I promise I really am crafty

I realized the other day that despite the name of my blog, I haven't been very "crafty" lately. I've got a stack of fabric sitting in my closet (yes it's still clean!!) of fall outfits for Eliza that I've already cut out (hurray! I HATE cutting out patterns with every fiber of my soul). And I've actually appliqued one (another hurray!). But it's still sitting there in pieces, like a long-forgotten toy that is longing to be played with. But, alas, next week is my saving grace: MDO is back in business! ("mother's day out" if you are not familiar with this lovely creation). Now that Eliza doesn't nap anymore, and I'm just so darn tired at night, I have very little free time to work on projects. Or at least I tend to spend most of that free time reading other people's blogs and looking at their lovely projects instead of working on my own. But next week, both of my beloved children will be at school at our church 2 days a week, and although I will spend one of those days working at church, I will still have one day to play. I'm determined to get back on track--I have a million ideas buzzing around in my head, if I can only get them going. And I better hurry; we are looking at putting our house on the market in the near future, and my beloved sewing machine and serger will most likely be packed away will all the legions of toys cluttering our house in an attempt to make it "show-ready". But....I digress. That's a post for another time.

One reason I haven't been sewing is that I've had a TON of stationery business lately, which has been fantastic. In addition to doing something I LOVE, creating stationery for people, I got to send the Adamus family a little extra last month as a result of those orders, which was great. I know they are preparing for back-to-school in Poland like everyone here, which means additional costs for their three kids. So a big thank-you to everyone who ordered from me--it's much appreciated! Below are some of my recent creations (I've changed some details for security purposes). Maybe I've been crafty after all...

Rollercoaster day

I've been in a little bit of a dry spell lately about blogging, as ideas to write about just weren't coming to my mind. Then yesterday I had a day of highs and lows; I was overcome with sorrow to see that little Joseph a 4-year old little boy that lives our area, passed away yesterday afternoon. I knew his parents a little bit, Allen and Gillian, in college, and heard about his illness a few months ago and have since been praying for him and following his progress on their blog, Pray for Joseph. It was only this past November that they learned he had an aggressive brain tumor. Since then, he's had an endless run of surgeries, chemo, steroids, and other treatments. In their post Wednesday night, they had gotten the news that day while at St. Jude that he only had a few days to live, so they were coming home Thursday morning to try to enjoy spending those days in their home where Joseph could be comfortable. But he died in their bed shortly after they returned home. I cried so much for them yesterday, and am still teary now as I write. Although I know Joseph is completely whole and in the arms of Jesus now, my heart is broken for his parents, whose faith has been so strong. I cannot imagine their pain as he passed into heaven, knowing that they would no longer be able to hold their baby boy in their arms anymore. I read an article recently by a woman who had lost her daughter at a young age, and she said for months after she died, her arms would physically ache from longing to hold her daughter again. Yesterday I just held Eliza in my arms for a long time (while watching Curious George), kissed her head about a million times, smelled her hair, while the tears fell for Allen and Gillian. Please keep them and their little girl Holly in your prayers.




That was the low of my day, and then the high was girl's night out with my playgroup buddies at PF Changs, yum yum and so much fun. It's so nice after spending days in my "faux workout wear" (it looks like I'm on my way to or from the gym, but I actually haven't worked out in months and just wear them for comfort) to get all gussied up and go out with to a great dinner with some fantastic girlies with no diaper bags, goldfish, or sippy cups in sight. What a joy to eat, drink, and be merry and only have to worry about myself. Of course, we love our kids, but it's nice to have a break from the constant care-taking of our kiddos. This playgroup started as a group of neighborhood moms with new babies--Eliza was just 8 weeks old at our first meeting and slept in the Baby Bjorn the whole time; and the other three little girls just laid on a blanket on the floor. For the past 4 years we've gotten together every other week for some much needed playtime for the kids and "adult" time for the moms. We've added new friends and siblings, and had one friend move away. Next year the oldest girls, including Eliza, will be heading off to kindergarten so we'll have to adapt our plans a little, but I truly hope we can stay together for many years to come. So here's a "shout out" to my playgroup girls (I think we need a name for our group?)--thank you for your friendship. Here are some pictures of the girls over the years:


This was one of our first meetings. That's Eliza--the 2nd pumpkin from the left. They're all so tiny!





This one cracks me up. Sorry Josie and Olivia by making you sit on the couch--it looks like torture!




I don't have any pictures for a while after this one above because we couldn't get them all to sit still in one place long enough.

This is from Eliza's party a couple of weeks ago. So big!! (thanks Hanna for the pic!)


So I ended my emotional rollercoaster day by feeling so grateful for the many blessings God has given us.

Eliza's water- play party!

Eliza had her 4th birthday party on Sunday, and it was lots of fun. We set up the waterslide, Caroline's Slip 'N' Slide, and a bunch of Dollar Tree water guns in my parents' front yard (it's much bigger than ours and nice and flat), and just let the kids have at it. Parents brought lawnchairs and just relaxed in the shade---that's my idea of a party! I think everyone had a good time; I know Eliza and Davis were both WORN OUT afterwards. We bought the waterslide just for birthday parties, so this will be Eliza and Davis's parties for the next few years, or as long as the slide lasts! It was a really easy party, with just a few easy snacks. I'm looking forward to it again next year! Here are a few pics---many thanks to my friend Kelli for taking all of them while I ran around like a crazy person---thank goodness she didn't get any shots of me soaking wet from a water gun battle!
For some reason the slide show isn't loading properly, but if you click on "View Images" below it will show it on the Photobucket website. Sorry!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

Today our baby girl turns 4 years old! She's VERY excited about turning 4, and is pretty sure she is taller today. Eliza has been such a joy, and a challenge, since God blessed us with her 4 years ago. She's thrown more temper tantrums than I can count, but I keep thinking that God has given her this strong will to use in an amazing way one day. For now, we just pray that He will give us the wisdom to guide her as she learns to find her way, as I'm pretty sure she is smarter than both her parents. But however difficult she may be sometimes, she just as often crawls up into my lap with an "I love you, Mommy" or "Can we just cuddle and rock-rock?" that just melts my heart.

She's her mama's girl, who loves to do crafts and color, and right now would rather sit at the kitchen table doing workbook pages and practicing writing her letters than playing with toys (I'm sure one day she'll be like me, who couldn't wait for school to start in the fall so I could have some homework to do). She also has her daddy's goofy side, and loves to make us laugh. She soaks in everything she can, and I love to watch her learn and discover new things. I love to watch her when she doesn't know I'm there, as she colors and sings her own made-up songs. My heart is just so full when I think of all the ways she has brought joy in to our lives, and I'm not eloquent enough to put it all into words. Just know that we love you, Lizey-Lou, and we are so grateful that our heavenly Father has given you to us!

This is classic Eliza: last night she came creeping down the stairs about 9:30, as she had taken a nap earlier and wasn't sleepy. She cuddled up with me on the couch and this was our conversation:

Me: "Eliza, did you know that 4 years ago tonight, Mommy's belly was THIS big because you were inside getting ready to come out?" I should have know what was coming next.
Eliza: "But Mommy, how did I come out?"
Me: I briefly explained in as few words as possible.
Eliza: (Cutting her eyes and looking at me as if to say "Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?") "Are you kidding me?"
Me: "That's right, sweetie. See, God made our bodies very special--"
Eliza: "Sshhh, Mommy. The show is back on."

Whew. Saved by "I survived a Japanese Game Show".

Here is a little slide show of our little princess, who entered the world looking more like a sumo wrestler.

Yesterday

I've been behind on my blogging lately, we've just been really busy and I've gotten a ton of stationery orders lately, which is great. Yesterday we headed downtown for the photo shoot for the new Rosie Posie spring 2009 collection, which is just heading off to market and will be in stores around next March, so keep a lookout then. This season is soooooo cute! Suzanne has done a fantastic job designing the fabrics herself and I think it's the cutest yet. Here is a little sneak peak at my favorite.

I took that picture, but the actual pictures were taken by Jadie Thomas, a local mom who goes to church with Suzanne and does beautiful stuff. (check out the Rosie Posie site in a couple of weeks for the real pictures!)She suggested we do them in front of the courthouse downtown which has lots of fun fountains and splash pools and kept the kids cool. After the pictures were done, the temptation to run through the big fountains was just too great for the kiddos, so I let down my guard and let Eliza play. Of course we hadn't brought swimsuits, so we had to improvise. It was really great to sit and relax and watch the kids play on a beautiful summer night. And I hadn't been downtown in so long, so it was great to see all the new buildings popping up in the city.

Vintage Children's Books

I've said in a former post that I love vintage children's sewing patterns, mainly for the illustrations, and that same love applies to vintage children's books. HUGE thanks to Stephen's parents, who saved several of his books from when he was a child and gave them to us a while back. What a treasure---not just for the books themselves but for the nuggets of fun Stephen left inside some of them (see pictures below). Eliza loves them, as she loves all books, and I love to read them to her. I'm going to really try to be good about taking care of her favorite books now and saving them for her kids. Whoa, what an incredible thought---Eliza having her own kids!!!

Here are a few of my favorites for the illustrations:

I think this Cinderella confused Eliza a little bit because she's not the Disney version she's used to. But adorable still!

This was one of my FAVES when I was a little girl. I remember my dad reading it to me!

This cracks me up. Inside this Uncle Wiggily book we found this little gem. (Amy is Stephen's older sister). I'm guess he came along after Amy had written her name in the books and claimed them as his own??

Don't you remember the Sweet Pickles riding around in their van?? Another one Stephen staked his claim on.

Sing it Mandisa

Wow, MANY thanks to my singin' sista Tiffany for making me a CD today (I was in desperate need of some new tunes). I haven't even gotten past #5 yet because I keep hitting the back button every time this song by Mandisa is over. If you've ever felt like God couldn't love you or wasn't present in your life (haven't we all felt that way at some point???) please listen to this. The video is awesome---be sure to watch it all the way through. And grab the tissues. Wow, God REALLY loves us.

The whale in our front yard

We went ahead and got Eliza her birthday present early, this inflatable waterslide, so we could get more use out of it this summer. I will say, it was a big hit. Amy, Cliff, Ellis, and Owen came for a fun weekend and luckily the slide got here for their visit. They had a big time. And yes, we had to put the gargantuan thing in our front yard as the back didn't have a large enough flat place. We had some neighbors over on Sunday to slide as well. We were quite the spectacle out there!


My little redneck baby. Yes, I actually let him play in the front yard looking like this.

Is Big Bird real or pretend?

So this is the question Eliza posed as we were eating dinner the other night. I just looked at Stephen and shrugged my shoulders, implying "You take this one." Here is how the conversation went:

Stephen: "Ehrr, Big Bird is a real person dressed up in a costume." (whew, good answer).
Eliza: (sits quietly for a moment, pondering this). "Well, what about Elmo? Is he a person in a costume?"
Stephen: "Well, um, Elmo is a puppet."
Eliza:"Well, what about Cookie Monster, Zoe, Rosita, Snuffalupagus, and Abby Cadabby?"
Stephen: "Puppet, puppet, puppet, costume, puppet."

Eliza then just sat there for the rest of dinner, contemplating all of this new information. I mean, really, is Big Bird real or pretend? Obviously I know it's not a REAL big bird, but he walks and talks and you can touch and feel him. Will this change her entire perception of Sesame Street, her favorite show???

I thought this was the end of this particular stream of her consciousness, until this happened this morning as I was fixing her hair:

Eliza: "Mommy, is Handy Manny real or pretend?" (it's a cartoon, for those of you without preschoolers)
Me: "Well, all cartoons are pretend." I should have stopped here, but I was feeling rather smug, so I went on to say "Just like characters in most of your story books are pretend."

Even as the words came out of my mouth, I regretted them. I knew what was coming next.

Eliza:"But mommy, I have books about Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Does that mean they are just pretend, too?"

And so there, in one slip of the tongue, I felt like I had taken all the magic out of the most magical place on earth. And we haven't even taken her there yet. Does this mean that when we do spend thousands of dollars to go to Disneyworld, she'll just look at all the characters like they are pathetic fakers in costumes instead of the beautiful princesses she USED to think they were?? Have I taken away years of childhood fantasy and innocence?

So I just did what all stellar parents do in these situations: I acted like I didn't hear her and started talking up how much fun she will have at her soccer clinic tonight. Maybe she'll forget the entire conversation. Somehow I doubt it.

I'm sure the Santa question will be next.

Fun with the fam

Whew, VBS has totally rendered me useless this week as I come home EXHAUSTED every day. I wonder how I ever taught school all day when 3 hours of Bible school has me totally whooped. It was great, but I'm a little glad it's over; I need some rest!!!

Last weekend we went with my brother and his family to visit our sister and her family in North Carolina at her new house. Yes, we had 6 adults and 5 children 3 and under staying in 1 house for 3 days. Did you catch all those numbers?? It was chaotic, but lots of fun. Eliza got to see fireworks for the first time, which she had been literally counting down the days on the calender to see. She loved them, of course. Thanks so much to Heather and Danny for having our rowdy bunch as guests---it was a blast!

Here are all the cousins. I mean, do we have cute-baby genes in our family or what?

Betsy Hart (ooh, I could just eat her up!) and Howell after playing in the dirt.

Cooper---so precious and always smiling!!

And here are Eliza and Davis's other most handsome cousins, Ellis and Owen, Amy's boys. She is an incredible photographer and took these photos a couple of months ago.

(Ellis was on the Regis and Kelly show as a toddler for being in the top 5 of their Most Beautiful Baby Contest!)