The Almy Family Journal

Shannon-LWB Anhui Healing Home

2012-01-24T09:15:00.002-06:00

"Shhhhh-annnn-non."
Said with a thick Irish brogue ... like Tom Cruise in that movie about the Irish Pioneers, "Far and Away."
It's a name that has a long history with us.
We actually joked about it while nesting for each of our boys. Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that name. It's a beautiful name. In fact it has a special place in my heart. No it wasn't our first choice for a girl name ... but still, it just kept coming around for some reason and has always stayed on our list for fun. Maybe because of Jeff's family's Irish heritage, maybe because it just kinda rolled off the tongue when we say it just right and it never failed to lighten the mood when we couldn't come to an agreement in the names department, maybe because it was a little seed into the future outside the little circle of our family. Whatever the reason, we kinda liked it and now I keep seeing that name pop up with the sweetest little orphans. Again, it makes me smile.

Here is the newest dear sweet "Shannon" to cross my path from the Love Without Boundaries "surgery needed" page.
What does she need surgery for? Ya, I had to look a couple times to see it past those gorgeous deep brown eyes and that wonderful sticky-up hair. She will be ready for a cleft lip surgery in February or March when she has put on enough weight. Oh I just can't get past those button-eyes with the sweetest shape! She is just beautiful!

She's gonna be ready ... and waiting ... for surgery in such a short time.
Can you imagine waiting?
If you've never happened by the "Surgery Needed Page" on the LWB site you should really stop by now. It is a blessing to know that even the littlest donation helps these little ones on their road to surgery. Sometimes it's life-saving, sometimes it's a surgery that will put them on the road to adoption, sometimes it's a surgery through their UNITY fund that actually keeps the child with their biological parents!
And you don't have to pay for the entire lump sum needed. It's such a beautiful way to be a part of something bigger. And when we all come together over the needs of orphans in God's name ... it really brings Him glory!

Donors receive updates at 1, 3, 6, and 12 month intervals after surgery.
If you'd like to find out more, go to the Love Without Boundaries Page by clicking on the highlighted text above. You can even donate to Sweet Shannon's surgery. Yes, she still waits.
You can also support the work of LWB by shopping with them in April for their annual Art Auction on ebay. Proceeds support medical surgeries for children just like sweet "Shannon." However, I'm hopeful that by April she will no longer be on that "waiting list" and instead is on the post-op list.

It's a Snow Day!

2012-01-20T12:03:00.000-06:00

We've waited all year for this--a SNOW Day!

(6+ Inches predicted throughout the day!)

I love snow ... I love my kids ...

However ... the two sometimes collide and ...

Snow Days usually have a few of those not so fun moments when somebody gets bored or mean or whatever.

THANKFULLY, Nolan got this dandy Christmas present from his parents :-)

The PlayDoh Creativity Center

I will admit that it is kinda spendy when you figure in the $10 shipping on top of the $30 price.

But if your kids like Play Doh, it is SO worth it! It has so many fun tools that they'll love!

(And I love to play with it too quite honestly.)

The actual tool-box and tools are not PlayDoh branded, but are very nice, sturdy quality. And it comes with 4 tubs of actual Play Doh! The real deal.

And seeing my boys working together,

Not Arguing, Not Wrestling, Not Whining

(and believe me ... that is totally possible with this crew.)

Is Priceless!

And I got some yummy PlayDoh Pizzas and fries outta the deal too!

The Fruit Bowl

2012-01-18T10:57:00.001-06:00

When I was growing up I was DEEPLY blessed by living right next door to my Grandma and Grandpa ... in a town much akin to Mayberry.

I seemed to ALWAYS be at my grandma's house when a boring moment crept in. I think back and it must have been a bit of a relief for my mom to know she could always suggest, "Hey, why don't you go visit Grandma?" (haha)--she knew it was only a skip and a jump away (our yards were separated only by an alley) and that it would be a blessing for my grandma as well.

It was truly a gift to have her knowledge and love and harshness all so close ALL.THE.TIME.

(What I mean by harshness is, she and my Grandpa were definitely what people would call old school. There was never any gray area. They were strict. Even more than my strict parents. And I love them all for it! Then and now.)

When my Grandma started giving us her belongings from her home it broke my heart. But in her early nineties she knew that the day was coming soon when she would no longer need her things ... and with a deeply-seeded, ugly family battle lurking for a lifetime under the surface of calm waters of polite smiles, she knew her other son, my uncle, would make things as difficult as he could. And he did.

Thankfully, one of the things she gave me before it all "hit the fan" so to speak, in addition to the very, very special Czech Dinnerware that I had eyed since I was old enough to tell her how beautiful it was, was her fruit bowl.

I remember helping her use it to gather Currants at her farm for making jelly, it sitting on her counter ... it just says, "GRANDMA," when I look at it.

Its most recent life in our home has put it in the cupboard to hold my onions and potatoes. Not a very glamorous life that is for sure. But it has saved the bottom of my cupboard more than once when a tator has gone south (if ya know what I mean!)

It brought me such joy when I was trying to catch up on blog posts from Christmas and I happened to spot something in the background of a friend's photo of her sweet daughter.

Did you see it?

Yes, she has the SAME fruit bowl too!!

And it turns out it is from her grandma as well. :-)

For some reason, that day when I was missing all the ways I used to celebrate Christmas with my Grandma and family while growing up, it was like having a big hug.

Love your bowl Andrea! What a special Grandma you must have had too!

Skiing Dreams

2012-01-17T09:48:00.002-06:00

So I was browsing pointlessly the other day ... and came across a really cool pair of Ski Pants.

They became the very first thing that I've ever pinned to my Pintrest boards in fact! (I'm so behind.)

Now ... I don't exactly "need" a new pair of ski pants ... especially these. (they're uber-expensive.)

But they are pretty don't you agree? And they would dress up my boring ALL GRAY outfit that I currently sport. Boy, I don't even like the color gray. How did I end up with an entire GRAY outfit?

And they just happened to compliment the new set of downhill snow skis Jeff bought me for Christmas.

My very FIRST pair of skis!

But it's one of those Christmas gifts like a treadmill ... there is a certain something that doesn't come with the actual gift that will make them really loved.

That would be ... Hard Work.

I guess I need to supply that myself (And probably should have done a bit more prior to this point.)

I did get to try them out over the Christmas break on the hills of Minnesota (covered by a fresh layer ... of ... man-made snow.) Can you believe that even North of us they were lacking in snow over Christmas? Odd.

(Thankfully we're getting some snow here finally.)

My form hasn't really gotten any better with the new skis unfortunately. And I'm already feeling the burn of my muscles just thinking about those mountain runs and my endless snowplow.

I hope that eventually I'll feel like my skiing deserves such nice equipment!

BbB-Sweeties--Valentine's Edition

2012-01-14T09:49:00.001-06:00

If there is such a thing as a "Valentine's Bunny" I hope he brings me one of these yummy dolls from BabyBeBlessed for Valentine's Day!
Check Out Baby Be Blessed's "Free Friday!" for a chance to win another one of their great items, this week it's an adorable pink lamb.

Another Scarlet Threads Holiday

2012-01-13T11:29:00.001-06:00

I meant to post a photo of my sister and I at Thanksgiving wearing our Scarlet Threads Aprons ... but we didn't take a photo that day!

(I had purchased the MattieMae double sided Apron for my sister last April for her birthday and she just LOVES it so much!)

SOooooo, we finally remembered at Christmas to bring our aprons with us.

If you don't have an apron to spice up your kitchen duties ... you really need to check out Scarlet Threads! They make great gifts ... even if it's to yourself. :-)

I cannot wait for the next opportunity to get one for my mom too. After all, she did most of the cooking at Thanksgiving AND Christmas for goodness sake. I'd love to get her a "Daisy" one, as that was her grandmother's name ... but I think they're sold out ... I might have to do some digging to see if any are still available out and about.

Yes, my mom has plenty of aprons ... but NOT yet a Scarlet Threads one!

**And not to leave my brother out, but I don't think Scarlet Threads has a "men's line" yet.

Here we ALL are at Christmas. (Can you guess who's the oldest? Reverse stair-steps. Funny how that ends up sometimes.)

Hockey--Deep into Wisconsin

2012-01-12T10:58:00.002-06:00

Something I didn't expect when Brayden tried out for the Jr. RoughRider travel hockey team was how much we'd be traveling.

Just 3 days after returning from our Christmas Break family trip to Northern Minnesota (8 hours by car) ... we all climbed BACK into the vehicle, the van this time, and traveled over 5 hours North deep into Wisconsin to Chippewa Falls.

Ug. That's a long way.

I think my butt in officially flat.

AND ... after Nolan got car sick minutes before we reached our hotel late Friday night I'm pretty sure I can dismantle, clean and re-assemble a car seat blindfolded. I've done it quite often lately. (Get the mental image of one of those secret agent gals reassembling a gun while blindfolded ... except swap in the image of a car seat. Way more glamourous of an image than reality of course.)

I'm already starting to get worried about our really, really long drive out to Copper Mountain, Colorado in a few weeks. It's long enough that Nolan can't go without eating ... and since he's recently made a habit of getting car-sick ... I'm pretty sure it's in the cards. ACK!

ANYWAY ... it was a really great weekend of hockey with some really close games. However, lest you think we're one of those crazy sports minded "GOTTA WIN!" families, the first two games we did NOT win, losing in the shoot out in the first and by one in the second.

They played VERY well though ... and despite their bummed out attitude, I think they're learning how to be humble in defeat. Not easy when you're 8 and 9! (or any age really)

Of course there was a pool at the hotel ...

nothing better to take your mind off your troubles.

(Apparently I take way-too-long to get into my swimsuit ... they are waiting patiently for me.)

Sunday's game was a winner though ... and I'd like to believe that it had something to do with the fact that we sought out and attended a local church before the game, something we've been trying to do when our games span an entire weekend.

Maybe God gave us a bit of a reward for getting our priorities straight? Let me tell ya, there was a bit of an argument before we left by some members of our party. We could have slept in, gone swimming, casually ate a leisurely breakfast ... or split up with some of us going, some of us staying. But I really wanted us to go. And to go together as an entire family.

Maybe it didn't have anything to do with the win ...

But for me it did. It made a difference knowing that in the little decisions are made the big impressions of life. If we're going to play hockey on a Sunday, we need to give thanks and praise too. We have MUCH to be thankful for!

And for the third game, Brayden came out on FIRE scoring the first 2 goals right away... then assisting in a third and then making a fourth later one.

(If a single player makes three goals in one game it's called a "hat trick"--something he has done twice this year and for this tournament he received a patch which he was REALLY happy about!

And the team received a trophy for the win in combination with the points they received throughout the tournament.

Another good lesson for the boys. It's not win or lose ... but how you play the game.

It DOES add up!

I also got to try out my DANDY new headband that I WON from a give-away on We Are Grafted In right before Christmas.

You simply MUST check out this site called Resurrection Knits.

Very cool people, very cool cause, very cool products!!

You'll LOVE one to keep your ears toasty warm! Check 'em out!

Easton's FIRST tooth!

2012-01-05T13:00:00.000-06:00

TWO posts in one day!

(you can read about our Christmas if you scroll down one post)

______________________________

When we returned home from our Christmas travels, Easton let us know HOW loose his tooth REALLY was!

Sure, he mentioned it was loose, I wiggled it a bit a week or so ago ... but ... my mom experience here-to-fore has left me to believe it takes MONTHS for teeth to come out from the "wiggle stage."

Not so much the case with every child I've found out!

I'm so glad that I took this very last photo of him with ALL of his first set of teeth even though it was LATE the night we returned from MN and we were all pretty tired. I still remember him getting this very, very first tooth about 5 years ago. Call me sentimental ... but these things are especially special to moms.

While brushing his teeth right before school this morning, January 5th, 2012, LOOK what came out in his toothbrush bristles! (Yup, fresh with a little toothpaste even.)

Oh how a BIG guy tooth is going to change the look of his smile!

(Am I ready for that?)

This adorable "tooth fairy" pillow was made by a sweet older lady at our church. I bought it LAST fall in anticipation for our children to start loosing their teeth. I didn't get to use it until last May believe it or not. Brayden HATES pain (even the slightest bit) and keeps his teeth forever until pretty much they fall out on their own and his permanent tooth is half grown it! I have a feeling that Easton will sport a bit of a gap for awhile longer than his brother since I don't see a tooth half way grown in like his brother (2 years older, yet 9 mo. older in "tooth years." haha!)

I just love this smile ... and I have no doubt that he will be even more handsome when his big guy teeth DO come in.

But I hope they don't come in too fast ... I want to enjoy this toothless gappy grin just a bit longer!

And he wasn't even late for the bus even though this ALL happened between 7:04 and 7:10am!

Almy Christmas 2011

2012-01-05T10:21:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2011 is in the rearview mirror and 2012 is here (thought I'd better post in case anyone is wondering if I'm still around.)

As our tree is officially down as of yesterday (our second day home since before Christmas and the first day home with the boys back to school and work) I am clinging to keeping the Spirit of the Season going ... along with the hope for some snow at some point this winter, by keeping out the Snowman light. (No, we STILL do not have any snow here in Iowa ... and they had very little of it in Northern Minnesota where we just returned from. Very odd winter.)

Actually, with the tummy problems I had this Fall right up until Christmas, I failed to put up any more than just our tree. The railing lights and greenery, the snowmen and other decorations didn't see the light of 2011!

Now that I'm feeling better (praise God!) I just feel sad that so much didn't get done. The cards weren't sent (YET that is ... don't give up as I still hope to send "New Year Cards", the decorations were minimal, the cookies and candies weren't baked and I will never see 8, 6 and 3 from the eyes of my children again during a Christmas Season. But hopefully the Spirit was still there in other ways. I am SO glad that for the first time EVER our family of 5 enjoyed a Christmas-Eve-Eve celebration together instead of rushing to this side of the family or that side to celebrate the season or birthdays. We simply had a nice ham supper together, opened gifts throughout the day, finished packing and doing last minute errands all before visiting the grandmas and aunts and uncles and relatives. It's SO special to have enjoyed it as a FAMILY instead of preparing for a month and then rushing through and feeling like we've just checked things off our list without really enjoying the time. I treasure that part of this year most I think. Time spent together and not rushed. I am learning (slowly) that so many things do not happen the way we may envision them unfolding. And the best way to accept that is to be a bit fluid in expectations ... and generous in the Grace granted to others when they don't achieve the high bar we may have unknowingly set out for things. God then has a way of flowing that Grace back onto me, and goodness knows I need it.

We once again spent 8+ days traveling to MN for the holidays. Although exciting to travel and a blessing for the kids to visit family ... it is a long journey as anyone with kids knows, especially when rules become fuzzy and routine is gone ... (and I'm not talking about the candy/sugar allotment here. That went pretty much unrestricted, however I'm sure I consumed way more than they did!) But, whatever, I'm glad that is not the normal reality and I know that we are ALL glad to be home and appreciate the normalcy when it returns.

I'm happy to say that the flu did NOT get us down this holiday (that makes 2 years in 9 of having kids in case you are counting.) Although we ALMOST remained puke free during our travels it did not totally escape us. Brayden and Easton made Nolan laugh so hard one afternoon during a car ride back from town that he threw up all over himself and the truck. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr ...

Perhaps they learned a lesson ... other than the fact that mom's threat that THEY were cleaning it up went unfulfilled.

I gave MYSELF a timeout after that episode (of course after cleaning it up.)

Oh yes, and the DOG barfed all over grandma's 5 foot runner after eating a fresh-killed animal while out on the lake. (I'm not sure what it is, I thought it was an opossum, but I'm now thinking a muskrat? Goodness knows it wasn't well chewed and I should have been able to identify it before AND after said incident.) I guess I go into "auto-mode" when cleaning gerf up so often ... and I just try not to look.

So, with that I was inspired to pen a rough-draft Christmas Card:

"May it be a joyous Christmas for you and your family.

May you not laugh so hard that you gerf ... and may your dog not overindulge on fresh 'possum in the New Year."

Ya, keep an eye out for the REAL card sometime before Easter ;-)

Other activities during our trip included LOTS of skating, downhill skiing, ice fishing, going to a wedding, playing in the SKIFF of snow they had, eating lots of Grandma's Christmas Cookies, and going to high school hockey games.

The Almy Hockey Team

Brayden

Easton

Nolan

Jeff and me

Feeling Better and Christmas is in Full Swing!

2011-12-22T09:52:00.000-06:00

So glad to be moving on from that last post!

I've started the round of 5 day medication and I am one day in and feel MARVELOUS!

It's amazing how quickly I can forget how "normal" feels. But oh how good it is to be back and boy do I have a lot to get done in the next day!

In case you are curious, the five days of antibiotics needed to knock out this parasite ... the one that infects so many UNTREATED people around the world is ...

FIVE DOLLARS and some change.

Priceless.

How 'bout doing that for a commercial Visa!

Anyway ...

Things are abuzzin' around here tying up loose ends, wrapping things for under our tree and finishing up a few last sewing projects for other people's gifts under their tree too.

How many times can Nolan watch Thomas this morning (ack!) Poor guy! I'll be back to play someday ... really!

Here are the last 2 projects of 2011 from Ruffled Feathers. All are available in these and other beautiful fabrics. Just hop on over to RuffledFeathersCompany.blogspot.com and then email me your wishes!

A Ruffle Shirt=$28 Ruffle Pants=$26 Peasant Dress=$38

You may remember the Holiday outfit I made for a sweet local gal.

Well, I had a chance to snap this photo of it being modeled when I subbed as a Sunday School teacher a few weeks ago. So very sweet!

Momma Always Said ...

2011-12-20T08:23:00.002-06:00

My mom always said to wash your fruit.
And I always have ... well ... except for the occasional little grape that I might try in the store to make sure that the bunch I'm buying aren't super sour and a total waste of money.

Well ...

Momma was right. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wash your fruit.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat a grape again. You see, for the last TWO MONTH (honest, I'm talking 8+ weeks) I've been dealing with some big problems with my GI tract.
At first I just thought it was that time of the year when the virus bugs at school start wrecking havoc with our family. (Our family has gotten the flu 8 out of the last 9 Christmases we've had children. Yes, ON CHRISTMAS.) I just figured it was getting a running jump on things this year. But oddly, it was only me who seemed to be effected. And on and on it went.
Then I thought, oh my goodness ... maybe I'm ... expecting?
No, it was NOT that ... but it did have some of the same intense nausea.

Then the stomach flu did hit the boys (I'm hopeful that we now WON'T have it over Christmas this year! PLEASE!) It came and went ... yet my problems continued ...

Have you noticed that I haven't really blogged for a long time? Just barely keeping afloat, I only even have been replying to other folks ... sorry!

Finally I just had had enough. I broke and went to the doctor last week.
Thankfully my blood tests all came back normal which meant I needed to do some "at home" testing and collection . (ack! Not going any further on that ... but I will say it wasn't fun.)

Anyway, results came back yesterday and I have a parasite.

And although there is no way to know for sure, I am so very certain that it came from a grape that I tried at the local grocery store. I even thought the slight white chalky covering was questionable and that maybe I should just skip the grapes that day.
Oh yeah, understatement of the year!

THANKFULLY, I did wash the grapes before feeding them to my family. And they have no problems.

So yesterday when researching my intestinal parasite, the first website I came to was about how 20% of all internationally adopted children suffer from this parasitic infection.
REALLY? Seriously?
This is the first website I open up? Shouldn't it have been Web MD or the Mayo Clinic? And maybe that doesn't seem so odd, except if you consider my passion for orphans. Recently I've had waves of doubt wondering what good I'm really doing on the orphan front since apparently God's plan does not include us adopting in the foreseeable future. Does He really want me or need me to be in this area? Is it my passion and not His for me?

And then I come down with a parasitic infection growing untreated for over 2 months. I now have a new understanding of the actual pain, fear, and depletion that someone infected with this has ... and to think that I could go with this untreated indefinitely if I were an orphan? Oh my goodness.
The discomfort, bathroom issues, malnutrition ... loss of energy and loss of hunger ... my heart goes out in a new way to anyone suffering with this untreated.
Although I was scared to think of the possibilities of a gluten intolerance or Chrone's disease or cancer or goodness knows what, I knew that at some point I could get medical help ... that someone would care for me if it came to that ... I was not alone.

So, although I did not travel to an exotic location or participate in a missionary trip to a developing country, I know that God is using this moment in some way for His good ... I wish I could convey the way it seems so clear to me. Perhaps I just need to share it in the light of my devotional reading that I had 2 nights ago as I waited for the test results and as I quite honestly was "praying for a parasite!" (Something that can be diagnosed and treated quite effectively.)

This was the entry I read Sunday night:

When you are plagued by a persistent problem—one that goes on and on—view it as a rich opportunity. An ongoing problem is like a tutor who is always by your side. The learning possibilities are only limited by your willingness to be teachable. In faith, thank Me for your problem. Ask Me to open your eyes and your heart to all that I am accomplishing through this difficulty ..."

Jeff and I chuckled at this when I read it to him. And yet, now I am so thankful. And I'm also very much looking forward to getting started on the medicine to rid me of this thing! (Can you believe I went to the pharmacy last night through heavy mall-journeying traffic and they did not yet have my prescription ready. Even though they had had the order all day? Weird. As I had to get the boys to hockey I called Jeff who was still at work to have him pick it up for me.
And he did ...
When we got home from hockey I went eagerly to read the instructions only to find that they had instead filled my monthly pill prescription and NOT the antibiotic.
Oh my goodness--I just broke out in laughter--not because I have lost my mind, but because this is the 3 or 4th time Jeff has tried to pick up my prescription when I come down with these odd things (like massive poison ivy, wicked pick eye, herniated belly button, lyme disease) and they always goof it up so I have to wait longer for the medicine. (Totally not a laughing matter in the case of the Lyme disease.)
I'm sure there is a learning lesson in there somewhere too.
And today I am thankful for so much. For doctors, medical care, antibiotics, for newly opened eyes and for a refreshed heart. And tonight when we travel in to the pharmacy I look forward to saying goodbye to these free-loaders.

Sorry to have been away so long, I hope I still have a few readers. And remember ... WASH YOUR FRUIT!

Riley's Hope HEART Outfit

2011-12-14T14:51:00.003-06:00

We're still dealing with tummy troubles here on and off ... so I'm going to borrow this post from my Sewing Blog. Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Although I've not met him, there is a three year old boy who lives a few hours from me who is battling a form of Leukemia. This is the outfit that I am donating to be auctioned off at a fundraiser this weekend in his honor. We're praying for strength for their family and healing and remission for Riley!

Don't you think it'll be perfect for Valentine's Day?!

This is the new button closure elastic waist that is an option. It's especially great when you plan to use the skirt for multiple children of different sizes or through hand-me-downs or if you're traveling to adopt a child and don't quite know a waist measurement! It's on the inside of the waistband, so it's invisible!

This skirt/shirt combo is a size 6 (at 15" in length) ... but with the elastic waist with the button it could fit a size 4T as a longer skirt or a size 7 as a shorter skirt with leggings! Talk about versatile!

The ruffle shirt detail photo.

And a close-up of the fabrics in the skirt.

The benefit for Riley is December 17, in Hampton, Iowa.

There will be a meal from 5-8pm with a Silent Auction and Raffle from 5-8pm. A Live Auction will start at 8:30pm followed by a dance.

Recently Ruffled Ruffled Feathers-Updated with Prices

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

(Whoops! Sorry I forgot this the first time, I've added some prices in case you are curious.)

************************

In addition to the One-of-a-Kind items posted yesterday ... there is still time to order a skirt or dress before Christmas!

Just email me and we can decide on the details. You can get more ideas at RuffledFeathersCompany.blogspot.com

I also have two other Christmas skirts ready-to-go if you are looking for something Christmas-y RIGHT NOW! They can be there in your mailbox in days. One is a 3T/4T and has the cutest snowmen ... and the other has festive trees and is 13" in length (4T/5T).
Either skirt available for $24.00 each!

Just to get your creative thought flowing ... here's a peek at what's been coming together lately at Ruffled Feathers ...

Peasant Dress and Double Ruffle Ruffle Pants

(Peasant Dress=$40.00 and DOUBLE Ruffle Pants=$25.00)

This set is for a sweet girl from our church ... and I cannot wait to see Chloe wear them. In fact, it's my goal to dress ALL the girls in our church with Ruffled Feathers at some point. Wouldn't that be fun?! I've got a ways to go ... but it's a fun challenge.

Side-Split Skirts with matching Ruffle Shirt

(SideSplit Skirt=$26.00 and Ruffle Shirt=$18.00)

This set is for a sister and her soon-to-be-adopted sister!

What a sweet thought to coordinate them! I cannot wait to see a photo of the two of them wearing these together!

Because the little sister is coming from an orphanage and her exact size isn't fully known ... I have this wonderful button-elastic hidden on the inside of the waistband that can be adjusted ON-THE-SPOT to just the right width. Yay! For anyone who has traveled and had clothes that ended up a bit big in the middle on their new little one, I'm sure you'll cheer with me!

Here are some detail shots:

But you don't have to have a sister to coordinate ... her mom also bought an identical outfit for her best friend too. I think that would be SO fun to match my best buddy.

If you have any ideas you would like sewn up in time for Christmas or Valentines Day or a birthday or just because, email me at almquist at fmtcs dot com (replace the at and dot with the symbols.)

Christmas Skirting: Cinnamon Swirls and Royal Snowflakes

2011-12-07T10:26:00.001-06:00

JUST in time for the holidays ...

Cinnamon Swirls and Royal Snowflakes

Two one-of-a-kind creations from Ruffled Feathers Company.

Email me at almquist at fmtcs dot com (replace at and dot with the symbols) if you would like to deck your sugar plum in these togs this season. They are ready for immediate shipping!

Cinnamon Swirls

Size 3T Apron-Knot Dress

chest measurement= 23"

length=21.5"

$38.00

Pine bough wreaths decorated with berries, cloves and cinnamon sticks festively dance across the snow-white background of the upper skirt fabric. Fussy-cut trim at the hem matches the apron with Rich Red and Holiday Green Paisley Scrolls and Swirls. The straps are made from a coordinating red and green holiday print that also is found in the bodice lining. This would look SO cute with a simple white long sleeve T-shirt.

**************************************

Royal Snowflakes Skirt

Size: 4T-5-or-6 (depending how long you like your daughter's skirts)

*I will custom-make the waist whatever size you prefer!

A 14-15" length skirt is usually my standard size 6 but I've had moms order 14" length for their 4T girls knowing that the generous waist elastic will give them a couple years of use. A perfect idea for this holiday skirt!

Length=14.5"

$26.00

The two fabrics of this skirt dance with glimmers of gold throughout BOTH of their patterns! They are simply royal and nothing short! In fact I wish I had more of this fabric because it is so wonderful ... but it is truly One-Of-A-Kind! Because I don't.

Please refer to the detail photos for the true beautiful color of the eggplant-purple colored skirt. It is scrumptiously rich and the embellished snowflakes are like jewels twinkling across it.

The pattern is the fullness of my side-split-skirts without the "split." So they are not TOO overly-bulky and yet have just the right amount of twirl.

Isn't the fabric stunning?!

Turquoise blue, black, gold ...

Not sure what to pair with it?

I would LOVE to sew you a Ruffle T-shirt to coordinate PERFECTLY with it.

(I've just laid the coordinating fabric here ... just waiting to be ruffled on the shirt size of your choice.)

Matching Ruffle Shirt available in size 4/5 or 6 in white.

$18.00

This is an example of a Ruffle Shirt.

The Royal Snowflake Purple would be used on the white shirt

with the Golden Swirls as the Fabric Roses.

All fabrics are pre-washed and ironed before being sewn.

Leave a comment or email me at almquist at fmtcs dot com (replace at and dot with the symbols) with any questions!

Sharing Christmas

2011-12-06T06:18:00.001-06:00

Finally our Christmas package was sent off to ND last Friday after waiting here for me to wrap and package it for way too long. (And I have to say that by adding just a couple of boxes around some difficult to wrap items and the Christmas paper and tape it went up by a few POUNDS! Oh yes, and I got another wild hair to throw in some hot cocoa mix for the kids too. We have now reached a new postage record. But ... it was OH SO WORTH IT!)

I guess the Ruffled Feathers dresses did take a bit to finish up (not sure why I had to get a wild hair to do something more difficult--like a brand new pattern in the case of Melissa's:

and a pattern outta my head for Eliana's corduroy jumper ... which ended up having a silky lining, a plaid ruffle and pieced straps. Ya, kinda intense! But oh, so worth it.), but otherwise I was "finished" shopping pretty much days after signing up for Melissa and Eliana.

It was simply So. Much. Fun! to shop for them.

Quite honestly it made me feel a bit guilty ... because was I really shopping for them?

Or for me?

Well, ultimately for them of course ... but the little girl in me had quite a bit of fun for a few moments.

There's always this feeling like I want to do more though ... and I'm left trying to fill that feeling that really these aren't the things they really want or need.

And well, no, they really aren't.

And no, I can't fill the deep needs of their heart.

But those caring for them are doing such a great job ... and I have hope and faith that soon ... maybe even by next Christmas, these girls will be celebrating with their very own Forever Families and having their hearts filled in the deeper ways that only God knows how to fill.

And although I shopped with Melissa and Eliana in mind ... I tried to be open to some higher-guiding ... and I am also happy to think that perhaps some of these gift will cover the hearts of two new little girls who will be arriving to New Day TODAY! Yes, just in time for Christmas. With both of my girls being blessed deeply this season with other's generosity they are "fully sponsored"-- meaning they each have three sponsors. There is no doubt that there will end up being duplicates of at least a couple items for them. And since I am not a monthly sponsor for either of these girls and am not overly sentimental that they necessarily have to have these exact gifts, I am looking forward to seeing where things end up! Perhaps some of these gifts will end up brightening one of the new little girls' hearts as she begins her very first weeks at a very different place, as she experiences the love of her very first Christmas!

I'm praying that it arrives quickly to its destination half way around the world and I'm excited to see how it all unwraps Christmas morning (or whenever they celebrate at ND.)

Melissa's Package:

2 regular outfits, a Ruffled Feathers Dress with leggings and shirt, a twirly tutu, a fuzzy/silky blankie, a doll, a book and a musical toy (with extra batteries.) (And some candy.)

Eliana's Package:

A backpack, a Curious George Puzzle, an Usborne book, a dress-up outfit, a regular outfit, a fuzzy vest (not photo'd), a Ruffled Feathers Dress with leggings and shirt and a very special baby-doll (and some candy.)

(*Sneaky-peeking-little boy NOT included)

Celebrate the Day-The Scarlet Threads Way

2011-11-18T06:57:00.001-06:00

Whew! I'm here. It's been a bit of a hiatus from blog world ... due to an ucky tummy.

mine.

In fact it's been THREE WEEKS of ucky tummy for me and I am SO GLAD to finally wake up feeling normal. (or closer to normal)
And although I don't have an explanation as to what I was battling (it went from my sinus to my eyes and made them red and swollen and puffy from one to the other for a week and then descended into my tummy for two more weeks of agony) I'm going to guess that it had to do with having 2 young-'uns in elementary school and one more young-'un potty training. Germ overload. And let me tell ya, I wash my hands so much my skin is cracking. (Which in itself is no doubt a problem for getting more germs in.) No one else has come down with it, which is weird, but such a blessing! But don't think I've totally been sitting on the couch. The Christmas tree is up, hocky practices and games have been attended, I've gotten a little tiny bit of sewing done, and the house is in an okay state. And I read a few blogs here and there to buoy my spirit. (sorry if I didn't leave any comments.)
Thank you God is all I can say for those miracles!

Anyway, on to better things. Did you see the NEW APRON at Scarlet Threads??!! There is a naming contest going on right now. You have until Thanksgiving to leave a suggestion with them on what you might name it. The winner gets a 50% off coupon for their Store! And I know exactly what I'm going to choose if I win! That beautiful new blue apron!!!
So hop on over to Scarlet Threads and celebrate the holiday season or me feeling better by leaving them a name suggestion!

I think you'll agree it's a BEAUTIFUL apron! And I happened to sneak a peek of it this summer at a secret little boutique I ran across online ... I think it must be their test market or something. I'm so happy to see it will be a part of the Scarlet Threads honor roll!

If you want to see my name suggestions, you'll have to check out the comments under the Scarlet Threads blog post on the Naming Contest. Oh yes, and while there, leave your own name suggestion(s)!

Khloe Sweetness and New Peasant Dress: Ruffled Feathers Company

2011-11-14T07:39:00.001-06:00

Did you all see the post on the SaWeEeT Ruffled Feathers twirl that Khloe's mom won for her? If not, you should check it out HERE. Tanya is such a dear friend ... and she is WAY generous in her comments of me, oh my goodness ... but her daughter is SO cute, you really must see all her modeling session for full effect. (and the post after this one for the out-takes! HA!)

If you are interested in this skirt design I certainly have more fabric ... and also lots of fabric in other patterns and colors just giddy to become a skirt or dress for your little one at Ruffled Feathers Company! Just leave me a comment or an email at almquist at fmtcs dot com (replace the at and the dot with the symbols.)

I've also been working on a new style that goes super well with Ruffle Pants. A special Thank-You goes to my sweet friend, Angie, who asked about a month ago if I could do something along these lines for her daughter Chloe for Christmas (funny how I have all these dear friends with daughters named "Chloe/Khloe"!) I'm still working on the coordinating Ruffle Pants so I can't reveal it just yet, BUT I made another version for my sponsor ND Christmas Child Melissa that I can show you.

When I asked to be one of Melissa's Christmas sponsors, the coordinator was more than happy to link us up. Apparently her Chinese Foster Mom doesn't dress her too much like a girl much of the time and could really use some Pink/Purple/Girlyness!!!
Oh can I help there!
Here is a sneak peek at the Peasant Dress. ENJOY!:

Something About a Doll--Part 2

2011-11-05T06:59:00.000-05:00

*If you haven't read the Part 1 post a few days ago, you may want to scroll down or go HERE to read that first.

So here Beth sits in the top of my closet ... with her friends, Raggedy Ann and my faux Cabbage Patch girl, Melinda Nicole (never mind her dirty face from too many kisses years ago.) I'm tickled that you all were curious enough to want to see my very, very favorite doll!

Thanks for asking me to post her photo--you really didn't have to twist my arm too hard ;-)

And I would have in the original post, however Jeff had the camera on his hunting trip in North Dakota last week.

She is so fragile from age now days.

Hopefully I described her well ... and please excuse my non-neat closet. (ack!) The girls are lounging on a box of old letters and precious stuff from back when people used to write real paper letters and cards. (I love mail!) Maybe I'm dating myself ... I guess this is my little spot of "heart things." I'm sure Jeff has eye'd it more than a million times wondering why it's taking up a quarter of the shelf of our precious closet space. And come to think of it ... I probably should find a better spot for it, but we don't have a ton of random unused closet space. And I don't want to put the girls in a box in the basement. There is something so final about that. And I'm not ready for final.

If I could pan the picture around to the right a bit there is also a beautiful BIG China Doll that my mom bought for all of us girls one Christmas (my sister, former-sister-in-law and myself.) Funny thing is ... my sister and sister-in-law both have girls (sigh.) Alas, mine has never left her box and peers out from behind the plastic sheeting in mint condition right next to the Mattel brand doll that I received back when I worked at Mattel as a designer when I was still single. She is also in mint condition. And really ... I see Beth as so much more beautiful than they are. I guess that is a learning lesson for me to soak up and apply to myself on those blue days that I feel a bit tattered and aged from being "loved on" too much too.

But back to what brought me to Beth in the first place ... the New Day Christmas Sponsorship Program. In my journey to find "the perfect doll" for one of my two sponsored sweeties ... I came across this:

And she arrived on Wednesday while I was at Bible Study! Can you believe that instead of the hippo that was embroidered on her outfit in the picture (my favorite, as I collect hippos) she instead had a little lady bug! What could possibly be more perfect?

At 20" she's pretty big and I'm already wondering how I'm ever going to get her to Ch*na ... but of course first off I had to extract her from her box. It's pretty big in itself and since I wanted to enjoy a smidge of her too before sending her away it seemed reasonable that I can wrap her without it ... and let me tell ya, removing all the plastic wires and clips was like a birthing process in itself. I'm sure the folks at ND will be more than happy to NOT have to tackle that job with this one toy at least!

Oh my goodness, she did NOT disappoint. Look at these beautiful feet! It's a shame that I put the booties on her ... but I didn't want them to get lost and I'm pretty sure they'll eventually come off and Eliana will get to enjoy those sweet feet too.

(Hopefully she doesn't have a foot aversion problem. I know some people that do and just HATE feet! But ... these are just SO very sweet in my opinon!)

And although her eyes don't open and close like my Beth's ... they are so deeply brown and so lifelike and beautiful, I'll overlook that one thing, because otherwise ... she's just perfect.

I'm not sure if Eliana has any other Christmas sponsors this year (so many people were blessed to want to participate to bless these children that some of them have a couple of sponsors I hear! Isn't that SO cool?! And the extra toys will be scattered around to everyone appropriately--I'm confident that God will have a hand in that for sure)--but I'm really hopeful that Eliana spots something special in this one gift and really loves it. There is something so special about a doll--it's one of the ways our little girls role-play in caregiving and mothering ... and I cannot think of a more precious gift than to be a part of that molding and shaping process that will touch her and her someday little ones far into the future.

Halloween Tricks

2011-11-04T12:48:00.003-05:00

Halloween 2011

Halloween fell this year on a hockey practice night ... practice that begins at the beginning of regular trick-or-treat time and ends at about the end of it.

BUMMER!

This was going to take a bit of trick to get the treats!

But ... as a resourceful mom ... I tried my best to solve the problem of my boys' "need" for candy while begging in costume, colliding with our responsibility of attending a set practice that we've committed to.

And quite honestly, with Brayden edging ever closer to being "too big" for this kind of thing ... I don't want to miss these childhood memories!

So, we drove a bit early into the BIG town where hockey practice occurs ... in costume,

And were the FIRST trick-or-treaters out!

I've NEVER trick-or-treated in the daylight! It felt kinda weird ...

BUT, people had started getting their candy and drive-way barbeque fires out (even if most of them were JUST getting home for work (wince!)) and were more than happy to give Brayden some grief about his Vikings outfit (haha!) (It's a midwest thing I think, either hate them or love them, and since we don't have a professional team here in Iowa folks are a bit split between Green Bay, the Vikings and the Bears ... I'm just going with the Vikings since Jeff is from MN and they have that cool purple color. And as for the driveway barbeque fires? How cool? Never have seen that in our little town. It was pretty cool to see house after house having a little campfire on their driveway in their patio fireplaces!

I do want to mention that I did a pretty nice job giving Brayden black football-lines on his face and Easton a nice "black-eye" all thanks to my eye-shadow. I have no idea where the actual Halloween makeup went ... not to mention Nolan's Red-Power-Ranger mask. Oh well ... he was just as happy without it (thankfully!)

Brayden (Viking football player)

Easton (RoughRider hockey player)

Nolan (Red Power Ranger)

And the 36 kids who should have been at hockey practice?

... only 7 showed up!

Talk about some sweet ice time for Brayden and the other 6 kids. Oh yes ... and on the way home the two bigger boys and I stopped at a few houses in the dark just to make it feel like real Halloween. All were happy ... and I even got a few Almond Joy bars from the boys (yay! they don't like them--what a bonus!)

A Little Hope for Your Day

2011-11-02T08:29:00.001-05:00

Some days we all need a little hope.

Well, I woke up to just that this morning! Six weeks ago this little outfit started on its journey to the East ... I posted it here but since it was a Wordless Wednesday Post I wasn't exactly forth coming about the outfit's destination ...

On that day her Forever Parents had not yet found Hope's paperwork but were Hopeful that God would provide it in His timing. And so He did (the very next day!) and they are now on their journey to Hope!

Sometimes I get a bug under my bonnet to make something in particular ... and this is an example of one of them. For whatever reason I knew this fabric combination in particular would mean so much to Hope's mom ... and I was intent on making it. Believe it or not this dress FLEW together in a matter of hours! It surprised even me! I started it at noon and finished it by hockey practice time at 3pm.

Only God whips things together like that.

I thought you'd want to enjoy the vision modeled. (And yes ... those ARE ladybugs on the shoulder straps!)

Sweetly, Simply, Hope.

(The Ruffle Pants will be great floor dusters!--heehee!)

But the dress? It is PERFECT on her!

Happy Birthday a few ~~days~~ weeks late Hope!

Something About a Doll

2011-10-30T03:29:00.000-05:00

Growing up I loved stuffed animals and dolls. (still do.)

And although I had many "favorites" through the years, I gotta say there are 3 dolls that stand out as my all-time-best-est-buds. First there was one of my first fav doll... Raggedy Ann. I remember looking at her little "I LOVE YOU" heart printed on her chest during my nap-times--of course I couldn't read it, but was told many times what it said ... as well as trying to tie that blazing neck ribbon and getting oh-so-flustered! (The ribbon still shows that frustration in how it is permanently wound and twirled so tightly from trial after trial of my tying attempts years ago.)

Wow ... I must have been not more than 4 years old. Crazy to think that I can remember that so well ... and yet forget to get things on my grocery list that I ran out of just this morning!

But aside from Raggedy Ann, who is most certainly the best rag-doll ever made, my favorite doll was one that I received from my parents for Christmas when I was probably 5. Her name was "Baby Bottoms."(I think she was named this because her legs curved like a real baby's would if you had her cradled in your arms and they perfectly curved over them with her little bottom tucked in for perfect holding.) She was a real baby-doll. One that I picked out of a big toy-wish-book months before the snow even started falling. She was quite the talk at the supper table long before that Christmas. I think the toy magazine was even at the hair salon where I had my hair cut for Kdg ... that memory is a wee bit vague ... but I trust it--so that would have been in August of that year.

She had a plastic head with beautiful blond curly hair and blue eyes that opened and closed when she laid down and was picked up, soft plastic arms and legs that looked so real to me, her little legs curving like a real baby's ... not stick straight like most dolls. And she was SOFT in the middle, perfect for hugging. Oh and the BEST part? When she was tipped over she would say, "Mama."--Oh make me teary!

Her "Mama" voice wore out years ago, her curls are crazy-wild, her soft-stuffin' parts are stained with age and so very fragile from lots of lovin' I suppose. But I still have her up on the shelf in my closet. Oh yes, and I had named her "Beth."--which is quite funny because there was another baby doll that was my sister's that I took under my wing so to speak as my sister was not the doll-playing sorta gal. (Go figure! I guess I got all of those genes.) Her doll had brown hair with red tints and the most beautiful green eyes. I named her "Elizabeth." It never dawned on me that maybe those two names were ... hmmm ... kinda the same? LOL

However if the Velveteen Rabbit book is true? Beth and Elizabeth are most certainly "REAL!" (If you don't know that book, I don't suppose you get that "REAL" part. Read the book it's really good.)

I can still remember that "new baby-doll-plastic-head" smell that she had. Love it! Even though I haven't smelled that for years (goodness knows we don't have any new dolls venturing around these parts with three boys running wild--well, except for MINE, but they aren't new and sniffy.)

So it shouldn't surprise me that when ND organized a child-sponsorship program once again this Christmas for their children I did not take long to check it out and sign up! And ... this year like last I am sponsoring in the PINK zone! Wooo-Whoooo!

And this year I am blessed to have TWO sweeties on my Christmas list! What balm for my soul!

Eliana

Melissa

I have spent the better part of many evenings this week while Jeff has been duck hunting in Northern North Dakota, surfing for the quintessential perfect doll for each of them late into the wee morning hours. (And of course having the same parameters as the doll that was my fav years ago, soft and huggable and life-like REALness.)

Not to mention browsing those forbidden pink aisles in the toy and clothing sections already once this week. Ahhh, to find exactly the perfect thing ... and considering so many ...

It does take time ... changing my mind a hundred different times and back again. I might have to admit that I could be milking this for all it's worth! Ya think?

Sweet Bliss anyway!

If you follow the ND blog you might noticed that Eliana always seems to be beaming! What a joyful soul she seems to be in the photos I see.

There is something else about Eliana that I only recently realized. She is exactly one day older than my youngest son Nolan.

One. DAY.

Her momma and I were in labor at nearly the same time, having carried our babies for the very same months. Having hopes and dreams for them and for ourselves. Half way around the world from one another. There is something surreal about that even though I realize that there are babies born every second of every day and that China is about 13 hours ahead of us (so maybe you could argue that they are two days apart? But let's not split hairs.)

There is something unquestionably special about the day your child enters the world. And to think that another woman shared that experience so close to the very same hours and yet had a very different experience at what should have been a beautiful time for them ... wow ...

and yet this child SMILES so cheerfully! She is most certainly loved ... even as she waits for her forever family to find her.

That is such a good thing that she beams ... and yet I just cry on the inside for someone to hurry up! ... thinking of how she needs a momma NOW! ... because I look at my Nolan and I just soak him up as my child. He is at the sweetest age right now. Trusting and yet curious and yearning to be independent at times ... and dependent at others.

... We were running late to story hour the other day I said we needed to "sneak in so we didn't disturb what they already had going on." And Nolan preceded to tip-toe running down the sidewalk ... saying "tip-toe, tip-toe, tip-toe," the entire way!

... He is always right there with a hug and kiss for me.

... He has his favorites like his toady-frog and Thomas Rescue Firetruck ... and he'll share them just with me sometimes!

... He has his special piece of fabric that he snuck outta my fabric stash and claimed as his own

... and his favorite dress up Power Ranger outfit.

... Not to mention the crazy "open-closing clasp thingy" that he found somewhere in his travels and keeps as a valuable treasure ... along with his little peach bead which I have no clue where he picked up and yet he guards it like gold.

... He requests everything to be "Disney's Cars" ... as if they make thins like a "Cars-Bible" (seriously he asked for that last week and just won't believe me that they don't have one.)

I want Eliana's family to have these days of her being THIS age.

Because as we moms all know, they are fleeting.

Soon the suggestion on what to wear will be met with an eye roll and a, "Seriously, Mom?" response instead of the eager attitude to please.

Soon it won't be cool to hang out with mom all day making chocolate chip cookies just so they can sneak a chocolate chip or two.

Soon they won't take so kindly to hugs in public or too many questions about how their day was.

And these days of hers now are no less sweet than Nolan's ...

And God willing soon ... there will be an * by her name as well as by Melissa's ... and in the meanwhile ... I'm most deeply blessed to stand in the gap, pray for them ... and shower them with the pink delights of my heart!

If you would like to sponsor a ND child for Christmas, check it out HERE.

Autumn's Twirling Colors: A Skirting

2011-10-28T22:19:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to donate a skirt to an adoption fundraiser in late August. It was an especially sweet blessing for me because the little girl that the fundraiser was for had been on my list of little ones from ND, for whom I help edit the monthly sponsorship updates, from when I first started. So to even have a glimmer of a speck of something to contribute to help bring her home, wow, I was more than happy to provide a gift certificate for the cause! Here is sweet Khloe and her big sister Mikayla in matching dresses that I surprised their mom with before they left to receive Khloe.

God is so cool. Of course it didn't end with that ...
The winner of the gift certificate turned out to be my good friend Tanya Lea ... who has a daughter with ND roots ... and who happens to have the name "Khloe" just as the Khloe the fundraiser was for!

And now I am blessed to share with you the TWO LAYER FULL skirt that I made from the fabrics Tanya chose and I coordinated into this design. woooo-whooo! Lots of twirling potential! And my she does have good fabric taste!

Beautifully autumn in its tones, I can already envision Khloe twirling through the leaves. I can't wait to see it in action!

If you would like a skirt, dress or ruffle pants designed for your little sugar plum, please leave me a comment or email me at almquist at fmtcs dot com

And make sure to hop on over to visit my sewing site at Ruffled Feathers Company to be inspired.

This is how it begins--The Quilt Project

2011-10-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

**UPDATE: If you did not have an opportunity to send me a fabric square and wish for Samuel who is from New Day who joined his forever family in March of this Spring, you STILL CAN! But I'm gonna ask you to hurry. Please leave me a comment or email me ASAP so I know to plan a space for it and so I can get you my address. THANKS! I would always welcome more squares and wishes for this sweet boy whom I'm sure you all have covered with prayers.--Thanks!

_________________________

Last Spring I got a crazy notion. I really wanted to sew a Bai Jia Bei Quilt for a certain little boy who was being united with his Forever Family. He had made a big impact on my heart and it seemed like something that would help bring together the different chapters in his life as he entered a new one with his family. I tossed the idea around a bit and finally acted on it asking his mom if she would be interested.

She was. And so it began.

Well, that was ... mmmm ... don't count the months please ... but I've now confirmed that summer is NOT the best time for me to sew. However, things have finally gotten underway in a very serious way around here and I thought I'd give a little update glimpse of where things stand.

It has been SO neat to see the packages and envelopes arrive from as far away as China and England! It confirms how beautiful God's love is and also what a strong network of prayer can be formed across the globe.

The envelopes of wishes

The pile of fabrics ready for their pre-wash.

Some close-up shots.

Aren't they gorgeous?!

And even some special notes from Samuel's nanny and other care-takers.

I hope to make great progress in the next week or so as it's already been far long enough in the making. Stay tuned for the final photos hopefully coming soon!

Fire Truck Day!

2011-10-23T23:16:00.002-05:00

I still remember Fire Truck Day from my Kdg. days ... so I have to believe that for a boy it is even a bigger milestone! This year we were invited by Easton's teacher to join them for this special field-trip of sorts. While Nolan and I weren't allowed to actually ride the truck, we were able to take a few photos and take in the big-ness of it all!

The truck arrives:

Miss Blattler's class marching out to see the truck:

Easton's friend Cael ascends the ladder:

Easton's turn:

With the entire class on top they are ready to take a cruise around town!

(Thank goodness for Small-town-USA ... try this in Dallas. Just isn't gonna happen is it?!)

But ... what they didn't tell them was that it was a one-way-trip! They had to walk the 4 or so blocks back to the school on foot, albeit with shiny plastic fire hats in hand.

Luckily they made it back just in time for recess.

Nolan WAS allowed to stay and play with the big 5-6 year olds which I was so thankful for since he waited so patiently while I took photos of the fire truck and Easton and didn't even fuss when he didn't get to go too.

And ... just like the terrific brother he is, Easton gave his red plastic fire hat to Nolan right there on the spot since he didn't get one. Now I think that is pretty special!

It turned out to be a pretty fun trip for everyone.

School Photo Day and NEW Sweeties Photos

2011-10-21T09:13:00.001-05:00

Wednesday was "School Picture Day" at our school--oh my. I still remember the angst of wanting to make each year's school photo be a good one ... funny thing is ... from fourth grade through my Sophomore year in High School they were REALLY bad.
scary bad.
like I'm almost tempted to post an example here ... but I'm just not.
I guess I "bloomed late."

Anyway ... we're now in the digital age and even though things are a bit less tense getting that ONE yearly photo taken since we have quite a few casual photos taken throughout the year, I still want the boys to have a good hair cut and a nice shirt to represent their year in our memories and on our wall.

Well ... balancing that with trying to let them make some decisions and dealing with the outcomes is a trick. I'm learning which battles to pick, or at least when to pick them ... photo day this year was not a mountain I wanted to die on it turns out. Been there, done that ... didn't really matter in the end in retrospect. And I think that kinda surprised them and they did pretty well making some decisions. The boys both wore nice shirts ... but they were both black. Hmmm ... as if people don't often ask enough how close in age they are (alluding to that maybe they are twins?) and considering I wasn't going to shell out the extra $4-5 bucks for a "colored" background I'm not sure how the black will look against the dark gray that comes "free" in the exorbitant cost of the photos. Maybe it will look super trendy like I planned it?
Also ... Brayden absolutely insisted that he didn't want his hair cut. Oh my goodness ... he is not one that looks good with shaggy long hair! It is SOooooo thick. And it was SO long over his ears. ACK! Well ... I took Jeff's lead in trying not to make it into a mountain. We've learned that sometimes if we don't make it a big deal, suddenly he won't either and he's more likely to agree with us instead of resist us. Sure enough, AS SOON AS he came home from photo day ... he asked for a haircut.
I could have strangled him but instead said through smiling, yet quietly gritted teeth, "REALLY?!"--knowing that hey, photo or not, seeing his ears again would be good. Well, this, that, the other ... his hair didn't get cut that night. And last night when I sat him down he had suddenly changed his mind again and DIDN'T want it cut around his ears, only in the back. Hmmm ... like a reverse mullet? I'm not sure, Jeff suggested a reverse mohawk, ACK!
So ... with an extreme pouting 8-year old, I tried my best to get the best of both worlds. I only cut from the ears back and not that much (an 8 on our trimmer guard, which I think is the highest number.) And then much to his grief I cut around his ears and a clean line at the side burn. Oh my goodness. I am not a barber ... but by the time my kids are grown I might be. I can't say that I am in love with the cut the way I normally am after ~~shearing~~ trimming him. But it's better seeing his ears though. And Easton had a super haircut the other day ... and Nolan did pretty well sitting for his (although it's a bit crooked for some colicky reason.) So all in all, I'm happy.

But for lack of photos quite yet of MY boys ... I'm going to show off photos of my OTHER kids.
(BIG wink here)
I feel like a Grandma of sorts, HA!
Maybe I posted about them in the past ... I call them "my kids" even though they aren't really mine in a real sense (bummer I know ... but I'm sure adding SIX to our humble fold would surely turn me into the old lady who lived in a shoe quite quickly.)

The children are a group of 6 orphaned children for whom I am deeply, deeply blessed to be a part of a team editing their monthly Sponsorship Updates (basically refining grammar and sentence structure from the translations into English.)
I tell ya ... I certainly have some of the most adorable Updates Kids around if I do say so myself! It's simply amazing how some of those who are so deeply placed on my heart when they first come to ND end up on my list. Only God is all I can say!

Over the summer months God has placed THREE of my previous list children into adoptive- forever-families ... I miss them already, but what a joy to know that they are finally home. And now I have the joy of 3 new little ones (2 boys and a girl) to add to my other 3 beauties.
And I have to say they are some of my FAVORITES ... I am just beyond smitten with all of them. Maybe being an old lady in a shoe wouldn't be so bad?
;-)

So here they are. My new sweeties--Asa. Rebecca. Jonathon, Rosie, Mary and Renee:

If you would like to support these or other children from New Day, you can sign up to be a child sponsor for a well invested $35/month. You will receive a monthly update written by their foster family or their nanny, along with a new monthly photo. You can also follow along with ND on their blog to grow along with all that is happening at the Foster Home. It can be a beautiful family gift that can be shared by everyone, posting the child's photo on your fridge, praying for them and that their perspective families will be called to find them, celebrating when they do! You can even send the children gifts like toys, clothing or candy--which can really speak to a child's heart (both your child's AND the sponsored child) about how far God's love can reach. It is boundless. And who knows exactly how far God will grow YOUR heart in the journey.
If you would like more information you can find it HERE.
Oh yes, and if you email me that you are sponsoring a ND child I will be happy to supply you with a sidebar button of your child like this:

Rock Band in the Making

2011-10-14T23:01:00.002-05:00

Forgive me if I've already posted this ... but I came across it from earlier this summer and I don't think I did ever post it and it truly made me laugh!

Click on it to see it larger and to enjoy their full expressions.

I can't remember what tune they were jamming but it was definitely a Christian Band.
Move over current boy-bands ... we have our own in the making.
(also forgive the rawness of our unfinished basement)

Cubby Nolan and AWANA

2011-10-12T07:37:00.000-05:00

How do kids grow up SO fast?

It's amazing to see Nolan standing here on the line for his first Cubby night

at AWANA earlier last month.

It seems like just yesterday that he was still in my belly snuggly nestled under my T&T AWANA helper shirt--just a wee bump.

And now he has his very own teacher, Mrs. Trudy

and is learning his very own Bible verses.

And he even has his very own AWANA vest.

What a big guy!

(the band-aid is from the bummer earlier this month at the hockey arena not another one, whew!)

___________________

And speaking of AWANA and T&T (which stands for Truth & Training) ... I cannot believe that Brayden is old enough to be T&T age!! Jeff and I have helped with that age group (3-5 grade) for many years. This year the church elders decided to work a little differently with this age group and they renamed the group to FOCUS, after Hebrews 12:1-2:

... And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith ...

In mid-August our pastor told me the plan to rework this age group's study and asked if I could design a logo for them that would incorporate the idea of the kids "fixed and focusing" on God's word now and throughout their lives ... and also be fun and something THEY would choose to wear to school ...

oh ya, and something that would be ready to print onto the shirts in less than a month, ack!

OK, dust off those graphic design skills ... sometimes even I forget that I am a graphic designer at heart, mind and training, somewhere beneath the sewing machine, the apron, the hockey mom and the piles of laundry.

I gotta admit, I was really scared to embark on this ... I guess there are some ghosts from being laid off 8 years ago that I will be facing when I someday go back to "work" in the world. Ug. I wonder if I'll ever be a Designer again?

But whew!--God came through on this one!

Here's what we designed:

And on black shirts it is pretty striking! And from what I've heard I think the kids like it too. YAY! :-)

It's beginning to look like another year ... of hockey

2011-10-11T08:36:00.000-05:00

Earlier this Fall, Brayden had tryouts for another year of travel hockey.

How happy and surprised we all were when he made not just the Mite team ... but the Squirt team! (That's for the next age level up for 9+ year olds!)

They are not the "Cedar Rapids Stallions" by the way ... it was just the jerseys they had them wear for try-outs so everyone would look the same and would be numbered with specific numbers for tracking and ranking purposes. They are the Jr. Rough Riders, just to clarify.

We are looking forward to another year at the hockey arena. (minus the commuting and meals in the car.)

AND I'm super happy to know that Easton has expressed a renewed interest in spending more time on the ice too and giving it another shot. Whew! With a crew of boys with deep Minnesota roots ... hockey is just going to be an ever-present thing for our family ... and really ... with Jeff and my first date being at the Waterloo Ice Arena ... well ... it's kinda in the genes.

This past weekend Easton asked his friend Cael to join him to go skating. They had a BALL! Cael caught on in NO time flat and would be very good at the sport I think. He and I went out onto the ice even after Easton got distracted by a Spy Kids movie that I had brought along, ya know ... in case the ice skating ended up to be a big bummer. Well, Cael reluctantly left the ice ONLY after the zamboni time had come. He even wanted to take home his rented skates! Ha! We topped off the night watching the end of the BIG Rough Rider's Game. And they won 5-1. So it was exciting! (And also Cael's first hockey game experience.)

Down but still smiling!

*And just so you don't think I sent Easton out there without a helmet ... it just isn't photo-friendly.

4 Boys and a Hunting Blind

2011-10-10T11:57:00.001-05:00

October 1st was the opening day of hunting ...

And out came the "toys"

And believe me ... this was the "Still" shot of the boys this weekend in all their excitement with the NEW hunting blind.
Here is the next month or so of our weekends ... tree stands, hunting blinds, camouflage, and lots and lots of excitement for the boys. Or ... at least for some of them.
Brayden, being 8, got to go hunting this year with his dad much to the other boys' sadness of having to stay home with me :-( Oh such torture one would think.
(Not sure how this will pan out as Brayden kept getting a case of the giggles every time Jeff would see a deer.)

Here is the reality of being the mom to all boys ... oh my ... God give me strength.

Knot Tops and Ruffle Pants--New Ruffled Feathers Items

2011-10-07T07:33:00.000-05:00

Things tend to go in spurts around here ... I guess as school and practices get underway we slowly have found our routine again and the things on the "TO DO" list slowly are getting some attention. (It's that transition from Summer to Fall.) Well, this week has been a flood of progress. WHEW!

I've had two actual orders for things in the last month! ... and I hate that it's taken this long to get them finished and mailed. But OH! I'm so happy with the way they have turned out! YAY!

First up is the knot top (a shorter version of the knot dress) that is kick-y and cool all at once.

It's super-duper layer friendly for cooler weather and just as spicy if warmer temperatures are around to wear it alone! Talk about versatile.

And the knot tops look SO cute with the other new item I've been working on ... ruffle pants!
I keep wishing that these in my size would be cute ... but unfortunately I have my doubts ... ALTHOUGH ... I may secretly try them as some pajama pants for myself. That would be cute!! And I know I have some really cute monkey-flannel that is begging to be used! What a great idea.

With either the knot top (above) or with a regular knot dress or skirt ... I cannot wait to see some very sweet girls twirling in style very soon!

Remember to check out Ruffled Feathers Company or leave a comment/email me for some great Christmas prints as well as new fabrics that are super cute! They would be perfect for your Christmas Card photos :-)

Renee's Busy Day Dress

2011-10-05T12:29:00.002-05:00

When I was little I remember having some pretty sweet clothes sewn by my mom.

Not that she sewed ALL my clothes ... but the ones she did, well, I still remember them 35+ years later and that is a testament to how special they were to me then and now.

So when I come across fabric that speaks to my reminiscing heart with it's polka-dot-mushrooms and silly birds and fruit ...

well, it simply has to be mine even if I don't really know what I'll make out of it.

That was the case for this "Busy Day" fabric that I came across LAST fall.

It's a happy shade of eggplant with a day-full of FUN sprinkled all over it!

I'm not even sure what part spoke to me ... but it sure did! It wasn't until I was sorting the boys' artwork from a basket that is overflowing in the guest bedroom that I noticed out of the corner of my eye a scrap of fabric that my Grandma Esther had sewn into a baby-wrap she had made for one of my dolls. Being a survivor of the Great Depression, my grandma was impressive in the way she repurposed so many things and she always requested any scraps of fabric my mom might have from the things she made to then make the most impressive "Crazy Quilts" much like this baby-doll-wrap with feather stitching and all.

See the fabric square with the little polka dot mushroom and the little girl? It is a remnant from an outfit for either my sister or myself (but most likely both of us at some point.)

This is the second fabric I've chosen head-over-heels for this year with polka dot mushrooms.

Funny how the little details of life are quietly woven into our subconscious.

So, this is what I've sewn up with the first bit of the fabric... and pending a certain weeklong Chinese holiday that probably has slowed the mail down ... I'm hoping that it makes a certain little girl from the East very happy in her busy day when it finally arrives. :-)

My Boys--First Day of School 2011

2011-10-03T08:23:00.002-05:00

I am playing catch up on a few important milestones ... like the boys' first day of school.

I actually HAD written a post for this last month ... but held off publishing it because 1.) It's a real pain to get photos off my camera and 2.) I was hoping that some of my "worries" would work themselves out in a short time. And ya know what ... they did! :-)

Here's what I wrote on August 22nd:

"Today was the first day of school for Easton!

Brayden started last Thursday and Friday with early out days scheduled for both days ... so I thought I'd just wait to post them together when they both had their first FULL days today.

Unfortunately, Easton was NOT in the mood for photos this morning and even asked, "Do you have to take photos?!"

ARG! It's a tradition for goodness sake. Is it that hard to follow some slight direction and smile? (Sorry to my dear friend Angie. I did threaten him with a full photo shoot by calling you over with your big serious camera--HA!) I'm sure if it were anyone else taking the photos he'd be FINE, just not Mom.

It is a bit of a bummer for Easton this year. He JUST turned six last Monday. We live in a super small town that does not have an early Kdg/alternative Kdg program for summer birthday kids. In fact, even with Brayden, who was born in May, we were on the fence on if he should start school at age 5 or 6. Jeff voted to hold him ... I voted to send him, feeling he was WAY ready and knowing that splitting up a good friendship with his best bud Gabe might crush him ... and we asked the teacher her opinion and ended up sending him ... with the understanding that we would hold Easton when his day came years down the road since his birthday was very late in the summer. Well ... the day has come and we have all had the understanding through 4 yr. old Preschool and last year's Kdg. that this would be the way it would roll with a second year of Kdg this year.

UG! so much easier in theory! Easton, to say the least, is bummed.

I am praying SO hard that God will send some Godly friends to make this decision sit right with him.

Of course he did very well in the academic portion of Kdg. last year ... he has good friends in his class ... but we still feel very strongly that we'd rather have him not be the youngest person in his class always feeling pushed and also allowing him to grow in his confidence a bit. As a second born in the shadow of a VERY dominant brother ... confidence is so important to have!

But it is so much easier to be swayed by the pressured of the world though at this point! It'd be so easy to just send him into First Grade. But deep down ... deep deep down beyond E's sad eyes and the want to make everything all better for him ... we are sure we don't want him to head off to college at age 17 like I did. And for some unspeakable reason Jeff and I KNOW that this will be good for him down the road. I guess because we're his parents and we feel that we know him well. But it is hard ... hoping that we are right and that things will shake down well in the near future."

That was a little over a month ago.

And I am so happy to report that this year when Easton comes home from Kindergarten it is with a smile and confidence ... which was NOT the case last year. He gets such wonderful reports from his teacher who says he's a leader in his class and is good at helping others. And this morning on the walk to the bus can you guess what he asked?

"Mom, do you know what an Ornithologist studies?"

--I kid you not! Ya, and he not only knew how to pronounce that big word ... he knew the answer.

Now ... yes, I am proud that he happens to remember from LAST year's kdg. classes that word AND what it means ... but I'm even more happy that he is full of ambition and pride in himself and confidence and wants to share his love of knowledge.

Parenting has it's moments and challenges that is for sure. And I sure wouldn't want to go it alone! Thank you God for the reassuring guidance to know what is best for our boys!

Nolan RUNNING to greet the boys coming home from their first day of school together. Do ya think Nolan missed them a tad?

A One-Of-A-Kind Skirting: "Pink Tiptoe"

2011-10-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

I had the perfect amount of fabric for this one-of-a-kind custom-ordered design.
"Sweet Tiptoes."
The grandma who ordered it for her great-granddaughter, Ava, simply asked for, "something sweet ... in pink I suppose."

If you can hear that sweet pitter-pat and cannot bare to go without a tiptoe of your own, I can keep my eye out for some more of this print. Just let me know.
I really, really like it too ... so it wouldn't take much to persuade me to have some more on hand.

Hot Pink, light pink, avocado on white dancing over

a second layer of Hot Pink and Light Pink scrolling-trellis print.

The edging is avocado and light-lavendar punctuated by colored skinny stripes

in a rainbow of coordinating colors.

Gladys Our Couch

2011-10-01T11:48:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago it was rainy and cold ... and as I watched Thomas the Train with Nolan ... I couldn't help but notice how very SICK I was of our couch.

Now, we're very practical MidWestern folks ... and when we got married, even though we were ~~older than the hills~~ mature, we moved in Jeff's hand-me-downs from his house and my antiques (notice the much nicer label for my furniture) from my apartment and we've been living quite happily for 11 years.

Well, kids are hard on furniture. And so is just plain ol' life.

Even though we honestly don't have total chaos or trampoline episodes, the kids are truly quite good, there are occasions when I find myself reminding the kids to SIT on the couch, not do a running long jump onto it ... or to not go over the back of the couch, but the front, we are PEOPLE folks!

Kids.

Compound that with the fact that Grandma Jean (not Grandma Gladys as I originally posted but Jeff's OTHER grandma ... however I still think of our couch in this state as "Gladys") bought this couch in 1981 ... well ... all furniture has a lifetime ... and it passed a few years back I fear. At least for the upholstery.

SO, being the ~~foolishly~~ dangerously creative person, I stalked the fabric store that I love and bought some upholstery fabric when it went on super clearance sale with grand plans to redo Gladys the Couch.

That was in April.

When I told Jeff my plans I thought he'd be glad with my thriftiness. But he really had some BIG concerns that I wouldn't be able to do this and have it come off well. I mean, as he reminded me, I've never reupholstered anything before ...

So it didn't take much and I suddenly got pretty scared too. But I had all this yardage of upholstery fabric sitting in my dining room!

I thought I'd be okay if I fashioned a giant tailored covering for it, ya know, kinda like the biggest skirt ever made. Well, I let that idea stew all summer ... wondering how that would truly work, again, with 3 boys lounging all over it, there was no way it was going to stay tucked without some major staples and permanency.

Back to a couple of weeks ago as I was watching Thomas with Nolan as I tried to clean the fabric on the arms for the one hundredth time. I flipped up the skirting to look again at how it was assembled knowing that whatever I did I'd probably need to remove the skirting ... and well ... I pulled on the fabric ... really hard and ... pop-pop-pop ... I started ripping it apart.

And ya know what?

It kinda felt good.

And throughout the day I continued to rip and tear and pull. It seriously was something between the labor of having a baby and pulling permanent teeth at times bracing my feet against it and pulling out the staples with all of my might! I think they used over a million staples to attach the original fabric!

Nolan stayed busy working on his tool bench next to me.

When I called Jeff at 5pm wondering when he might be home from work (glancing at the mess all over the living room!) I left him a message letting him know that the couch was not usable anymore. (When he called back after getting the message he thought perhaps the boys had launched themselves onto it and broken it as we've warned them over and over might happen if they weren't more human with it. HA!)

When I came clean, that no, it was ME ripping it apart ... I don't know if he was relieved or worried.

The boys then were kind enough to tell him when he walked in the door that night that I'd be done with it in like a month. (they came to that conclusion on their own ... and it was not music to Jeff's ears most likely.)

It's now been two weeks ... the stitching repair on the base is done, Jeff has reinforced the springs with a board on the bottom, the covering across the foundation is finished. I now wait to do the cushions ... not sure if I can come up with some new stuffing/cushioning that would be more firm or just to keep what we have. (suggestions welcome by the way)

And Jeff is pretty impressed with my choice of fabric and how it's coming together ...

I'm tempted to give you a sneak peek ... but ... then I'd lose motivation to finish it. Now I'm accountable to at least a few more people, heh heh!

So, for now we have a two-toned couch with a cool new eggplant floral base upholstery ... and Grandma Jean's cushions. Looking forward to getting it completed!

Oh, and if you have some sewing on order with me, fear not, I'm doing that first during my better hours of the day! honest! I'm currently in a stand-still-stage with the couch for the last week as I consider what to do with the cushions. So really, it's it's only been a week of working on it, right? :-)

Our Cornfield

2011-09-30T11:54:00.001-05:00

Nolan is hilarious--a couple of days ago it was beautiful outside and while we were enjoying the weather I thought it would be fun to walk through the newly harvested corn field in our backyard and gather up some of the corn that was left on the ground for our horses. Apparently my stern warnings all summer to STAY OUT OF THE CORN!, for fear of the boys getting lost in the rows, made an impact. Even though the corn is gone, he exclaimed in a panic as I headed to the field,

"NO MOM! Don't go in the corn ... you'll get all corny!"

hahahaha!
What a hoot he is! 'Cuz yes, he was serious!

Then yesterday the farmer came back to rough disc in the corn stalks back into the soil to help build it up for next year. This left the field a mixture of dirt and corn stalks.
When Nolan awoke from his nap he noticed RIGHT away that something was different with the cornfield (To be honest, I don't think I would have even noticed if I hadn't heard the tractor out there) and he said,

"Mom! Our cornfield is dirty!"

Oh I do love this child!

2011-09-29T05:21:00.000-05:00

This week has included two funerals.

The first was for a second cousin who was 49 years old. He had achieved so many great things in his short life--it was certainly a celebration of a life well lived!

Although Dan was born with hydrocephelitis and spina bifida, he proved doctors wrong and not only learned to walk, he learned to run! With the encouragement of his very supportive family who treated him and challenged him as they did all their children, he went to regular school and was exceedingly smart (reading the dictionary for fun!) He then went on to college and then on to seminary school where he became a pastor AND had a full career as a Lutheran pastor throughout Iowa, South Dakota and Colorado. He challenged the walls and beliefs of what someone with "special needs"could accomplish.

He was so good at conversation and was a light to so many. He will be missed but was ready to go home to heaven after suffering the last few years with ALS.

At the funeral I was able to visit with my Aunt Harriet who is from Colorado,

my mom (who was my co-pilot for the journey)

and my "best-cousin," Amanda, who was my side-kick on that side of the family all the while growing up. She is only one month younger than me! ... which is a BIG deal as the rest of our cousins (which are MANY) on that side of the family are at least a decade older than my siblings and I.

Strawberry Point is the town where my cousin Dan and his family live.

It's a neat town if you happen to be in Iowa.

There is the Strawberry Pt. grocery, The Strawberry Point gas station, Strawberry Point coffee house, Strawberry Gifts ... you get the idea ... and to top it off they have this HUGE strawberry by their town hall. I remember being in AWE of this as a child ... and ya know what?

I still am!

Easton's 6th Birthday Party

2011-09-28T09:02:00.002-05:00

Easton's sixth birthday party was in late August ... well ... I'm obviously way behind in posting!

We decided to go small with focusing on one guest, his good-good-friend Cooper, do a tour of parks in the area, have pizza and go to the motorcycle/4-wheeler races. (Jeff's choice I think!)

Unfortunately RIGHT before we went to pick up Cooper for the big night of fun, Easton broke out in unexplained hives! (That continued the next day as well, shown here in a modest oatmeal bath shot.)

Not one accustomed to medicating my children except for the occasional Tylenol need, I didn't foresee that giving him a dose of Benedryl would pretty much knock him out for the afternoon of motorcross racing! BUMMER for the birthday boy! (But what's a mom to do???)

And what boy doesn't like motorcycles?

(What mother doesn't shudder at the thought of motorcycles?)

What a bummer that he slept through nearly the whole thing and had a tummy ache! Luckily, his big brother, Brayden, stepped up and entertained his one guest quite well. They even danced in the rain midway through the races.

And they of course found some goodies for sale ... and Brayden was not shy about kicking the tires and trying it out for size. (He did attempt to get on the larger one in the background too before we ~~screamed~~ told him that wouldn't be a good idea and to get down NOW!

Cooper quickly followed suite with the little bike (Sorry Angie, I didn't tell you about his absolute instant love of this cycle!)

And Nolan ... dear God ... have mercy on this mama!!!

The rain did wake Easton up and cleared up his tummy ache just in time for cake: SuperHero Strawberry (can't they make Strawberry Cake white? Pink is a stretch for a boy ... but he does love himself some strawberries!)

(Nolan also in a green shirt, snuck in the side of this photo just as I clicked it, hilarious!)

And the monster truck and Marshmallow gun presents were a HUGE hit to be sure!

Did I mention that Cooper is quite the climber? He was on the top of every piece of equipment--I'm telling ya, the VERY top! (This is a short one ... the taller ones I couldn't bare to take photos but instead wanted to spot him ... as if he needed any help.)

AND Jeff and I found some pretty fun stuff to play on too.

It was a fun birthday party!

Khloe's Adoption Day

2011-09-22T08:19:00.001-05:00

As I am working on this month's edit to my 5 children from the ND Sponsorship Updates my heart is heavy as I try to process some sad news from friends that their sweet daughter went to meet Jesus yesterday. It was not expected at all and is such a shock. It hurts.

*********************

I was SO glad to see these beautiful photos posted by Khloe's mom of a VERY different and happy day!

As I read through Khloe's final Update, I am overjoyed to know that she has been carried in the arms of ND into her forever family. You may remember the post a few days ago about the matching dresses I surprised Wendy with for Khloe and her older sister Makayla for Khloe's very special day--her Adoption Day! **(Whoops! I just noticed that I didn't post them here on this site, but on my sewing site. Please go HERE if you'd like to see that post!)

It is a beautiful day to see a little bit of something familiar marking something so life changing and good for so many. And really? The girl does make the dress!

Beautiful!

Khloe and Makayla--you are wonderfully made!

Thank you for sharing your day with me!

God is Good ... and His Love Endures Forever ...

I will remember that especially in the difficult to understand times.

Wordless Wednesday x 2: Another (hockey) Head Bonk and Some Sweetness

2011-09-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

After The Airport article

2011-09-20T09:15:00.000-05:00

Wow.
Ever read an article that just kinda blows your hair back and just leaves you with nothing to say but, "wow."
'Cuz I imagine we all have been there at points ... maybe not due to adoption ... but because of other life changing scenarios, new baby, new job, crazy-weird kids. Times when things just seem a little bit ... BIG.

If you have a moment enjoy THIS article by an incredible writer ... and an incredible mom.

If you have difficulty clicking the THIS word above, it can be found at:

http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2011/09/06/after-the-airport

Real.

2011-09-16T17:24:00.003-05:00

About 2 or 3 weeks ago after mowing our lawn in the humid heat of August, I took a walk down the lane to check the mail and to cool off. (Hard to believe it was that hot not that long ago as I sit here in jeans and long sleeves and I still have goosebumps!)
I'm always hopeful for a piece of something personalized in my mailbox ... as in handwritten ... but let's be real, the chances of that now days with email and texting ... is very rare.
But that day, I did see a tiny little envelope with a little red ladybug in the corner ... and it was addressed to me! Joyfully, I opened it on the spot and found not only a little sweet note, but a gift card for Starbucks just for little ol' me! ... a Starbucks Newbie.
Oh my goodness. Talk about make me cry. Right there in the middle of my gravel road, next to the mailbox! She just felt like gifting me a big hug of encouragement ... and wow ... it just really made my day!

Well, today I had the WONDERFUL opportunity to meet that "bloggy friend" and make her a real face-to-face-I've-really-met-them-in-real-person-friend!
Sara and her sweet daughter, Mya, joined my youngest, Nolan, and myself for some chit-chatting over some coffee, cocoa, trains and play yard time for a few hours.

I first ran across Sara when she and her family were still living in Colorado. I was blog surfing ... it was just about the time I had come across New Day and as "luck" would have it, Sara and her husband had recently returned from ND with their sweet daughter! I was somewhat confused as to why a family in Colorado was so enamored with the Iowa Hawkeyes ... and all things Iowa like a license plate they saw in a restaurant. (?????) Come to find out, they are from around these parts! And although they returned a while back, I've never had the opportunity to meet up with her until now.

(This photo was taken by dear Mya--I love the perspective from the lower perspective of a 5 year old!)

As you can tell, Nolan was quite comfortable around them in no time! The hot chocolate and the suggestion of trains was a great way to start off the day for him that is for sure!

And the best part of the meeting, besides meeting such a great gal and her little girl, and talking about adoption and mutual blog friends and faith and caring for orphans, is that I had the opportunity to make a very special outfit for her newest little girl, Ruby, that they will be traveling for very soon, and hand delivering it to her!!! SaWeEt!
I will hold off posting any photos as I don't want to spoil the surprise, 'cuz it did turn out pretty cute I will admit! (OR you can go to Sarah's site and sneak a peek at Miss Mya modeling it HERE.) I can't wait to see Miss Ruby is IN it!
I do have to share a little something I made to go along with the outfit ... I mean, the key to any outfit IS to accessorize, right?!

And it is just perfect for this little doll I found too ...
however ... I think Ruby may be finding other things to put in her purse, as Mya instantly adopted that little doll as her own! :-)
Simply.
Really.
Beautiful!

It was a real and very good day!

Funky Pink Fun: A Skirting

2011-09-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

A friend at church ordered a tiny skirt for her nearly 2 yr. old granddaughter recently ...
I finished it up and delivered it this week.
Oh! it did turn out to be quite funky-sweet!

Too bad she lives far away--it sure would be fun to see her twirling in it!!

The Warmest Quilt

2011-09-13T09:40:00.001-05:00

The temperatures this morning were very chilly as Canadian air funnels down from the North into the MidWest! What a change from the low 90's of yesterday! I guess Autumn is truly here!

When I checked my email this morning I was so saddened to see one entitled "In Memory" ... from ND ... oh the heartbreak to know that when I opened it up there would be a little one who would not be received into the arms of their forever family here on Earth--but received into their FATHER'S arms in heaven. And it was not the little one who I was "preparing" my heart to hear the news about, the one who has been so sick and on everyone's mind. It was a little one with a complicated heart issue, but who quietly smiled and seemed to do so well ... at least to me, the non-medical person viewing just photos ... one who shared her birthday with my father ... who also died of a heart issue after a full and much longer life. Both lives surely made a deep impact on so many and as her Memory Card reminds us, it is not the duration of a life lived ... but the donation.

Live Deeply Today!

Which brings me to something so dear that I came across yesterday. I figured in my attempt to SURRENDER (reference the last post) I should quietly tend to the things of my heart and maybe not share them so personally blog-wise, especially when it comes to adoption and orphans.

But then I was reminded that would not be what God would want.
A God with Ultimate and Awesome Power ... wants our participation ... for His Glory.

So I share ... in the hopes that you will share and on and on and on ...
I only learned of it because someone shared it with me:

There is a fundraiser going on to raise money for a little heart baby currently at MorningStar ... and the quilt is SO beautiful I just had to share so you don't miss out on your chance to snuggle with it! You can read more of the details AND bid on the quilt HERE!

It is made in the most snuggly shades of rose, mint and brown.

And I just KNOW that it's meant for YOU!

Beautiful, eh?

And it's even more special because of the cause of course. And because of details like this:

The Chinese Character for LOVE.

And this:

Boy or Girl, this would be a MOST beautiful quilt for an expectant mom or an adopting mom or a new one home, even if a bit older! Who doesn't need a lovey-blankie? And quite honestly? I don't think you'd even need to have a baby or a small child to adore this quilt! You could hang it beautifully on a wall or as an accent on a bed ... or as a lap quilt to snuggle with yourself.

This and the cooler temperatures outside remind me of another quilt that I need to get working on! Oh my!! (Samuel, it's coming, slow but sure!)

If you'd like to bid on the pink/mint/brown quilt, the proceeds will be going to help defray the medical costs for "Michael" at MorningStar in China who is persevering his heart challenges, please leave a comment at:
http://jacobsjourneyhome.blogspot.com/2011/09/sweet-baby-michael-needs-our-help.html

Surrender: The Giving Over

2011-09-09T11:18:00.001-05:00

Fall, for me, tends to be my purge and clean time ... for whatever reason--

It's my backwards spring-cleaning I guess. Goodness knows I'm NEVER one to throw anything away ... so it isn't some sort of discipline, maybe I just know as winter approaches I'll be shut up tight in our house for many months and a little extra breathing room would give quite a bit of freshness. ~~Or maybe it's the gentle but persistent growl from my neat-as-pin husband that has worn me down ?~~

So I've been busy ... purging ...

sorting through the outgrown clothes and toys that have found their way to the basement ... although this time around they will not be refolded and organized into totes for our future use. Instead, I am preparing them to be given away. What should take a normal person most likely a half an hour, takes me the better part of the morning ~~or lets be honest, months~~, as I struggle to let go of the little boy clothes and things that have so many memories of some of my nephews and of course of our 3 boys in their littlest, tenderest years.

This purging has been a long time coming ... and yet it isn't one that comes easily ... because it takes a good deal of surrender, a surrender of what has been and what could be. And in their place ... there is a void that sometimes I doubt could ever be filled.

And I hate to give up or letting go ... so I'm trying to focus on looking at this as a "giving over" instead of a final "giving up" ... even if in all honesty my faith is a bit weak.

And like any good band-aid removal by a wimp, I've had to do it slowly and painfully ... starting with a few things here and a few things there. But then there was that big ol' elephant that was in the upstairs closet. No, not the gray kind with the big ears and long trunk, although I know we have a stuffed one of those that Jeff would love to get rid of too! ...

This "elephant-in-the-house"resurfaced earlier this summer while looking into the guest room closet for something. All these unused baby clothes--an over-abundnce. Why were they hanging there uselessly? Why was I hanging on to them uselessly?

I will admit that I have known that they were there ...

and I do know that we don't have any plans to fill them with babies in the perceivable future ...

and yet why could I not let them go?

The Ruffled Feathers Tea Party earlier this August was a great opportunity to let go of a few of the little girl dresses that I had purchased through the years ... and it warmed my heart with so much love to see the little ones at New Day wearing them and finally giving them the life they deserved! And there is a bunch of little boy things that are just as eager to make the trip over there soon too. Somehow knowing that THESE sweethearts will be using them makes their parting sweeter to me.

BUT

then there was the one day that I was searching for something in my hope chest ...

and there they were ...

no, not clothes ... but another part of that elephant ...

Oh my ...

*tears*

When we were expecting our first child (Brayden) we were typical first time parents with the usual unbelievable high notions of what life as parents would be like. We over prepared on things that I think back on now and laugh about and then there were other things that just never had crossed our minds until we were in the parenting trenches! HA!

One of the funny "must haves" were these wrapped candy bars that I planned on giving out after His or Her birth. They were all prepared with the girl and boy names we had chosen ... our names as parents, a place to write in the exact birth-date and time and weight ... (sigh)

I guess that is one of the pains of being a graphic designer--It's fun to make things.

We were THRILLED to use the boy ones proudly printed with Brayden's name! (But quite honestly I was so exhausted from his marathon labor and delivery I barely could write out the details on the wrappers let alone give them out! HA!)

And into the hope chest went the "girl" Ashtyn ones.

And again they came out for the trip to the hospital to have Easton ... along with the ones emblazoned with his name (which we just love!)

and back again the girl ones went into the hope chest.

However, by Nolan we had changed the name choice for a girl to be Ashlyn (so I guess the priority of candybars had fallen off of my parenting to-do list by little one number three! Or maybe I was planning on a little white out and ink? I don't honestly remember.)

But one thing that didn't miss out on the trip in the hospital bag even on trip number 3 was this:

Yup, a carefully packed ziplock bag of 3 pink outfits, hair bows, and "Daddy loves me" socks.

Of course there was a corresponding ziplock of little boy clothes for that "first-hospital-photo-of-baby" (which they charge an arm and a leg for the photo and usually it isn't very flattering ... although we of course bought it because it was OUR little baby!) And the going home from the hospital outfit ... and a back-up too. And I was blessed and thankful each and every time we have brought home a blessed baby boy into our home and arms.

But ... this ...

this ... remains unfilled ...

and even though I would never, EVER, admit that maybe there might have been a whisper of sadness that crossed my heart when I let go of the hope of a daughter each time we welcomed a son (I even had people who gave us their congratulations to us who in the next breath actually asked me POINT BLANK if I was disappointed it was another boy ... oh my goodness. How can someone dare ask that?) there is a sadness of what isn't, even in the joy of what is.

So, this last week ... I gathered my most precious, precious pink things that I didn't think I would, or could, ever let go of ... and I mailed them off to the other side of the world.

I'm not going to lie. It was not easy.

I'm selfish. And always want more.

Because it is a letting go of what I hoped would be.

And I still wish a little bit that I would have held onto the little "I Love Daddy" socks ...

I remind myself over and over that Hope always, always awaits ... and that HE answers the deepest yearnings of our hearts, many times in ways we might not imagine. There is a much bigger picture beyond ourselves and HE is in control of it all.

But it still hurts to wrestle with the thoughts and feelings, we are SO BLESSED ... and yet I still want more. It's just been a funky week of emotions that just isn't shared by anyone else in our household.

The one bright spot is that I can imagine the beautiful little ones at New Day who will finally fill these little pink things with life.

And finally I can be truthful with myself that I am surrendering all of my hope. Maybe not all at once or in a neat, tidy, non-tear filled way--but slowly-- I am giving it over to Someone higher who can do so much more than I can imagine or dream.

... it's surrender ... and it can be raw ...

but I'm hopeful ...

that something good will grow in the empty places ...

Adventureland

2011-08-30T16:03:00.001-05:00

This morning Nolan and I had cheese and crackers for a snack ... which of course led to a pretty crumbly mess on his lap!
And for simplicity sake instead of brushing him off and then sweeping the floor ...
I thought I'd "save time" and just carry his chair with him in it to the deck and have him simply stand up and brush off outside.
But remember this post of my deck adventures earlier this summer?
Yup ...
It happened again.
The door apparently slammed behind me as my hands were carrying Nolan in his chair ... and we were both once again stuck outside on the deck, 12+ feet in the air, 10am in the morning ... and wait, it gets better, since I was working on finishing some sewing and a church logo and about 3 other things I was still in my jammies ... and bare foot!

UG!

So after I threw my little tantrum and while pounding on the door (no doubt amusing Nolan quite a bit) I hoisted myself down over the side of the railing once again, totally NOT feeling quite as confident this time and wondering if I would fall and end up in worse shape than Jeff! But I did make it down and around the house to unlatch the stuck door.
"Funny" how this happened just BEFORE school was out in the spring (therefore the older boys were not home to help) and now it happens again AFTER school is back in session and the older boys are not here once again.

Fitting title, eh?

But, aside from that we also went to Adventureland Amusement Park in Des Moines about 2 weeks ago and I am finally getting around to sharing some photos of our fun.

Bumper Cars

Brayden, Easton and Jeff braved the Log Ride!

While Nolan and I checked out the Speed Boats.

My Favorite ride by far! The Raging River--

After waiting what seemed like eternity in line ... we got SO drenched!

Just for the record I am not a roller coaster loving girl. Swings are a real stretch for me. Luckily ... I have one child, Nolan, who shares those same genes. (Bummer for him.)
Notice his death grip on his dad's shirt and his terrified face?

Don't worry, he was never in danger ... I'm the biggest scary-cat and look at my smile.

And they totally noticed that it was a raft FULL of boys and set the River on "FULL SOAK" I swear! Thankfully I was not there to impress anyone, so looking a bit wet was just fine.

Jeff convinced Nolan and I to go on the Ferris Wheel. (Both of our first times!) Nolan's look of concern was nothing short of the look of apprehension on my face I'm sure.

The train ride at the end of the day was Nolan's favorite he said although I think it was the boats that he drove first ... he was just in shock after the BIG rides and he was clinging to what he knew best!

And it was the perfect day to wear the handmade bracelet Brayden made me for my birthday!

The day in the big amusement park was topped off just perfectly (for me anyway) as we stopped in a small town on the way home just STARVING and had the best Chinese dinner in a family run Chinese restaurant! (Thanks Jeff!)

Poor Easton however had to make due with another ham sandwich left over from our noon "sack-lunch" in the car (boy are we ~~cheap~~ economical) on the car ride home as he not only dislikes rice but he claims most Chinese dishes. Go figure--I think he thinks it all tastes like my lousy attempts at making it. Poor boy.

What happens when you have several boys ...

2011-08-28T13:54:00.001-05:00

Twenty years ago ... no ... even ten years ago ... if you would have told me that I would someday be the mom to THREE very, very, very active and sports-loving boys and no girly-girls I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have believed you.

You see, I'm an artist, a quilter, a sewer, a pianist ... I like dresses and little girl stuff, LOVE stuffed animals and dolls, should I go on? If you would have told me that in 2011 I would be spending my days separating boys from wrestling matches in the living room, shuttling boys to hockey, baseball, football ... running to see the latest toad that was caught ... hmmm ... that would have been a bit of a shock to me. But then again ... I did spend a lot of time with my brother and dad while growing up ... and I do have a long love of camouflage ... and Batman and matchbox cars that goes WAY back.
I was reminded so sweetly this week that, "God doesn't call the equipped, but equips those He calls." Yes, He was preparing me for this job as momma to this houseful of boys long, long ago ... even while I was loving the girlier things that most girls love.

But this week has been one of THOSE weeks in our household. Easton broke out in massive unexplained hives on Saturday and Sunday of last week. School started in full-force for our two oldest boys. Hockey tryouts for Brayden were Tuesday and Thursday, as well as baseball tryouts on Saturday. And right in the middle of it all ... while I was helping Brayden with his math homework at the hockey arena ... Easton decided to try hitting a "home-run" with his little brother's hockey stick. Problem was ... his little brother was right in front of him!

Thankfully, although it immediately looked super-nasty and I was super-not-happy, it was just a cut and bruise to his tender eyelid and did not hurt his sight or eyeball! Thank you God! And, now Sunday, it is almost healed (minus some really cool eye-shadow-ish shades that still are on the eyelid.) Wednesday morning (when this photo was taken) he could barely open his right eye. UG!
(Easton did feel really, really bad by the way that he had done this.)

Brayden also bent his thumb all the way backwards for the second or third time this summer while ~~practicing for his postition in the NFL~~ playing football with his dad, the horse had to see the horse chiropractor (I kid you not) and Jeff fell to his knees in the barn yesterday afternoon when his back gave out with a "POP" while lifting some heavy farm equipment!!
Did I forget anything in there? Oh yeah, my back hurt a bit from that earlier injury during the boating trip over the 4th of July that for some reason resurfaced out of the blue while vacuuming but really, who had time to worry about that?!

Thankfully again, the hives were nothing we can figure out and they are gone, the thumb is healing, the eyelid is looking much, much better, my back is feeling better and Jeff ... well ... the doctor said that it is a muscular injury and not skeletal ... so he should be feeling better in, um, six weeks or so. (gulp.)

But amid all the trauma and drama some really cool things have happened this week as well. And I'm just bursting at the seams to share, but don't know how much info I should share as it isn't my story to tell in full.
However, I am asking you to please lift up this little one in prayer

as well as the forever family who is pursuing her with the deepest love!! I have no doubt that it will bring God so much glory as it unfolds!!
She has unexplainably been on my heart so big this week ... sure, I was hopeful that maybe, just maybe she was our daughter?! Hmmm ... no, Jeff has not come to me with a green light on that topic ... but I'm Hopeful always. And there was something about this girl ... Hope. And through a series of clicks and prayer can you believe that I ended up unexpectedly on the site of the family who hopes like mad to be her family someday soon!!! I cannot explain enough what an answer to prayer this is because that has been one of my prayers lately--that her God-appointed forever family was being prepared for her. And when I first was looking at her hopeful forever-family's blog (that at the time I didn't know if they were even interesting in pursuing her or if they were just drawn to pray for her too,) I quietly said, "God, if I should bother this family with an email to ask more, please give me some sort of sign ... because I don't want to go where you don't want me to be."
Seriously ... it was barely off my tongue and as I scrolled down a few posts from earlier this month I saw this ...

In case you may not know ... my maiden name begins with the letter "P" and my married last name ...
is "Almquist"
What are the chances of this?!
It's not like my last name is something common like Smith or Jones.
And can God be THIS literal?! THIS immediate?! THIS hilarious?!
Well ... in case you are curious, no this is NOT their last name, neither is Almquist, but it is one of their family members' new-to-be last names through marriage and this mamma was throwing a shower for her and had this photo on her site earlier in the month--perhaps when I first began feeling this pang about Hope ...
God-incidence for sure.
God hears our every prayer and longs for us to talk with him and have a relationship with him.
I just know that he heard my heart, just as he knows this family's heart right now.
They are headed into some crucial moments right now in their adoption process and are asking for prayer--you don't need to know who they are of course (I'll check to see if I can pass that info along) because God knows them.

Please pray that the file for this little one is ready in China right now!
That this family pursuing her can get their paperwork in order quickly and can lock her file.
That their hearts would be open to God's leading if this is not their child ... but that ... HOPEfully she IS!
They are so perfectly prepared for her exact SN.
I don't know why I have been drawn to pray for Hope ... but I am so glad that God has allowed me to do so and feel included in her journey and that you will be praying for her too.
Blessings!

A Little Poof and Swirl for Yourself

2011-08-23T22:53:00.001-05:00

Instead of blogging about my youngest son's black eye (induced by my second son and a hockey stick that was used as a baseball bat tonight at my oldest son's hockey tryouts--it was an accident of course ...please explain that to my gray hairs that are spouting by the dozen) OR the first day of school for B and E and the photos they humored me with OR the ba-jillion other things that have simply kept me running like a chicken with my head cut off for the last 2 weeks ...

I'd like to remind you of a little poof and swirl for yourself.

Because if you're like me ... getting the family back to school and packing away "summer" is no small undertaking and maybe you need a little pampering too about now.

Don't ya love this little set?!

What a pick-me-up.

I have the PERFECT fabric to make a matching little girl outfit to match this Vera Bradley purse set too... and guess what?

Both could be YOURS!

Okay, not everybody has a need for a little girl skirt (however if you do, check out my sewing site
www.ruffledfeatherscompany.blogspot.com )... BUT I'm gonna guess that 99% of my readers (if not more) carry a purse of some sort. And if it's like mine ... well ... it could use an update and maybe a download of a few matchbox cars, a toy cell phone, 6 half eaten snacks, some "special" gravel rocks, blown in kleenex and maybe 16 pens/crayons/pencils.

The coolest part about this purse ... and about 10 other sets in all ... is that they are helping to bring home a young lady named Kelia to her family.

Click on over to THIS POST to see the entire collection that is available and the HOW TO'S in getting a chance at one of these hanging off your shoulder.

The fundraiser is drawing to a close so don't miss out!!! It ends August 26th and there is still plenty of room for your participation, in fact they are praying for it. This is not the first journey of adoption for this family ... but it has been their hardest.

And just think of the conversation you could kick up when somebody comments on your Lovely Purse!

I'm thinking that they would definitely hold an ice pack super-well ... ya know ... just in case.

Thankful Thursday--More Ruffles

2011-08-18T16:33:00.002-05:00

Oooooo-how could I not share these other wonderful photos from the Ruffled Feathers Tea Party!

Enjoy!

Krisha: Beauty in bloom!

Cora patiently waiting ...

... to twirl ...

Khloe: A China doll!

What a princess!

The key to any outfit is to accessorize! And Lucy Kate's hair bobbles match perfectly!

Yes, you are an angel!

I did not make these next two dresses ... but have waiting patiently for 9 years to see a little girl in them! (they were from my baby closet) And they wear them beautifully.

Determined not to be left out ... even if the skirt was a wee bit big :-) SO sweet!

And a little help from a friend to get it just right ...

Angela ... You are my sunshine ...

Ahhhh, Eliana snagged the dots skirt and shines with a bright smile!

Beautiful Claire

Wasn't that fun!
AND as sprinkles on top of this already special treat ...
I just found out that my birthday wish CAME TRUE!
Sweet Jade (scroll down to Aug. 5th for the photo and story) has a family of her own.
Even before her 6th birthday--it is sure to be a special year for her.
(Wow--I should have made a few birthday wishes I guess!)
What an incredible week!

Wordless Wednesday: Ruffled Feathers

2011-08-17T07:58:00.000-05:00

Beautiful!

Khloe: More Pink Seeds

2011-08-15T13:53:00.001-05:00

Two posts in one day?

--oh my--

Recently I had the pleasure of making a sponsorship button for one of my FAVORITE ND sweeties who just happens to be on "my list" of kids whose monthly updates to sponsors I help edit. Oh my goodness--what a CUTIE-PIE! Can someone actually be so cute that it hurts? Apparently so!

I'm pretty sure I remember catching my breath when I saw her photo for the first time on the ND site. I know ... I shouldn't have favorites ... but then again ... why not.

And can you believe that 3 of "my" children from the original Updates Kids list I received have already been adopted and another 4 on my current list are *spoken for and 2 of those already joined their forever families this past week!--woooo whooo!

Only Rosie and Renee remain on my list without an * by their name ... (the * denotes adoption pending.) I will be so excited when their forever families are called to them and they finally have the * too. They are such treasured rubies I am sure! What joy they will bring in filling the empty spot that waits especially for them.

These are "my kiddos"

who are on my fridge to remind me to pray for them.

Just last week I had the joy of running across two forever families that are waiting for their children who are currently at New Day. One of them even happened to be the family of one of the children on my list!--Sweet Khloe's forever family (see her, upper left?!)... What a blessing to know that they are traveling for her VERY SOON after a very, very long wait! They are in the final stages of fundraising for their trip in a month. Their fundraiser can be found HERE. (password: Khloe2011)

It was a blessing to be able drop her a note right before Khloe's 4th birthday last week and have the opportunity to include a Ruffled Feathers Company gift certificate in the prize list of this last give-away fundraiser for her! God's perfect timing once again.

Some of the other SaWeeT! prizes include: 2 key fobs from Kelly at Keys to China and a gift certificate donated by Tina to Baby Be Blessed and a tee shirt from BrickOven Tee AND the biggie-prize is a color NOOK from Barnes and Noble. Check it out HERE to see all the wonderful prizes and how you can be eligible for winning them!

**Wendy, Khloe's mom notes: Just a $5 Donation would be such a HUGE help in bringing Khloe home and will give you a couple of entries into the Gift Item of your choice!**

Also, if you would like to help bring Khloe home, there is a link to their CHIP-IN on my sidebar right by the other CHIP-IN for New Day's surgery fund that has a MATCHING FUNDS challenge.

Did you all see that one over there?! It's having a bit of a SLOW start ... but I just have a feeling that it will take off soon with your help. I just LOVE the idea of doubling the giving amount!

Both are great opportunities to make a big difference in a little one's life. Someone you may never meet ... but who will be forever grateful.

AND If you are a sponsor of a New Day child I would be happy to make you a button of your special child for your blog. Just send me an email ... I try to get them done quickly ... sometimes they are a wee-bit delayed and with school starting I may be creating them while dabbing my tear-filled eyes with Kleenex ... but I always love to create them! And if you already have a button and would like it "refreshed" with a newer photo, just send me a request for that as well.

whew!

I've never done 2 posts in one day.

Guess I couldn't help but to share.

Happy Birthday Easton!

2011-08-15T10:02:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to our sweet six year old!
We love you so much Easton. XXOOXXOO
You are such a gift to us with your lovable character, wise thoughtfulness and deep, deep heart.
Thank you God for this precious son!
What a gift you have entrusted to us!
Love,
Mom and Dad

Easton with his first Crappie fish at the cabin

Easton with the tree he transplanted

from Minnesota to Iowa this summer

Full

2011-08-12T16:10:00.000-05:00

I guess I've actually reached the max capacity given out for "free" on images for my blog (probably because I run Ruffled Feathers together with our family blog??)

SO, I'm trying to decide if I should print a blog book and delete past posts to make more room ... or just delete photos from past posts. Or pay a little bit for more room. Ug.

Has anyone had this problem? And does anyone have any good recommendations on who they may have used to capture and record their blogs? I did trial run one (I can't remember the name, but I didn't commit to it yet.) It looked very cool. Just not sure if it was $145.00 cool, ya know.

But one thing is for sure ... my little guys have grown SO MUCH! I can't believe it going back and looking at some of those photos in the old posts! As if I needed any more help being sentimental! Especially this time of year. Oh my.

Wordless Wednesday: Horsin' Around

2011-08-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

Thankful Tuesday and an Opportunity

2011-08-09T11:03:00.001-05:00

FINALLY the severely oppressive humidity that has been lingering here in the MidWest most of the summer (I kid you not) has lifted! And as a person who likes hot weather, I gotta say, even I was sick of it! We've had the air conditioning off and our windows open for nearly 26 hours now and to hear the crickets and the locusts singing ... as well as the boys playing outside (and lets be real here ... fighting at times ... but working through that fighting without my help) is music to my ears!

But I'm bummed that the summer is almost gone.
School starts ... NEXT WEEK!!
The summer always goes too quick and the first 2 weeks of summer when we were just trying to set the schedule of being all together all day long seem like a distant memory. I'm jealous for my kids already who soon will be stolen away for most of their days by the public school system to learn and grow and reach their educational potential.

I love school and I'm so thankful that they have the opportunity to learn so much. It's just that they are growing up so fast ... and when I have them next summer they won't be THIS age any more. And that is a bummer. I'm sure next year will be fun with the perks of a 9, 7 and 4 year old ... but right now I simply want MORE of my 8, 6 and 3 year old.

But time marches on regardless of my wishes doesn't it.

As I was filling out all the school registration forms for this upcoming year (thankful that I can do most of it online before going to the actual registration where I simply write out the big check instead of doing all the paperwork there on the spot with 3 kids in tow in a hot, sticky, fly-bothering gym like my mom used to have to struggle through with the long process) I literally paused while breezing through the medical forms ...

What a blessing that I can check the NO box on all the medical issues for my boys--and to see their shots record full of dates and immunizations ... wow.
I am so thankful that their lives haven't been threatened by ALL those scary things like Polio or Measles, Mumps, Ruebella ... and that God chose to form them without any life-threatening issues.

I found myself reading about heart defects in infants the other night.
Ya, maybe not the light reading on the night of my birthday while Jeff prepared his Sunday School lesson that I normally would have chosen. And I'm not sure why I was drawn to it ... but I so much suddenly wanted to learn about PFO and ASD and VSD for once instead of just reading the letters.--I didn't understand it all of course, but to read through the process of the formation of the heart during gestation and then also how the chambers begin working at birth, closing and flowing blood for the first time is SO AMAZING! What a miracle it all is and again I am so thankful that the chambers fully closed for each of our boys (to our knowledge.) The heart is a scary subject for me as heart problems later in life tends to genetically run in our family ... and well "later-in-life" actually included my father who had his first heart attack at age 37. That seems SO young!
Because here I am at 41.

I love it when I'm called to pause and be thankful over things that I know I take for granted way too often. I am so thankful. So very, very thankful for so much.

So when I left filling out the forms yesterday and went back to the computer I noticed a wonderful opportunity to bless the medical fund at New Day one more time!
Oh man, and that's when I knew God had been walking with me and preparing my heart to see how my thankfulness could meet being His hands and feet! He had my attention and He was going to show me something in a new way.

Did you notice the new Chip-In button on the top of the sidebar?
I think this is the third Matching Funds opportunity that I've seen this summer and it is so crazy cool! An anonymous generous heart has laid out there a challenge. For EVERY DOLLAR pledged through their Chip-In button toward the New Day Medical/Surgery fund THEY WILL MATCH IT!
Up to $5000!
Which if met, would give New Day $10,000 to help children with medical needs!

Now, this is the cool part. You are not being asked to give a huge impossible amount. Even a little adds up ... and adds up quickly as it is doubled!
I know that the summer started off with a similar challenge by someone else and it was met so quickly that I totally missed the boat to give! How cool was that! But I was bummed, I wanted my little gift to be doubled.
And luckily, I caught the next giving opportunity and it happened we got to be a part of helping to heal sweet Roy's heart as well as a few other children's Special Needs too! Maybe you saw one of these earlier challenges and missed them too or maybe you were blessed by being a part of them.
And here's one more chance for you to be a part of something so much bigger!

It comes at a really good time because ND has taken in several heart babies recently to fill the places of the sweeties who have left to go home with their forever families! Some have "smaller" heart issues ... some have more "major" issues. But regardless of the severity, to know that a procedure is available to help cure or alleviate their condition it really calls to OUR hearts to reach out and help if possible.

I know that this may be a tough time to give with all the back-to-school bills ... however ... there are also a good deal of sales out there and perhaps the money you intended to spend, but saved ... could be in part pledged to make such a difference in the lives of these children who wait for their forever families. Even if it's simply $5 or 10--because, hey, that actually becomes $10 or 20!
Thanks ... and be mindful of all the overlooked blessings in your life--God uses them sometimes when you least expect it!

Sowing Pink Flowers and Jade

2011-08-05T09:34:00.001-05:00

My birthday is tomorrow and since I'm probably not going to take time to blog I thought I'd make this post today. I will be 41.

(funny how I always thought I'd have life "figured out" by the time I was 32 ... I didn't even have kids by that age! HA! Age is so much MORE than a number.)

Glad I'm having a birthday--not so thrilled about the "number" of course ... but I guess that just means that I'd like to savor things a bit longer. Perhaps that's a testament to how blessed I am. If things were bad I'd want to fast forward instead of linger here, right?

I have been pondering things lately--trying to get an idea of what direction I'm headed--of course no answers abound in long format. But that keeps things interesting. If I knew too much where would the anticipation in that be? And I'm sure I'd find plenty to complain about with how "I" think it should really unfold.

The less fortunate of the world continue to be on my heart--especially orphans. It just hurts to think that a child looks forward into their day without the promise of love of a family or a mom or dad or even food or safety that is guaranteed. It breaks my heart that the abundance that I take so for granted is not something that I can necessarily share in the way that I envision.

But there are things that can be done--and most importantly that draws me closer to God and what can be more beautiful than that? He can get things done--even the seemingly most impossible. "He Has the Whole World In His Hands" was a song I used to sing and sing and sing as a child--I need to remember those words more often.

So I bought a birthday present for myself yesterday and I encourage YOU to visit this etsy site too if you haven't already. The jewelry is gorgeous and the cause is HEARTFUL!

*Sales benefit The Sparrow Fund, a nonprofit committed to encouraging and supporting families as they prepare for the adventure of adoption.*

My choice was instantaneous when I saw it ...

Instantaneous.

Sowing Pink Flowers in Kenya Wrap Bracelet

Seed Pod Bracelet to Benefit Adoption

And as another birthday present to myself I cannot help but post about one of the sweetpeas that has crossed my blogging path lately--and there have been many, oh my!

I have to admit that I find myself looking into their faces and asking those deep questions: "Could you be my child? Could I be your mom? Could I possibly fill part of the void that you long to fill? Could our family grow each of our hearts to make room for one more? Would I even begin to take on the challenge of seeing your pain and trying to help those wounds heal? Am I strong enough or wise enough or compassionate enough? Would the shortness to which I surely would fall still be enough?"--and they are questions that remain unanswered because they are not the easy or obvious choices and certainly not ones our society leans toward making. And certainly not ones that make for easy family discussions or happy husbands who are stressed enough with plain ol' work or tired moms who really would like 5 minutes alone to go to the bathroom solo or a trip to the mall by herself!

So we wait and think and think that really this must not be God's will for us. It must be someone else. Someone who is wiser, more patient, more faithful ... more of where we wish we were I guess.

And so with thinking we miss so much. Not that I am against thinking! I just believe that when there isn't praying along with the thinking so many opportunities for what God could have for us are missed.

So this birthday, I have a birthday wish.

But my birthday wish isn't for me ... but for her.

Because I bet it's her birthday wish as well.

For a family to call HER OWN.

This is Jade.

And when I look into her beautiful eyes and imagine her soft cheek snuggling up against my arm for a book to be read, I cannot help but to see a GEM waiting to be discovered! She is 5 and was abandoned due to the lack of pigmentation in her skin/hair/eyes. She has a condition called Albinism. And isn't she simply beautiful!!

So this birthday I am praying that whatever family God has in mind to set this child into, that it will happen soon.

She waits.

and soon she will be 6 (Oct.),

and then 7,

and her hope will begin to fade.

Her file states that she is "developmentally delayed," but her caregivers say, "she is bright and catching up with her peers."

Many orphanages often lack adequate stimulation for children and they fall behind in many areas and even more so for children with SN whom may not get the most attention. Her file also states that, "she is verbal and asks questions when she is comfortable. BUT, that she is shy and timid. Maybe even stubborn." It's possible those three things worked against her when her IQ test was administered.
It is possible they did not.

It's hard to know what the truth is, but I wonder if the truth really needs to be known for her to find a family who will love her.

I remember my 6th birthday as being one of my very, very favorites. I hope her sixth birthday in a few months is for her too! Hopefully she will have a family in pursuit of her by then.

Please, spread the word about darling Jade. She deserves to be more than a diagnosis. She deserves to be a daughter, a sister. Loved.

Storybook Pixie Knot Dress FINISHED!

2011-08-04T08:32:00.002-05:00

Remember when I posted about a fabric that I instantly fell in love with?!?!

This was before the whole New Day Tea Party dress fest that took over our dining room table for about a week. I think it may have actually been the "fuel" to kick me into the right "sewing gear" to make the Ruffled Feathers Tea Party come together!

Well, I received a very special request for a dress and doll dress out of this fabric soon after I posted about it ... and the fabric arrived the DAY before leaving for vacation ... so it was set aside in the rush to pack.

And after the storm hit and made such a mess of things right after our return I didn't get to this for longer than I had hoped ... thankfully I had a long deadline.

BUT when I did start sewing on it ... I couldn't stop!

It was SUCH SWEETNESS!

It actually came together amazingly quickly and turned out even cuter than I had imagined!

I found the PERFECT buttons.

(YES, I can sew on buttons if you don't like the "knot" look!)

Click on any photo to see it larger

The project was for a sweet lil' girl's 4th birthday present and for her start to preschool in the fall!

And the most exciting part was having the opportunity to work on a matching BittyBaby/Bitty Twin outfit! I've been dreaming of this for over a year dabbling in it a bit for a few give-aways, but now I think I have it down and it really turned out great.

Sweetness

The velcro is an easy closure for little hands in the back

And likewise on the BACK of the straps, so the knot on the front stays looking pretty.

And as icing on the cake, when I delivered the dresses last week, I came to find that the little girl's parents both attended the same small, close-knit Lutheran college, Luther College, that I did!

(albeit, several years AFTER I graduated.)

God is so in the details.

And ... because there really is no end to the neat fabrics out there ...

I've already found a few more that I just love (sigh)

This one I have on hand and it reminds me so much of some fabric that MY mom hand-made

a special kindergarten dress for me out of. I wonder if she still has that dress somewhere?

I am just looking for a project for this. Let me know if you are having a hard time resisting it ;-)

(The colors are pink, purple and white on a cocoa brown background.)

And this one I'm having a hard time locating ...

but since I really, really like it I will hunt it down!

Email me if you would like something special sewn for someone special in your life :-)

Ruffled Feathers in Transit

2011-08-03T07:35:00.001-05:00

Whew! They are off--in the mail--to NY and then off to New Day!
The total?
14 skirts and dresses for 14 beautiful little girls.
I am so excited and hopeful that they arrive to much joy and excitement and that they just fit perfectly. I wish I would have had time to make a tutu--but I didn't. But quite honestly without a firm deadline I could have continued to make skirts endlessly for them! It was SO MUCH FUN!
So I had to remind myself that it was important to focus and get the main package in the mail with plenty of time on the other end ... especially because it made for a pretty big package and will take some fanagelling (not sure on the spelling of that) to get them all to fit in a suitcase with everything else. Sorry Karen! Did I mention it was a pretty big box?

Because of this, I had to readdress the Chip In total by the way--I somehow forgot to figure in the shipping cost in my first numbers ... AND I also made a few extra skirts that brought the total to cover the 14 girls that I counted up between the ages of 2 and 7 (praying I didn't miss anyone!)

These are the final two skirts I made--I think I love them best--but that's usually the case of the things I sew. The last thing finished is my favorite. And then I see the next fabric combination and fall in love all over again. HA! I seriously love all the skirts and knot dresses we've sent. It will be so fun to see them on the different girls. Especially since the leggings are so mix and match interchangeable. Some are capris, some are long, some have buttons ... there will definitely be options ... and to the future mamas to these girls I apologize if I've started something in them that will require a large closet down the road. However, let me assure you ... I can help fill it (heehee!)

Anyway, I am excited and hopeful for these to bring many smiles and many days of fun play!
Pray with me that they do.
I have a hopeful heart that perhaps a Forever Family will see the first glimpse of their little girl wearing one of these special hand-tailored items or that it will simply fill her heart with love wrapped up in a little girly twirl or two while she waits.

Did I mention that I'm so stinkin' excited to see the girls in their new twirls?
Ya I did didn't I.
Well, I know you are too!

Ruffled Feathers Tea Party Dresses and Skirts!

2011-07-31T21:09:00.001-05:00

Here are the dresses and skirts for the Ruffled Feathers New Day Tea Party (see post below)--
I've remedied the problem I was having with posting photos, yay!

New Day Ruffled Feathers Tea Party

Skirts and Dresses

2T/3T sizes

18-24mo sizes

2T size

4T-6T sizes

You Are My Sunshine--2T size

Sweet Treats--24 mo size

4T--Lilac Whisper

(I have a beautiful pr. of purple leggings paired with this.)

If you'd like to donate to defray the cost of the fabric and the leggings you can do so at the Chip-In button on the side bar or email me for other options.
Thanks!

Join the Ruffled Feathers Tea Party!

2011-07-30T13:45:00.002-05:00

My friend Sarah, who is one of my best Ruffled Feathers customers, had a BEAUTIFUL idea about 4 weeks ago. She asked if anyone had ever "sponsored" sending a large order of Ruffled Feathers Company dresses and skirts to the sweet girls at New Day.

Huh.
What a novel idea.
Why did that NEVER cross my mind?!

Well, when I first read her idea, I thought, "WOW! That would be so cool! ... but then I also thought ... Wow, that would be way too much work. yikes!"I was just heading out on vacation and the boys are well, boys and quite a.c.t.i.v.e.

But the idea would not leave me ... it kept swirling in my mind ... "what if "..."Wouldn't it be cool"...
"Maybe I could make 3 or 4 skirts"--which turned into 5 or 6 skirts and then I started counting up the girls that were a wee bit older at least and would enjoy some good ol' fashioned twirling clothes. The kind your mother may have made you when you were a girl sewing them at her dining room table while you played underneath by her toes.

So, here it is. I'm going to lay it out there for anyone to participate in (and I gotta apologize for the lateness of this but I struggled with how to present this quite honestly--I seriously want this to be a blessing to the gals at New Day--not a way for me to make money (although if you come back and order your own Ruffled Feathers skirt or dress I would be THRILLED!) If you'd like to "sponsor" a dress/skirt or a portion of the cost of a dress/skirt for the Ruffled Feathers Tea Party please leave me a comment or email me or just use the chip in button that I hope to post soon. Any amount is fine, the skirts run around $26 retail and the knot dresses $38. However, I'm mainly looking to defray the cost of the fabric and also the cost of the leggings that I've chosen to send along with each of them (so they can wear the skirts into the colder winter months too in full chic-style!) What better time for tea than when it's chilly?!

Currently, Sarah and I are working together to send 9 skirts and 3 knot dresses (that's the count right now at least) to 12 sweet gals at New Day (ages 2-7ish??) Like I said, this is a work in progress. I would LOVE to do this again if they have fun with it! (I might even throw in a tutu or two if I have time to make one!) The thing is, I'd like to send them to NY early this week so they can go back with a traveler leaving at the end of the week, that way I can avoid having added expense of International mailing. That doesn't mean that we can't keep the fundraising open for a bit longer however! ... and hey, if you aren't interested that's okay too. I just would LOVE to involve everyone who might want to be! So pass this around, let everyone know. I need to send them off probably by Monday afternoon so if you have any special requests (I'll try to honor special requests on who gets what skirt on a first-come-first-serve basis) make them before I box 'em and ship 'em.

I'll post some photos ASAP, so keep checking back. But I wanted to get this out there to get it churning in your minds too. I will be posting a chip in button on my sidebar.
And Sarah! What an AWESOME idea!
I simply cannot wait to see some sweet lil' gals having a tea party and Ruffling some Feathers half way around the globe.
gives me goosebumps!
Let me know what ya think!

Our God Is Greater!

2011-07-25T07:36:00.000-05:00

Did you see this?!
Ding! Ding! Ding! DING!

Our God is absolutely AMAZING! This is the thermometer from the Blessings A Hundred Fold site! Sweet Elizabeth is coming home to her forever family. WOW. Just over a year ago her family started this journey. Although I dreamed that the thermometer would someday shoot upward into RED all the way to the TOP, never did I imagine the road that would unfold in that journey ... or the pace at which the end would rise to! I am in AWE of God--He is ever faithful and always completes His good work which He has begun in us.

So, the day after my birthday, on August 7th, The Rippee family will be traveling in-country to begin the first official steps of Elizabeth's adoption process. How sweet it is! In God's own timing, having grown each of us who traveled with her family on this journey and in our own hearts toward HIM.
To God be the glory!

I also want to point out a BEAUTIFUL benefit for another adoptive family who are currently in-process to bring home a daughter into their family. Check out HERE Michele and Brad's COOL T's. Available in either PINK or BLACK--What a sweet way to speak your heart for God AND to help support adoption by helping this family! And the SWEETEST part is that they are ONLY 12 bucks a piece!

How unbelievably cool.

Buy one for you, your hubby and the kids. (available in unisex classic style up to 2XL, and also ladies fitted to XL and a few children's sizes too!)

Just in time for back-to-school!

And ... can I just add that I am giddy about having a second PINK thing in my closet?!

http://hemovesmountains.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweet-blessings.html

Summer is FLYING by.

2011-07-22T11:29:00.000-05:00

I am WAY behind on posting for the summer ... in fact, I'm way behind on about everything. So, here are some fav images from our baseball season that ended in June. Just the photos ma'am ... no time for much else.

Nolan was in seventh heaven with the ring pop that he scored on a Saturday morning at one of his brother's games.

Easton got to practice at one of Brayden's practices. As it was Easton's first time in the outfield it left him a little bored at times. Luckily he kept himself busy spending some time drawing in the dust.

Mr. Brayden ONE tooth. We've been waiting for this tooth to fall out since February's ski trip! He hates any sort of pain ... and he was perfectly fine having it hang there crooked by one root. UG!
He actually FINALLY lost the other one last Friday night too so anticipate a post on that sometime before ... well ... Fall.)

A Lost Week

2011-07-15T10:04:00.002-05:00

Returning from vacation is never fun but I am glad to report that no one came back with Lyme Disease this year! Yay!
I did try to lift a cooler while standing on the opposite side of the boat while twisting ... um ... NOT a good idea as my back instantly hurt in a bad way. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Actually ... it's clear I wasn't thinking.

It is starting to feel better for which I am thankful. All in all, it was a good time away with family.

So you may have noticed (maybe?) that I've been away for a tad longer than what a normal vacation should merit? Well, we returned Saturday at 2(yawn)am in the morning, had a friendly gathering to attend later in the day and with the next day being Sunday I was really counting on Monday being my shake and move day of getting back into the groove and things put away.

Not God's plan.

5am Monday morning: I awoke to loud thunder and lightening ... I looked outside trying to make out what was on the deck in the driving rain, determining between lightening strikes that it wasn't hail, but actually pulverized leaves! And that train-like wooshing sound of wind was accompanied by tornado sirens. With my back a bit tender still, I ran upstairs and told Jeff he needed to get up and get the kids to the basement NOW!, meanwhile scooping up Nolan (ouch to the back) and heading down the stairs. I'm not one to normally TELL Jeff what to do in that matter-of-fact bossy tone of directive-ness but judging by the bend of the trees (totally sideways) and odd sounds outside of stuff hitting the house it was time to get going. No time for gently waking him from his sleep.

This is the first sight upon opening the garage door when the storm had passed.

Leaves pulverized on every side of our house and sticks everywhere!

It was not a tornado, however since there were leaves on ALL sides of our house and we only have trees directly on the west side I'm thinking there was some circular motion happening. The storm took down 4 trees in our tree-line next to our house and scattered debris in the form of leaves, branches, sticks, pulverized leaves so thick on our one+ acre lawn the boys and I literally had to rake the entire lawn (I kid you not) over the course of 5 hours! (The photos just do not do it justice at all. This is our lane.)

And let me add that it is HOT here in Iowa right now, like 90-some degrees plus humidity ... there was NO phone and NO electricity which not only meant no TV (torture for Easton poor boy--no escape from the chore of picking up the yard) but also no water (we have our own well and septic since we live in the country.) And since we had been gone we didn't even have a pitcher of filtered water in the fridge.

This is a really bad shot of our tree-line, but it shows some of the trees blown over.

I gave the boys rootbeer pop to their hearts desire, which usually would be their dream, however they really just wanted a good glass of water! We did end up driving to town and buying some bottled stuff later in the day.

While raking I came across a tiny baby bird who had been blown from his nest. Orphaned, it was huddled in the grass slowly dying in the hot sun. I hate to admit that I had actually raked over it, but I did not see it until it squawked! He seemed fine ... but was hungry and alone and way tinier than the little one photo-ed (I could not bare to actually take his photo.) I was stunned and flustered--I didn't know what to do. I stood there staring at it ... Angry because it just seemed so unfair that the little bird wouldn't get to learn to fly or even grow in all its feathers--knowing if I touched it the mama would reject it. But I also knew that in the hot sun it was sure to die. I was also a bit miffed that the boys didn't seem so much compassionate as they did curious wanting to poke him with sticks! So alone (since the boys thought I was silly) I said a few words for him in a little prayer asking for God to look over him because I just didn't know what I could do that would really help. I went about my raking trying to just let "nature" do its thing mulling over why my kids didn't ooze with the compassion that I was sure I had as a child--and that's when I was determined to SHOW them compassion, even in the light of a somewhat impossible situation. I returned determined to give the little bird at least a little chance and hopefully make an impact on my own little ones. I found part of a bird nest (maybe it was his former home?) Carefully picked him up with my gloved hands and some leaves (I've never held a wild baby bird before, it was tremendous feeling that little tiny life squawking in my palm!) And carefully I put him in the nest ... his mouth wide open looking for food ... me unable to provide anything but shade and some temporary safety for him and maybe a slim chance. I put the nest up in a tree and prayed for the best for him ... later I saw the mama bird I think squawking loudly to the baby ... but then later in the afternoon I saw that the nest had fallen from the tree and there was no sign of the baby bird anywhere. I am hopeful that somehow ... someway ... he is okay ...
I tried really hard to save it ... and I know that God doesn't even let one little sparrow fall to the earth without knowing it. And since I could not find the little guy anywhere on the ground or in the tree I am going to believe that he is in good hands--or wings. There have been many conversations since then from the boys on where the bird is and how it was pretty cool to try to get him back to his mama. The consensus is that the mama bird picked him up and flew him back to a new nest ... and I'm not gonna question that
:-)

We are very grateful that there was no damage to the house or to any of us! The neighboring town of Vinton, a beautiful, lush older town known for it's old arching trees over the streets, lost 75% of their trees! The fairgrounds were hit hard, homes, businesses, and The Braille and Site-Saving School (Yes. the same one Mary Ingalls--Laura Ingalls Wilder's sister from Little House on the Prairie books/TV series-- attended!) all are without roofs... due to the tremendous straight-line winds. But again, I don't think there were any people injured ... which considering how many tree branches and metal building parts were flying around is such a blessing! It could have been MUCH worse.

Anyway, it's been pretty much a Lost Week. We continue to saw down trees and haul branches... in fact as soon as Jeff gets home we'll be at it again. I did try a bit of it myself yesterday morning with a carpenter's saw since I have no idea how to use or start a chain saw. Actually, having been to the emergency room twice for cutting my finger with x-acto blades at work while trimming my graphic design work I'm pretty sure it's a good idea I go nowhere near a chainsaw.
But there is still so much left to do. I think the funniest thing is that on Sunday night long before the storm, I mentioned something to Jeff about me being his "delicate-flower." I'm not even sure what the conversation was and it was said in half humor because I am nowhere near "delicate" and probably had to do with my non-delicate life that I lead in this house of boys. But believe me it did come up again the next night when his "delicate-flower" was sweating up a storm while hauling and cutting wood like nobody's business. Too funny.
I guess maybe I'm more of a sturdy-flower. And I'm glad to be home ... even if I am a bit behind!

A Few of My Favorite Things--June

2011-07-01T11:33:00.000-05:00

June was a fun month for sewing. I received some really great orders and these are some of my favorites!

American Flag Tank

I wish I had made these far enough in advance that I could have posted them further out from The Fourth of July! I better start on my Christmas line now ;-)

Do keep in mind that any fabric can be used for this design.

The LizzyBeth Skirt with matching tank

SUCH a striking outfit! I want one in MY size! (if only I could pull it off.)

Sweet Treats N' Flutterbys

I LOVE this lightweight, no need for iron, sugar sweet fabric!

So summery, so light, so sweet in color!

Amy Butler Collection Side-Split

This is one of the littlest twirls I've done, it's SO tiny!

I bet the little one wearing this just wishes she could twirl!

Maybe it's just me, but I really liked the fabric combo.

{Pinks, Aquas, Pumpkin and Lime.}

Check out my site Ruffled Feathers Company to see photos, fabrics or to place an order. I'd love to sew you something beautiful! You can always leave me a comment or email for ideas as well.

The Girls vrs the Groundhog

2011-06-29T16:50:00.000-05:00

So I did a marathon trip to W@lmart this morning/afternoon in prep for our upcoming trip ... didn't want to do it with 3 kids in tow, but knew I'd have to. That's the life of a SAHM--although don't think that I didn't consider going after the kids were in bed and Jeff was home! But I didn't.

The kids knew the ground rules, I packed a lunch because it never fails they are hungry and it would inevitably cross over into the lunch hour and beyond.

And unfortunately I cannot report that the trip was a super duper time. Nolan squawked the whole time and the boys ran around like they were 2 and were just horrible. And I say that lovingly with shock and horror and disappointment because they know how to behave and most of the time do. But not today.

UG!

I guess the splash pad had to do without us today because there was NO WAY we were visiting there after that!
The boys got the message as we somberly ate our sack lunch in the car. And in the last two stores they redeemed themselves ... luckily.

Okay--that was all background for my day that really doesn't matter for the post ... nor does the fact that I found Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread which I haven't seen for years! I literally had in my mind during the above scenario, "God I need some help here," and I looked up and saw it on the shelf. I'm calling that a God moment. He really does know our every need!

So, after hauling the 40 bags of groceries into the house after I got home I decided to rest a bit and look at fabric and patterns online to recover. Suddenly our dog, Sasha, starts barking ... which she only does when someone pulls in or there is a deer ... and then her bark gets down right angry and persistent which is really rare! And the boys report that she has a wild animal backed into the corner.

Dear Nolan was asleep in the van (doors open and it was cool) THANKFULLY the garage door was down because Sasha had it backed up against the garage door corner!
The "wild animal" was a ground hog (a wood chuck, a marmot, a land beaver ... it's all the same)

What's a mom to do? I instructed the boys to stay in the house, call 911 if it got ugly and I was attacked ... and to pray for me.
I donned my husbands tall rubber farm boots, grabbed a spade and went tag team with the only other girl in the house, our dog, Sasha.

She really should get most of the credit as she had it cornered. I just delivered the "whack" that allowed her to nab it and shake it unconscious ... repeatedly. And then ... I did the final blows.
Yuck! Not fun.

I've never killed anything furry other than a mouse ... although the episode with the 3 snakes in the garage when the boys were babies was somewhat similar (no help from Sasha there however. She draws the line at snakes.)

What a great dog she is! I don't say that enough. And I feel quite close to her right now having conquered the evil groundhog together.
Thanks Sasha!

Storybook Pixies & Dinosaur Roars

2011-06-27T11:18:00.001-05:00

I've somehow misplaced my camera today. I'm praying that it is in the ~~minivan~~ sports-car that Jeff took to work. (That was for Jeff who cringes with the thought of driving a minivan.)

SO, since I feel compelled to make a post and move beyond those yucky photos of ticks and Lyme disease from the last one ... I will post on a few of my favorite new fabrics that I just ordered! I simply Cannot Wait for these to come in! I already have the apron dress all worked out in my mind! (I think)
However, I just ordered the fabric minutes ago.

This is the main Pixie Fairy fabric that I LOVE!

(apparently the background is tan ... even though I see it here as being more pink)

This is the pallet that I plan to use:

I was thinking the apron dress bodice would be red/pink dots, the skirt would be the pixie fairies, a nice edge of the aqua fabric on the bottom with maybe an accent of the navy/dot in a stripe somewhere and also for the straps.
I have to work in the pink stars too somewhere maybe as a little removable apron with some fun buttons? ... hmmm ... should be fun deciding on a couple of options!

Let me know if you have other suggestions or if you find those Pixies just precious too!
And if you are sad that my boys will be left out once again ... I did order a yard of this:

Dinosaur Roars:

I was thinking I'd try my hand at some of those embroidered tie T-shirts. I'll keep you posted.
(True, Brayden and Easton won't be thrilled with this fabric but I have some fabric I think they'll like ... OH NO! Now Nolan says he's scared the dinosaurs will eat him ... UG! ... oh well. I try!)

Once Upon a Tick: A Story of Lyme Disease

2011-06-21T10:23:00.003-05:00

This is LONG ... and I apologize in advance.

My husband is originally from Northern Minnesota.
And we pretty much spend every Christmas, Memorial Weekend and summer vacation, and odd Fall week visiting his side of the family every year. We've driven through blizzards and ice storms, severe thunderstorms, fog and deep, dark nights to make that 8-hour one way trip. (Not to mention making that long journey with babies barely 5 WEEKS old!) ack.
Sacrifice ... marriage includes sacrifice--and for my husband, the sacrifice includes being AWAY from his beloved home state--for me it's going to his home state--which is funny because before we met, my dream was to meet and marry a farmer from Minnesota. (seriously, ask my college roommate.)

There is a lot of beauty with the lakes and trees and skies up there:

And it's every boys' DREAM:

Jeff refers to it as "God's Country":

My favorite part are the rocks. They are like God's Jewelry Box::

That I made last year into cool necklaces like these:

But even though Minnesota is lush and green:

It is not Eden:

One day we took a boat ride across the lake to go "exploring":

And I think that is when I picked up this deer tick:

Gross eh? Well, unlike a wood tick, these guys are TINY--yes, that is a DIME it is compared to!

Tiny or not, it gave me this ... Lyme Disease:
(notice my belly button that I'm trying to flatten out, I'll refer to it later.)

This is the tell-tale "bull's eye rash"and it HURTS like a nasty bruise:

And it extended from ONE hip bone across to the OTHER when it was full blown.

Symptoms of Lyme disease are a lot like the flu ... but 100 times worse.
• Intense Headache
• Nausea
• Swollen and sore joints
• Spreading "Bulls-eye" Rash (not in all cases)
And the long-term symptoms when NOT treated of arthritis, heart problems, joint pain etc. is not encouraging either!

I first noticed a huge grapefruit size swollen area in my groin area on Friday afternoon when I was moving totes of our camping stuff from the cabin to the back of the truck. Wow.
It hurt! ... but I kinda figured it must be a "woman thing" and maybe it was my ovarian cyst gone bizzirk. But as the weekend progressed, it grew ... and I just felt "not well." I couldn't put my finger on why but I knew I was sick--and I finally broke down (as in crying) and told Jeff that I was not feeling well Saturday night after a long barbeque at his brother's house that lasted until after midnight.

Unfortunately he didn't think it was nearly as bad as it was and he asked that I muster some strength for the rest of the next day until we left. We took our sweet time leaving for that LONG 8 hour drive home letting the kids play on the beach (with me being life-guard), stopping at family along the way to chat ... and it was Fourth of July day ... which last year was on a Sunday ... which meant that all doctors took Monday as a vacation. By the time I was able to call my doctor on Tuesday morning (because I'm too practical and cheap to go to the ER) my temperature was hanging steady at 104+ degrees, I was oscillating between Tylenol for the fever and Excedrin for the INTENSE headache, which really only took the edge off so I didn't feel like my brain would explode. I literally CRAWLED down the stairs on my hands and knees to search out the Tylenol/Excedrin the morning we came home and then collapsed on the couch. (I hated to wake up the family to ask for help. Oh my goodness. I guess I was a bit delusional.)

When the doctor was able to see me at 2pm on Tuesday (remember I came home SUNDAY) I sat in the waiting room trying to be pleasant and realizing that since that was about as hard as when I was in the delivery room having a baby this was no small thing. (Because even with the high temp and the headache and the swollen-ness I would not let myself believe I was truly sick.)
At this point I did NOT have the tell-tale bulls-eye rash and I was praying for answers, that it wasn't a tubal pregnancy or something that would require surgery ... but that there would be a cure.

Amazingly, when I gave the doctor the details and she did the exam ... in the 10 minutes (literally!) that I had been waiting in the waiting room the rash HAD appeared and she immediately ordered a prescription for the month long antibiotic that would kill the bacteria invading my body. The swollen-ness in my groin? It was my lymph node in hyper-drive funneling out all the bad stuff the tick bite right above it on my lower tummy was producing.
UNFORTUNATELY,
When Jeff drove the 20 miles into town to get my prescription they said there would be a bit of a wait ... so he took the boys to get a SubWay sandwich. What the pharmacy FAILED to tell him was that because of the recent holiday they would be closing EARLY. (grrrrr) So, when they returned a half hour later ... they were CLOSED!
I cried.
I literally cried when he called.
(The doctor said it would take about 2 days for the medicine to kick in once I started taking it. And the thought of it being one more day was crushing.)
Jeff felt horrible. But there was not much he could do.
So the next morning, as soon as the pharmacy opened I drove in the 20 miles, with ALL the boys in tow, for the medicine. I totally should not have been behind the wheel of a vehicle and I really wanted to yell at the pharmacist ... but I didn't. I didn't really have the strength.

Thankfully the medicine DID work, I recovered, I do not have the Lyme antibody in my system as it was diagnosed and treated early! AND I was also forced to deal with my umbilical hernia that I had been suffering with since the birth of our last son two years prior. (Go ahead scroll back up to that first photo of the tick bite, I'm trying to hide it with my hand.) The Lyme Disease REALLY made that hurt as the medicine changed my intestinal track make-up for a bit. SO, I finally had the courage to AGAIN ask my doctor to check out my painful and ugly belly button that I had convinced myself was "normal" after carrying 3 BIG babies.

He confirmed it was a hernia and scheduled a surgery date to have it fixed ... because as he pointed out, it's either have it fixed NOW when it's convenient, or do it later when it's an ER visit and your guts are being strangulated and it's suddenly a life and death situation.
ACK! Hmmmm, okay no argument really.
As you remember I had my broken belly button fixed in November. (I'll post those before and after pictures sometime.)
I will say that I can now once again run a 5k without feeling like my guts are going to spill out all over. (Or at least not because of the belly button issue.) And although they didn't do any sort of a "tuck" while in there <>... it does look normal again.

So, almost a YEAR later ... I'm FINALLY able to make this post about the Lyme Disease episode.
I am SO glad it was ME who got it and not one of my kids or even my husband (who wouldn't have gone to the doctor until he was about dead.)
I don't let things go easily so it's a lesson in getting over things ... and it was hard for me to go back to the cabin over the Memorial Day ... even if it was not an overnight trip. And since we'll be going up there soon once again maybe it's good to have made a trial run once already.

I almost had brushed it all under the rug and just moved forward ... but this weekend while changing Nolan's diaper (yes, potty training is NOT going well) I noticed a little, TINY, dark dot on his leg by where the tab on his diaper connects. It really looked like a tiny sore from chaffing and since he's getting a bit large for those diapers I almost just shrugged it off as that. But the mom in me just wouldn't, so I got my nose RIGHT down in there to check it out.
And it was NOT a chaff mark. It was a TINY deer tick!
YUCK!!! (Did I mention that last year at the SAME time I was dealing with Lyme Disease from MN, a guy from our church also had it and had gotten it from a tick from the park next to where we live?)

(That is a pin by the way ... it is SMALLER than the head of a pin!)

How scary!
I plucked it off with a tweezer. I have it in a ziplock in my fridge just in case he starts to show any symptoms. But thankfully Nolan so far has shown no signs of Lyme Disease.
Yes, we live in a wooded area, we have an outdoor dog and it's been a HORRIBLY good season already for ticks due to the weather. So our chances of having ticks is a bit more than good--but quite honestly, it should be an issue for our DOG, not so much US! And since we've never had a problem before with ANY kind of tick ... and we Frontline our dog I was a bit freaked by it all!
I guess it is a reflection of how much time we spend outdoors--ALL THE TIME! And with 3 boys, that's to be expected. I am thankful that God is watching over us and providing the help we need when we need it.

So if this post helps even one person be more vigilant in checking for ticks, going to the doctor for any of the above symptoms, including the umbilical hernia, I will be glad to have posted it.

Be safe out there this summer!

Wordless Wednesday: All Played Out

2011-06-15T09:40:00.000-05:00

Sunday Snapshot--Scout

2011-06-13T08:11:00.000-05:00

We had a birthday this week at our house!
Okay, we actually had TWO birthdays of three year olds at our house this week ... but no, we don't have twins.
One is our sweet son Nolan (post to come)

and the other is our colt, Scout!
(Stefanie ... this post is for you 'cuz I think you have a little wish in your heart for a horse of your own.)

(Scout at 2-3 months)

He came RIGHT up to Jeff and Brayden in the pen

when they went to look at the new colts. It's like he picked us.

You may remember the post a couple of weeks ago when we took Scout to a trainer to have him green-broke. Well, training is going MARVELOUSLY which is such a relief because we had some fears. The farrier (the guy who does horse hoof trimming/shoeing) had mentioned a couple of times that in his experience, which he has a lot, horses with smaller, deeper eyes and long snouts tend to be stubborn and harder to break.
Ug.
I know nothing about horses ... so I tend to listen to these knowledgeable resources quite seriously.
Add that to the fact that when we had the vet out to castrate (ewww, I know, not a pretty thought but necessary) him into a gelding (stallions are not the kinda horse we want to be riding ... WAY too high strung!) it was nothing short of chaos.
Imagine, 2 vets, on top of a nearly 700 lb. four month old who took TWO shots of whatever it was that was supposed to lay 'em down flat with just one dose and he was fighting with EVERYTHING in him with TWO doses to NOT have "that" done to him. Not having seen this done before I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pretty certain this was NOT the way it was supposed to play out. In fact when I gave Jeff the gory details that night he winced at it all.
So when we dropped Scout off with a trainer and he mentioned the same thing about eyes/head and never having spoken to the other guy ... added in with the knowledge that this was a strong-minded horse that would NOT go down for his castration without a fight, I think we kinda were waiting for bad news. In fact Jeff left it with the trainer to let him know if this was going to be a "knuckle head" before we spend too much time and money on him.

Please don't let that seem callous ... but seriously, I don't want to put our boys or us on a horse that is not all there or is wild, wild, wild. We already have one horse that is for an "experienced" rider ... we don't need two of those with only one experienced rider in the family!
Did you ever hear that the least expensive part of a horse is what you spend on them when you buy them? Well it's true and this little beauty ... at four months old ... was WAY cheaper than most puppies!
Not that we care for him less because he did not cost us a pretty penny. I just find it such a blessing.
Wanna make a guess?

$100.00 (and no, I did not forget a zero)
Granted, the horse market is way down and the stallion "accidentally" got in with the mares and produced this incredible little guy along with several brothers and sisters. oopps. But YAY! for us!
But ... if we didn't grow our own hay for the last 10 years or have our own grazing ground it would cost a fortune just to keep these big guys.

On Saturday, Scout turned three years old. And while his peers may have been running The Preakness ... he was being ridden by the trainer for the first time and to our relief he said that he we had a very nice horse on our hands! And that he had taken to things very well and that he was doing GREAT!
Yes, he had lost probably a HUNDRED pounds ... which was to be expected from being in a new place, doing new things and being worked. (And we did go see him later Saturday afternoon and he had lost a good deal of weight and had a bit of "I am SO sorry for whatever I did" in his eyes--but overall he looked good.)

... and on this past Friday ... on Nolan's birthday, the trainer called again ... but this time the news wasn't so good ... he got his leg wrapped up in a lead-line while he was grazing and got a nasty raw abrasion right above his hoof and his hock and he is now scheduled to see the vet for swelling further up his leg. (Anything to do with a horse and his leg is NOT good.)

Hopefully nothing has been structurally damaged as that would be catastrophe for him! Yes, as in "he will make a nice horse blanket" kind of catastrophe. ACK!

We're praying for the best and are encouraged having visited him yesterday and seeing him put weight on it even though it is tender. He is actually a horse I can see myself being okay learning the ropes around. He is a pretty-boy too isn't he?
Happy Birthday Scout!

How Can You Not

2011-06-09T19:28:00.001-05:00

The NDFH Match Challenge
I can't believe I missed this post when it was fresh!
http://jacobandcarrie.blogspot.com/2011/05/are-you-up-for-challenge.html

But then again ... I'm glad I saw it now and that you are reading about it now too.
Please post it to your fbook and your blog, tell your neighbor and your friends. It is just too cool to miss out on!

Here's the short version. Please go to the above link for the FULL skinny on the story!

There is a mom out there, much like you and me, who longs to do something for orphans in need of surgery.
But like you and me, she's not a millionaire, she has kids and endless errands and practices and a very full day.
But her heart still deeply longs to do something for these children who wait. They wait to have parents of their own. They wait to have homes of their own. They wait to have surgeries that will help to put them on the road to adoption. Because without these surguries they very well may not be adopted... or live to be adopted.

And so she is throwing a challenge out there to you and me and would like us to be a part. She has made the challenge to match DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR all donations made through the NDFH Challenge Chip In Button for Surgeries up to $5,000! Did you catch that?
So if the goal of $5,000 is reached New Day will receive $10,000! That's enough for a heart surgery to help someone like sweet Roy:

Oh sweet Roy--if he was your son would you wait to give him the heart surgery he needs? Just think even $10 is actually $20 when it is matched by this challenge! $50 becomes $100! What a beautiful way to bless the life of a child, and a family who will someday adopt this child to be their own, and to glorify God all the way.

Renee waits for spinal surgery

Pass up an evening eating out, or donate all or part of your garage sale or farmer's market earnings, or return some bottles and cans for deposit, or just go crazy and dig deep-- it would bless these kids' socks off!

Elliot waits for surgery very dear to my heart

I'm reminded of so many examples from the Bible of how God makes BIG things out of little things--The loaves and fishes, the widow with 2 coins, the parable of the mustard seed ... God seems to love to show His greatness through His work in the tiniest of things! Through faith in His ability to provide and our willingness to give God makes things happen.

I cannot wait to see that matching number rise and rise and rise!
I'd love to hear what cool way you've come up with to donate.

Join in the challenge!
Go here for the ND Match Challenge chip-in on the sidebar by July 16!
OR click on the chip-in on my sidebar!

A SWELL time ... in Minnesota

2011-06-08T13:31:00.001-05:00

Well, we can't all say that we had as SWELL of a time in Minnesota as Nolan last week ...

Apparently he's very sensitive to mosquito bites! (See his left hand?) When his grandma took him down to the lakeshore to throw rocks while the rest of us were out fishing, I returned 4 hours later to find his hand like this. Yes I discovered it from across the room (perhaps someone should have phoned me or at least mentioned it?) as it looked 4 times as big as his other hand. See his white knuckles? That is totally from swelling! He couldn't close his hand and it was so hot. I wish he would have let me take a side photo of how puffy it was. I barely got these photos and I was internally freaking out so I wasn't going to push it for either one of our sakes. Seriously the skin was SO TIGHT that I was afraid it might split! (You can see where we put the ink mark 1/3 of the way up his arm to mark how high the swelling was going so we could gauge if it was growing further up his arm while I called the ask-a-nurse hotline. Of course there are no immedia-care places in the remote place we go in Minnesota and an ER visit wasn't sounding very good either ... but it was becoming a possibility since the swelling was unreal! And the ask-a-nurse people for some reason could not call us back to return my call with advice.

Luckily I did phone them again and they were able to give me the same info I pretty much already knew ... but it was nice to talk to someone.

(Click on any of the photos to see them larger, because this just does not do it justice!)

And not to leave the trip without more elephantism ... he got a bite on his ankle which swelled and then one on his ear which left him with a floppy (I kid you not) ear that looked like Califlower Ear from a wrestling mat. And then just when that one was healing he got one on the OTHER ear. Ug.

He was not humored by the camera either and would not stand still for us. Apologies for the blurriness.

With Jeff's family from MN and another trip scheduled in 3 weeks I'm not sure what to do. I guess I'll be stocking up on Benedryl and prayer! (Gretchen I totally thought of that pump you talked of with your yellow jacket sting! Funny that was probably the last post I read before our Northern journey.)
I sure hope he grows out of this!