The Littlest Man is TWO!!!

Our littlest guy is two today! Noah arrived to us a perfect gift from God. A gift that was worth infinately more than any struggle or pain that came with bringing him into the world. He was the little man I always knew I had yet to meet, the little man who has shaped his brother and three sisters into amazing helps and blessings to their Dad and I. He is the fifth in a mighty little nation who I know God has plans for. He is the sweet boy who was so rolly polly that he didn't roll over till he was 11 months! And now he is the solid wild man who runs too fast for me to catch! He has a humor that causes most of the laughter in this house, and a curiousity that I know keeps the Lord's angels very busy! He is the brother Cole prayed for through three arrivals of sisters, each being God's perfect plan and perfect timing. He and Cole are the bookends, the protectors of our three little princesses, one to go before, and one to go after. He was the first surprise to Matt and I, and will remain the best surprise of our lives. He was protected safe in my womb during three surgeries to place new pic lines to my heart which kept me hydrated during my pregnancy, he was protected while I could keep no food in my body for almost 5 months, he was protected while I had to be medicated 24 hours a day for extreme nausea. He was protected from my depression which came from being so ill and loosing my ability to care for my family as I had grown accustomed to. He was planned by the creator and I was so privaleged to carry him. He brought new relationships to our families life, new friends, and closer old ones. He gave my kiddos a chance to fall in love with thier grandma, my mom, as she cared for us many days each week. He brought the joy of life to us just as we almost lost my Dad, and was a soothing balm and comfort during that time. He brought a calm and peace to the home that Matt and I have come to see as one of God's most amazing gifts to us. He keeps us young, hopeful, and excited about God's plans for our family. He has brought us to trust the Lord even deeper and see that His will is so much better than ours! WE LOVE OUR NOAH!

Yummmmmm....

Spring fever has most certainly set in! I remember having to sit still in a sterile classroom when the weather was gorgeous and every living thing had come back to life after sleeping hidden from the winter's chill. When those ugly old school windows were propped open just to tease us. Every sound of the outside world seemed ampliphied to my ears and why did they always seem so happy!? All I wanted to do was get out there and breathe the air. But even more than getting outside was the craving for summer break! Simple freedom, a change of schedule, fun! Well, I have been out of school for, hum, oh yes, I haven't been out of school, I went from student to teacher. And let me tell you, those spring fever attacks are no different! And I must admit, I fall into surrender of that spring fever monster every time!

Being a homeschool mom is awesome, and hard. One thing that I realized early on was that any of the kids being crabby or tired could interupt an entire day of school, not just for themselves but for everyone else! I found out just how important a good bedtime was! It was key to getting through our school day! No, it doesn't cure bad attitudes, bad days, or bad weeks:)-but it does help maintain some sort of sanity for mama! Not only does it give my kids all the rest they need, but it gives me the time to get done all those things that a mom would do while her kids are at school during the day. So, the hour of peace in our house is 7pm! Even for my older two, who read for a few hours in their bed.

BUT! Back to the spring fever monster! I am caving already, I am enjoying the sun staying around to give us extra hours of play outside, bedtime is starting to come and go with little notice being taken. I am losing my battle, and almost with a sense of joy as though I were a kid again! Last night after clearing the dinner table we told the kids to jump in the van instead of jumping into their PJs. After a long day, I just had a craving for some fun family time away from the house. So we went for some really good ice cream! And everyone was all giggles, and it turned out to be a great time!


Bell


Joslyn


Madison

Cole being a bugger, won't allow me to take any pictures, this is the best I could do- he was a blast though, despite what the picture may speak!


My love!



Noah took the cake in making us laugh! He was covered head to toe by the time we were done! There was a chocolate ice cream lake below him, we had to strip him down to put him in the car, and it took about a hundred napkins to clean up the table- but oh the giggles watching him eat his ice cream!

Making Headbands From Scraps

There is nothing more satisfying to a quilter or sewer than being able to take those little pieces of fabric that were left behind or discarded and make them into something beautiful and useful. To think that something as tiny as a 2 inch square could be married to another 2 inch square and so on and become a beautiful piece of art or clothing or quilt, well, I LOVE IT! So dig into those scrap bins of yours, you know, those little lovelies that you just could not throw out and sew them up into a pretty headband. I love strip quilting, but I always tend to cut way too many strips(maybe I do it on purpose now-you think?) So I have begun taking those strips and putting them together to make a whole new piece of fabric to work with. I sew a piece a fabric long enough for a headband. The longer the strips, the more headbands you will get out of it.



After sewing the strips together, I iron on interfacing to give it a stiffness and it does help in making them last longer(yes, i Love interfacing too-I buy it buy the bolt now) After fusing the interfacing on, I top stitch the strips-just because I like the look. It isn't nessesary.
As far as a pattern for headbands, there are hundreds out there, but I make my own. If you have a favorite headband, just trace it, that way you can't go wrong in getting the look you like. I trace out the pattern in mass.

Find a fun fabric to back it with, the great thing is that they are reversible. So, make the front and back in similar colors or make it completely opposite for two completely different looks, it is up to you.

Put right sides together and pin. I sew along all my traced lines before cutting them into individual headbands.

After sewing them up,cut, turn, iron, and top stitch along the edge, also sewing in the elastic strip. The elastic strip needs to be measured for your comfort.

Now you can wear a quilt on your head!:) And all those little scraps have a new life. You, of course do not need to make them in mass. The same idea applies to making a one of a kind headband with unique pieces.


My sweet little model always ready for a new headband!

Prayer

Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I need; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself. O Father! give to Thee child that which he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not ask either for crosses or consolations; I simply present myself before Thee. Thee, I open my heart to Thee. Behold my needs which I know not myself; see, and do according to Thy tender mercy. Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up; I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself a sacrafice; I yeild myself to Thee! Iwould have no other desire than to accomplish Thy will. Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me. -unknown

Romans 8:26-27

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

The First Bloom...

Our first rose bloom of the year! Oh, I just cannot wait till everything is in full bloom!

An Extended Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day weekend has always been full of memories. It has always been a wonderful start to life outdoors after a long season of four walls and cabin fever. We have enjoyed many Mother Day weekends prepping the gardens for planting. There have been a few exceptions to this over the years though. 8 years ago, I lost one of our babies over Mother's Day weekend, I will never forget how much I ached for that little one,or how I spent the weekend curled up on this swing that Matt gave me for Mother's Day that year. 8 years later and three more kiddos later, I find it pretty difficult to want to give it up even though it is all worn down and missing many of it's parts. I have missed planting a garden on behalf of the arrival of this little wonder as well-but that was a far better Mother's Day gift than a garden:)If I must choose, I would rather grow babies than flowers and veggies!



Our new play set has become quite the hit! Noah, our littlest, is causing constant heart thumps for me as he has insisted on being a monkey far to young for my comfort!
We don't have swings up yet on the set, but I pulled out a hammock to take their place. We haven't had any large trees in our new house to hang it on, so this has been a fun substitute, and as a matter of fact, I do not think the kids even want me to replace it with swings, works for me!


Many of you may already know that we have a small guinee pig farm at our house. They have become to perfect pet for our kiddos to take care of. And we have grown quite fond of their quirky personalities. We have been able to witness the birth of many little cuties and I am still attempting to figure out the family tree, but ask my kiddos and they can explain who is Grandpa to who and who is so and sos sister, and so on- But one new feature with this new playyard has been absolutely perfect for the pigs! Instead of making the bottom a sandbox, we have come to use it as the "grazing" yard for our little piggies without having to worry about any escapees! I think the pigs are in paradise:) We actually were able to take a vacation day on Tuesday for tilling, and it turned out to be the most spendid weather for being outside! So after a long day of tilling up 4 gardens , and weeding, flower planting and playing, we were able to have our first fire and smores!

This was an especially blessed weekend this year. Mom and Dad came out on Monday, Matt's day off to give Matt and I a day away-which was dreadfully needed I must say. We have had a crazy schedule these last few months and when it wasn't work away from home, it was dealing with the breaking down of things around the house, every time we got one things fixed and took a breath, something else would go-you know how it is. I think Mom and Dad could sense a weariness in me, although it wasn't to hard to see since I have been a bit crabby:) at the littlest things. But we had a wonderful day-lazy long lunch out with the wonderful gift card from some friends, the new Star Trek movie(IT WAS AWESOME), and some time playing with puppies at the pet shop(and no, we are not getting a dog, just dreaming). So, after a great day like that, Tuesday outside was awesome!

But, all good things must come to an end right!? Yesterday, I ended up with what we believe was food poisening! AUGH! I am finally getting back on my feet after just wanting to die. OIY! My blessed Madi girl gave up her night at church with friends to stay home and help with the wee ones as I laid on the bathroom floor thinking my end was near:)-haha Then she tended to playing with my hair after the little ones went to bed. She was my saving grace! It is always scary to get sick when you have little ones to take care, but I have seen the Lord use our older kids to really help keep our family going in hard times like these. They seem to have a very sensitive spirit and one of helpfulness that blesses at just the right time. I am just so thankful I was the only one that got it!

So What is in the Basket For Today?...

Here is just a little sneak peek into some of the fun rescued fabrics that have joined the shop today. I tend to have piles in different locations throughout my house waiting for me to list them in the shop. I have a lovely old bag lady cart which stores all the vintage clothing needing my attention, there is another stack downstairs by my desktop, there is the crate in my laundry room waiting for me to take pictures of them, and so on. But I have been working as of late to streamline my approach to this ongoing pattern which exists in my life as an online shop owner. I have begun to fill up a basket of my newest goodies when time permits between school, changing diapers, fixing meals, sewing, so on and so forth, and that basket comes with me to wherever I may be working on my laptop during the day. My goal with this cute little basket is to accomplish small miracles, not impossible ones. Emptying this little basket onto my shops shelves once they are listed encourages me. And it is fun to consider what next to put into the basket. So these were my afternoon delights that have made it into the shop and onto the shelves, finished and ready for someone to take a liking to and put into their own basket(the online shopping cart:)).

Today's afternoon listings where some fun fabrics ....




As well as some more bookmarks in which I have not had in the shop since Christmas time. These bookmarks began as a need for me with homeschooling. With overseeing and teaching three separate grades, I have an absurd amount of teachers manuals to work from and got sick of flipping through them each day to find my place! The extra large bookmarks became my saving grace to staying on track. But as many of you know, making them for yourself is just not enough, they are completely addicting! So, of course they have also been a regular in the shop. One new thing that I have started doing with these in the shop though is to bundle them in larger quantities for party favors, stocking stuffers, office and teacher gifts, etc. So not only are there 3 packs, there are also 10 packs. Last Christmas they sold out so quickly, I was unprepared for their popularity, so this year I am hoping to have more to offer. One of my lovely customers even had me make them in mass to hang her Christmas Cards from on a ribbon. Very fun and I believe this year I will be doing the same!