Kitty Olivia

Not much of a post here, but I finally finished the Olivia I had cut out weeks ago, and here it is! We were actually on our way to go buy her some leggings to go under it - it's kinda naked-ey looking without them lol! I came to the conclusion that it is not worth my time and energy (and fabric costs!) to sew basic leggings - only if they are a coordinating fabric that I can't just buy off some rack somewhere =D Oh, and I modified the hood to make it a spiral instead of knotted. I found the instructions on www.sewingmamas.com - Oceanna was the creator!

Wow! 2 days in a row!!!

I didn't have much time last night, so I just posted that qute (before I lost it lol). But I have pics from Noah's birthday party, as well as a few other random things :o) So here I am again!

Noah says the cutest things - right now, he's always saying "Hey Eh-nor!" and "Hey! Where's my wubbie? Oh! Dear it is!" and "Awwww maaaaaan! Noah wanna watch Gabba!" He has started singing all kinds of songs, and yesterday, he was trying to tell knock knock jokes! I just want to squish him - he's sooooo stinkin' cute! What am I talking about - I DO squish him all day long, and I love every second of it ;o)

Ok, now for his birthday lol!

I always make Ellie a dress or an outfit for her birthday. I made 2 outfits for Noah's birthday last year, but I hadn't made him anything this year. While sewing the other day, I ran across a piece of knit with cars on it, and thought it was perfect! So, Tuesday morning, I took it downstairs to show to Noah, and he snatched it right out of my hands. I knew we had a winner! I decided to make a curved raglan from Ottobre 3/2006, but the smallest size they had was a 104, or about a 5T. Not gonna happen - Noah is about an 86, but I tend to make 92s for grow room now. Well, I decided that by not adding seam allowances, that 104 would size down perfectly to a 92. And it did! Here is the result:







Sorry - he was being so *boy* that I had to show more than one picture lol!

Anyway, we took him to Chili's for dinner, which was a blast. I have issues with their call ahead system, though - I called, told them I had a party of 14, and requested Jay as our server. They told me that in order to have a specific server, I had to show up 20-30 minutes early. Ok, I can do that, with the added bonus of them listening to my kids scream for the entire wait. Whatever. When we got there, the restaurant was nearly empty, so they set our tables up right away and seated us. Aweseome! Unfortunately, Boots and Greg were both working, and they were running a little late getting there. So, Noah started getting cranky (and he won't eat tortilla chips, the little heathen!), so Greg and Angela gave him one of his presents to open early. His face was so precious! He was squealing about it being "Yea-go!" (Diego), and happily played with the toys until Deb and Boots got there a few minutes later. Sweet. Then we ordered, but being a large order, it took a little bit for it to come out. Everything was good, but Noah just picked at his burger. Ah well, not like the kid needs "real" food anyway, right? LOL!



Then we had Jay bring out the cake. I made an ice cream cake - it was more of a Picasso than a Rembrandt, but it tasted great! I used rocky road ice cream, which Noah loved! I tried to light the candles, and Noah was blowing them out faster than I could work lol! I finally gave the lighting job to Adron so I could take pics ;o)



After we finally got him to quit blowing, he opted to stick his fingers in the flame. Thankfully it wasn't for long, and he just pouted for few minutes.



Here's the cake:



Before the cake came out, Noah got to start opening the rest of his presents. First up was Thomas from Mimi and PopPop. Oh, wow! It was a hit! He wouldn't take his had off of it for anything, either!






Then, Greg and Angela gave Noah a brand new lovie :o) We laughed so hard at him - he started to open the package, saw the satin edge, and promptly pushed the package away while trying to tape it back up!!! I think he knew that if he pulled that lovie out, it would wind up right up his nose, and his eyes would start to get heavy lol! So, we set it aside and let him finish opening his gifts. Once he was done, I pulled out his old lovie while trying to find his baby wipes, and he pushed the old one away and asked for the new one. It was so sweet! He hugged it right to himself, laid his head down on the table and closed his eyes. For exactly .53 seconds lol! Then he just held onto it and went right back to playing lol!



Ellie didn't make it as far as the cake - poor kid crashed after she ate her corn dog...




And on a random note, I had extra cake batter after baking the cake layer for the ice cream cake. I figured cupcakes would be a perfect use for this =D Noah had picked out the cupcake papers and the sprinkles when we went to the store that morning. Not like you can really tell, but the purple ones are Eeyore, orange is Tigger, yellow is Pooh, and the pink ones are Piglet.




I think that is enough for now - I will try to get back in the next couple of days with other pictures :o)

Found it!!!

Well, *I* didn't actually find it, but our amazing pastoral assistant had another copy left over from last week, and he let me have it =D So, without further adieu, here is the quote that has totally impacted my life for the past week!

I am fairly certain that this is St. Maximos the Confessor.

He who loves God, lives an Angel's life on earth, fasting, and being vigilant, praising God and praying, having kind thoughts about every human being.

He who loves God does not inflict grief on anyone, and he himself doesn't feel aggrieved over temporary things. He inflicts grief and is aggrieved only with that redeeming sorrow about which the Apostle Paul wrote and who aggrieved the Corinthians, being aggrieved himself (2 Cor. 2:4).

He that loves something, will attemt to secure it in every way possible, setting aside anything that impedes its possession. Likewise, a person that loves God is concerned about having pure prayers, and banishes every passion that is an impediment to him.

If you hate some people, treat some indifferently and greatly love the others, then you should conclude from this how distant you are from complete love, which induces a person to love everyone equally.

Absolute love does not differentiate between even one personal characteristic in human beings but loves all people equally. It treats kind people as friends, and the unkind, as enemies (in accordance with the commandments), doing good to them and patiently enduring everything that is inflicted by them - not only refraining from responding with evil for evil, but through necessity, suffering for them so that as far as possible, to make them your friends. Likewise, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, revealing His love toward us, suffered for the whole humanity and gave all of us the one hope of resurrection. Incidentally, every person makes himself worthy of either glory or sufferings of hell.

He who is inquisitive about other people's sins, or through suspicions judges his brother, has not laid even the beginnings of repentance and is not attempting to recognize his personal sins, which are truly heavier than a massive lead weight. He doesn't know why a person should "love worthlessness and seek falsehood?" (Psalms 4:2-3). That is why, having forgotten about his personal sins, he wanders in the darkness like a senseless individual, concerned about others' real or imaginary ones.

I'm a genius...!

So I totally forgot to post pics of my finished gnomes jonjon! I took pics of Noah in it 2 weeks ago, but forgot to upload the pics until today! I really like how it turned out - I still need to finish the one that I was talking about being nearly done - A MONTH AGO!!! Argh! I'm such a bum these days! Noah is so proud of being able to wink, but I was having a hard time snapping a pic as fast as he did it. The little scrunchy faces he was making are just so sweet though :o)





Strange - these pics are pretty blurry/grainy, too. I'm so gonna have to figure out what I'm doing wrong! Maybe I'm just trying to take pics too early in the day - ya know, before I am really awake lol...

Hooray!

I've finally gotten something finished! I completed Ellie's Anna dress - and we love it! I am having a lot of issues with it slipping around on her, though. I think the corduroy doesn't have enoug friction with the lining fabric, and it made me nutty all day. I have, however, devised a solution. As I made this one to be worn only one way, I am going to add snaps to the sides. If I wanted it to be able to be worn both ways, this wouldn't be as practical, but it'll work on this one. It's really making me rethink my plans for more corduroy Annas for this fall :o( I also have been having issues with getting a good picture of it - has being pregnant made me forget how to get clear pics? Or is it just that the lighting outside today was wrong? I took some more pics tonight, but had to retake them several times just to get a non-fuzzy shot of the front of the dress...













I've really been going back and forth as to what type of content I want to put in this blog. My faith is incredibly important to me, but I know that I have stopped reading some blogs when the owner went bananas and was talking WAY too much about religion. Then again, those were supposed to be "crafting" blogs of different sorts, and the religion being touted was not even close to mine. One, actually, I stopped reading because they were bashing several religions, and different Christian denominations, which is absolutely uncalled for, in my opinion. I also take issue with people spouting political stuff that doesn't really fit in with the rest of the blog. However, as this is my personal blog, not intended to be professional in any way, I think the rules are a little different. I'm still not going to post political views, as I feel that is a very foolish reason to run people off, and I like my friends here in blog land ;o) Since faith is such an integral part of my life, I feel I would be doing *myself* a disservice by not talking about it when it applies to what's going on in my life. I will say that I am in no way judging people whose beliefs are different from mine, and that I'm very happy to know what my friends believe! I think that sharing only strengthens everyone, and allows ME to be educated on things I know very little about.

So, anyway, I've been going to a study group at my church and it has really challenged and inspired me! Most of it is WAAAAAYYYYYY over my head, but this past week we were studying St. Maximos the Confessor, and there was a quote on the sheet that really struck me. Unfortunately, I can't find the handout from that night, and I can't seem to find the quote online, either. I guess I'm left with the option to summarize what impressed me so much. I doubt if it will come across as intensely as it struck me, but here goes.

Basically, St. Maximos said that if your *truly* love God, you won't worry about what other people are doing, you will focus on Him alone, and not be involved in anyone's business. No judging others, no worrying about what they do. That really, really hit me because I always get so caught up in what everone else has going on. Worrying about how other people are harming themselves, but refusing to work on what I should be doing. It hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized that I obviously do not love God the way I thought. I feel like such a foolish child, and am determined to work on this. I want to be one of those people that has nothing unkind to say about anyone. I want to let go of the foolishness that I've been involved in and embrace this new way of looking at things.

I had an opportunity to do something like that this week, and I was so comforted when I was able to give my worries over to God. Without going into it, there was a major mishap, and I no longer have any newborn girl clothes, so if this is a girl, I could be in a bind. Then it hit me that God has provided for every one of my children so far, and how dare I assume that He won't be able to do so for this one! While I'm a little sad that there may have been some "special" clothes in there, I am totally in awe of how He turned my attitude around and allowed me to be thankful for the opportunity. If you never give Him a chance to show what He can do, then it's easy to be haughty and arrogant, thinking you can take care of yourself! I am so blessed that I've had these clothes to use for my girls, and I know that I will have exactly what I need for this sweet little blessing. I had way too many clothes, anyway - more than enough for 3-4 children to use at the same time! Thousands of dollars of high-end clothes, nearly all of them hand me downs or gifts, and a few that I've made. It is actually a relief, in a way, to know that I don't have to find room to store so many clothes. Besides, this may not be a girl, anyway ;o) Don't get me wrong - I was incredibly sad at first, but as I prayed, I was given a beautiful peace that can not have been from anything I did. Funny how one teeny tiny baby step in the right direction feels like such a milestone!

Reflecting

Last night, we all went to the visitation for Adron's grandfather. Ellie and I talked about it all day, and at some point this conversation occurred.

Ellie: "I love funerals!!!"
Me: "What?"
Ellie: "I really LOVE funerals - I am excited that we're going to one tonight!"
Me: "Errrmmmm.... Okay... But the funeral is tomorrow... And why do you like them anyway? I mean, it's sad when someone we love dies."
Ellie: "No it's not! That means they get to go to Heaven, and that's a REALLY GOOD thing!"

Wow. What a profound observation! She went on to talk about how Max is in Heaven, and when she dies, she will get to see him again. She is totally obsessed with death these days, and I'm sure it's normal for the age, but not something I really care to focus on at this point in my life lol! I think she still believes that I'm immortal, but she's recently realized that her daddy will die at some point, and whenever she mentions that, she always says "But hopefully not soon, right?" Sighhhhhhhh...... I don't know what to say other than, "No, baby, we hope it's not for a very, VERY long time, but you never know what God has planned for us."

On a slightly different note, although on the same subject, I think I honestly have the most warped memory ever. Going through the loss of a child is so intense that it makes everything around it feel washed out and faded. I have such muddled memories of his funeral, but a few vivid memories do stand out. The first is that Max didn't look right. Then I remember one of my very dear friends just sobbing her heart out - to this day, the memory of that brings tears to my eyes. Then I remember that I started bleeding so heavily that I nearly passed out. And the oddest memory of all is hearing Adron's grandfather say, "Well, at least you weren't too attached to the little critter yet." Oh, I so just wanted to scream at him! I know he was trying to be comforting, but that is quite honestly the most horrid thing anyone has ever said about Max's death. What do you mean not attached? I'm in love from the moment I see that 2nd pink line lol! I felt this baby growing inside of me - I knew his personality! I looked into his beautiful dark blue eyes and saw a precious little soul there! How on earth could I be "not attached" yet!!! I feel bad that this is really one of the biggest memories of my entire life. It's not his fault that he wanted to make me feel better and the wrong words came out. I know that he was a really good man, gruff and loving all at the same time. I know that he brought a lot of joy to a lot of people, and the only thing that stands out is something really dumb. Ack! I would HATE to be remembered like that!!! I'm sure someone will recall the horrible things I've said and done over the years, and that thought makes me so sad.

Ok - enough funeral/death for one morning LOL! We are leaving in about 20 minutes, and it's raining cats and dogs. Of all things, I have Noah dressed in a pale yellow jonjon and white shoes and knee socks. Great for playing in the mud, right? LOL! Ah well. That's life with a little boy ;o) Here's a picture of him on his birthday last year wearing the same outfit:



I'll try to get a picture of him in it this year - it was so big last year, and *just* fits him now. I can't believe how much my little man has grown! He'll be 2 in a week! I've got more pics to post shortly, but Adron is telling me it's time to go. Be back later!

Oh goodness...

Wow, I'm like the worst blogger! I have totally slacked on this poor blog!!! Granted, I've got a stack of excuses, all of them good ones, but fact remains that my pitiful little blog has been woefully unattended for nearly a month!

Being pregnant is just so much fun. Sighhhh.... Like a party every day. Or maybe, just like a hangover AFTER the party lol! I've been so pukey and had horrid headaches nearly every day so far. My 1st OB appt. was last Wednesday, and she gave me meds for both issues. Thank goodness they are helping! Now if there was just a magic pill that would make me not so tired I would be set! I've been highly motivated to sew, but not had the energy to do it. I've managed to finish a jonjon for Noah to wear to church, make another one that just need buttons and snaps - and a shirt to go underneath it, and cut out a dress for Ellie. I traced a couple of paterns, bought fabric for 2 new dresses for Ellie, and have actually prewashed it. I am starting early, but I want to make an amazing Christmas dress for that girl. We'll see how awesome it turns out, but it's looking great in my head LOL! I'm going to make a bunch of knit hoodie dresses and leggings for her fall wardrobe, and I think I'm going to just scrap the rest of what she has. I am thinking that she has prolly outgrown most of last year's clothes, though, and I'll keep her jeans and a couple of shirts for outside playclothes. I have no idea on what Noah's got though. I think he's ok - all of his pants were big on him last year, and so far they seem to fit. I'm pretty sure he is way good on shirts - just short on church clothes. Then there are the big girls. I have no idea what to do with them!

Did I mention that I'm involved with the PTAs on both of the big girls' schools? Man, I am loving being a part of their schools, but I'm so tired! Between the 2 schools, church, Tiger football games, and daily life at home, I am feeling a little overextended. Not bad, and it'll get better in a few weeks - assuming I get my energy back!

Well, Adron is ready for bed, so I'm outta here! I miss all of my wonderful friends out there in blogland and I plan to start checking in on you soon!!!!