn't set in till motherhood. my teenage drawers were a mess), with moments spilling out of them, into other drawers.
that is my God. my God causes me to have "life in the full." He blesses me with moments to cause my heart to spill over.


below are pix from some of my favorite moments-
jumping into real life friendship with blog friends sarah and kristen.at the f.o.t. campfire with sarah, squeezing in as many words as we could, desperate for more time together, followed by a good let-me-keep-you-longer hug.the feast of tents; heart stirring messages with al siebert, moving worship with chad markley, the song You Gave Your Life Away that still resonates in my soul, the cross covered in portraits signifying the intimacy we have with our Maker. conversations kristen and i shared. sharing the cracks in our armor, amazed by God's grace.

sharing kristen with lindsey.

watching the kids play and really enjoy each other.
my 3 on uncle pluto's lap. they LOVE uncle pluto.being rescued by the mole! ahhhhhh!! what we originally thought was a mouse turned out to be a big, furry, mole in the house!time with the hayes' family (jeff and i have been friends since jr.high). it is a joy to have a friend who is a brother. we delight in each other and in each others families.
be on the look out for a video highlighting our time.
can't wait to share more with you!

make it and love it

recently i stumbled upon a great sewing blog, Make It and Love It.

ashley offers some easy to follow tutorials for a wanna-be-sewer like me.

i followed this tutorial to whip up these cushy baby blocks. they will be part of a baby shower gift for a party i am attending next week. (i inserted a plastic easter egg filled with pennies in the larger block to add a bit of jingle).

next, i'm going to attempt to place appliques on onsies! ( ahhhh!!! what am i thinking! i hope it works. it's so much easier to trust the target registry than my own sewing abilities).

How Does Your Garden Grow?

in late april michael planted a garden.

he leveled the side yard, laid gofer wire, built 4 garden beds, fenced in the garden, picked up 2 truck loads of compost from a friend (who helped with gardening tips), planted the seeds, and put in the watering system. he has tended to his garden, and he has waited for the garden to grow.

before we left for bass lake, nearly 3 weeks ago, the garden was showing promise. we had enjoyed 7 strawberries, 1 small zuchini, and a bit of cilantro.

but look at it now!cilantro, basil, oregano, garlic, garlic chives, corn on the cob, roma tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, pumpkin, zucchini and yellow squash!it is exciting to see and to eat the fruit of his labor.

i was in charge of the garden signs which read-
"the not so secret garden" (emilie's favorite book is the secret garden)
"come lettuce worship and bow down"
"give weeds an inch and they'll take your yard"
"grow what you love, and the love will keep it growing"
"live fully!"
"bloom where your planted"

oh, and those aren't real snakes in the garden (can you see them in the pix). the kids placed their plastic snakes in the garden to deter birds, and other animals. those plastic snakes are good at keeping mommy out of the garden too!

now that we have all these great veggies, when are you coming for dinner?

my 5 favorite words

"I wanna sit by mommy"
we had just finished our good bye bass lake dinner at millers landing, and were walking back to the boat. the boat was taking us back to the house, back to the vehicles already packed, ready to be driven home.

that is when my 3 started chanting in a choral round, "i wanna sit by mommy."
their chanting turned into arguing, and into "i said it firsts." i told them they could all sit by me, as there is plenty of mommy for all of them to sit next to (especially after all of the vacation eating i have been doing for 3 weeks).

and as they cozied up to me i thought to myself, why? wasn't i the one who told him i was unhappy he had stained his new t-shirt, didn't i make her vacuum the stairs in the lake house, and wasn't she unhappy about the 2 day old tangles in her hair that i had to brush through.

sometimes i wouldn't blame them if they were done with me. sometimes i am done with me.
but by God's grace these kids LOVE me, and want me, still.

miss me?

you may have gathered that i have been on vacation. i figured you were missing me, so i thought i'd drop by blogville and say, "hello!"

i will be on vacation through the 1oth.

when i return to reality i look forward to sharing all the juicy details of my vacation...i know you can't wait!

so after the 10th be on the look out for details about-
the feast of tents
my time with sarah markley and kristen cheney
sewing with my sis-in-law lindsey from imperfect/pleated poppy
patio furniture being built by my husband (that's vacationing for him)
playing with the kids
playing with friends
the extra lbs i put on from vacation eating (i think i'm gonna have to pick up that darn jillian dvd i keep reading so much about here in blogville, and start shredding when i return to reality).
in my "I F.O.T.'ed at Church" shirt. (F.O.T.= Feast of Tents)