sewing fever

I

have been itching

to sew again.

Then

I had to get the Hancock Fabric's sale paper

in the mail;

they've got some cute Spring fabrics!!

And

they even have PUL!!

(not that I need any, mind you)

Seeing as how

I can barely manage a shower

I'm not quite sure how I'll pull off sewing....

Although,

I could sew with Lexi in a carrier

(much of Mandy's wedding dress was sewn with Brandon in a carrier)

but

I'm not going shower that way!

our poor deprived kids

Yesterday

we ended up at the library

during Storytime

(or maybe it was Toddler Time??)

so I let the little ones join in.

There were stories, songs, and a snack.

Josiah was telling Daddy all about it,

".... and we had goldfish and some red drink.

(looks at mom)

What was that stuff?"

um.

That would be Koolaid.

~

Speaking of Josiah and Storytime,

he was such a good big brother to Lily

and I was so proud of him!

my favorite kind of burrito

A baby burrito!!

a very happy (but belated) birthday

to my very favorite son-in law!

Let's face it;
we've already given him
the very best gift we could ever give!

I'm not about to try to top that one!

~

still, I'm pretty sure

you are going to love it, Luke!

and

we love you!!

the girl has taste

I was going t o post yesterday

but

someone

kept me quite busy!

~

Lily pulled out all of my shoes

- which isn't as bad as it sounds -

my collection is pathetic.

When she got to the pair I bought for the wedding

she said,

"these are cute!"

I should hope so

at $37.50

per shoe!

she's not all girly, though

notice the gun

(but overlook the dirty toenails - we do)

about those naptimes

It seems

I'm not the only one enjoying our naps.

Yesterday

as Jeremiah snuggled up to me

(the boys take turns sleeping next to Mom & Lexi)

he smiled and said,

"I'm getting in my happy place"

Lexi lovin's

I love how Lexi is loving her bub

and
her Papa
~
Filed the taxes today.
That may end up
being my only accomplishment this week
although
I really hope to get all the thank-you cards finished, too.
I sorta like to have
both hands
for hand-written notes...
~
Lexi had her first really rough night last night
- or at least her momma did.
I'm hoping it was an anomaly!
Tyler ended up getting up with her around 2
so I could catch a few ZZZs.
Apparently
I was snoring pretty quick-like.
Thanks, Love!!

All in all, she's been great.
Sooo much easier than the previous 4!!!
~
I can't look at Lexi for long
without
getting misty-eyed.
How
out of all the women in the world
did I get picked??
Thank-you, Lord

bribery

Jeremiah has been hard at work

cleaning the kitchen

for the past 25 minutes or so.

~

I heard clanking coming from the kitchen

and figured Brandon must have been loading the dishwasher

(Tyler and Tony are at Riverwalk

so he's the man of the house this evening)

Loading the DW is my job

but I've been sorta busy lately

so the guys

have been pitching in to do my work.

Turns out

it wasn't Brandon;

it was Jeremiah.

And if he weren't attempting to bribe me

it'd be really sweet.

See

about a half hour ago

I told the boys,

"No, you can't watch the Apple Dumpling Gang."

I was going to tell them that they could watch a short movie

but as soon as they heard the 'no'

they commenced to throwing such hollering crying fits

that

I quickly changed my mind.

About the shorter movie, that is.

After being denied

'just one more chance'

Jeremiah resorted to

attempted bribery of an unelected official.

He

(in his words)

"took initiative so mom will let me watch a movie."

what??

He's five!

He

washed the dishes, then put them in the DW.

(not properly, but still...)

He wiped off the top of the DW.

He washed the pan.

He even cleaned off the stove!

~

I'm still not letting him watch a movie

but he may have just earned a new job!

squealing with delight

I have this squeal

which is

- according to my children -

reserved only for when I find out a baby is on the way.

They can ascertain within seconds

who

the new momma is

based on

a) who I'm on the phone with

or

b) who's blog I'm visiting

Every once in awhile

I've been told not to tell anyone just yet

and I've had to sheepishly confess

"Ummm

my kids already know...."

I just can't help it!

~

and while I'm on the subject of new babies....

I hope

that I am present for the birth of some of my grandbabies

so I can feel that fresh-from-the-womb skin against my cheek again.

I don't know that I felt that with my first four

I got to hold their whole bodies...

But having my arms strapped down

for the c-sections,

the only thing I could touch my babies with

was my cheek.

There is absolutely nothing in the world

that feels like a newborn baby

still covered in 'cheese'

mmm

~

ahh naptime

I love naptime.
Not for the reason one might think, though.
I can’t really even describe the feeling.
Happy
doesn’t really capture it
but it’s the best this non-linguist can come up with.

Tyler doesn’t really get it.
For him
naptime is all about the nap (for him, too)
For me
Naptime is a time for me to be with all the little ones.
I know
Lots of folks advocate a quiet time with everyone in their own room…
Well
in this house, that’s an impossibility
so I go in the complete opposite direction
(not entirely unlike most things…..)

There’s a big window on the south side of the room
so it’s usually nice and warm in there.
Sometimes we listen to the Bible as we rest.
Sometimes we don’t.
Usually a little boy has to get up and go to the bathroom.
A swat or two isn’t at all uncommon.
Eventually one or all drift off to sleep.
And when they do
I just feel
so
satisfied.
happy. peaceful. content.

Of course
that’s not how it goes down every day.
Occasionally, naptime is more of a nightmare.
I don’t care to remember those naps;
but I sure don’t want to forget all the good ones!

sweet sisters just up from their nap

Lily & Lexi

from January 22nd
~

better late than never....

random thoughts

I’ve been amazed by how busy I have been
doing nothing
but holding/feeding/changing Lexi
with the occasional overseeing

of laundry doings and food prep/cleanup thrown in
while

loving on Lily and the little boys
and appreciating all the efforts of the big boys
(and loving them very much - just not so much lovin on them…)
~
I’ve found that if I sit in the rocker in the bedroom
Lily and Josiah will pretty much just hang out with me in there.
That’s been nice and cozy.
~
I am so

tired

of sitting!
But I am healing nicely and will be glad to resume my normal activities.
Whenever I can manage to squeeze them in, that is.
Normal activities being cooking, cleaning, school and an occasional shower…
~
I finally slept in bed for the first time last night .
Much comfier than the couch!
I still used every extra pillow in the house, though
~
So far
Lexi is a dream baby!
She rarely cries and spends most of her time snoozing in her favorite spot.
~
We went to church yesterday.
I had to wear maternity pants!
I’ve never had to wear maternity clothes to church after having a baby.
I didn’t cry, though.
Almost
but did not.
Tyler says we haven’t ever gone only a week and a half after a baby’s arrival.
Sweet.
Nice try ~ but I still wore maternity pants!
Sigh.
Besides my pants problem,
church went well and little ones all did super.
I’d considered calling Luke and Lana and begging them to come,
but I didn’t.
Figured sooner or later

they’d have to go back to their church and we’d be on our own then;
we may as well start now.
~
I’m doing an online book study.
Reading the book and sitting and observing my children has been eye-opening.
I’ve always felt like I am fairly consistent, and when I give mercy
(which is admittedly often, because I feel like that’s what Jesus would do)
I let them know I’m giving mercy.
But what I realized

is that I must not be as consistent as I thought I was
because I have a serious obedience problem with my children!
And here I thought things were going pretty smooth
(although we have some ongoing issues with Josiah

that we still aren’t quite sure how to handle)
I need to crack down more, but at the same time be careful,
because we do have a new baby

and everyone’s place in the family has shifted……
~
I’m itching to begin gardening.
I so want to be successful this year!
I keep telling Tyler
all I need is a bunch of poo.
You wouldn’t think it’d be that hard to get manure!
After all our deliberating on where to put the garden,
we’re moving it.
Right up by the house, so it’ll be easy to get out and work in it every day.
~
I’m also itching to exercise.
Well

that’s not entirely true.
I’m itching to see the benefits of exercise
which
I’m old enough to realize
means
I actually have to exercise.
At least I have a great workout buddy!
~
I still have some thoughts I want to record from our hospital stay
before I forget what it was I wanted to remember.
Seeing as how I started this post about 6 hours ago

(make that 7 hours...)
I kinda doubt I’ll get to that today…

Elizabeth

recently said

(and this isn't a direct quote, just my remembering...)

that when you have a baby

there is no 'return to normal'.

that normal no longer exists

and soon enough

the new normal will set in.
I'm just reminding myself of that -

since my entire day's accomplishment

is

this blog post!

well that, and a pretty happy baby girl

mmm

Posting may be sporadic.
I'm spending about 20 hours a day
holding the sweetest little thing imaginable.
~
I still share, though

home

I cannot help but marvel at God’s goodness to me.

~
Nine years ago
He called home our tiny baby

before we ever got to meet her/him.
Today
He allowed me to bring one of His precious children to my home.
And oh, she is loved!

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing and privilege

of new life!

home!

Lexi is here!

This is Lana,

posting a few pictures of our new baby sister,

Lexi Faith

born Jan 21, 2009

7:52 AM

7 lbs, 3 oz

19 inches long

She's got good, healthy lungs, or so I've heard.
"even cuter than Lily" says Jeremiah (I'm not sure about that....)

"my baby" says Lily

More pics will be up on my blog
Thanks to all who've been praying for Mom and Lexi.
They plan to come home on Friday.

stippling & such

Darinda asked me to share what I’d learned about stippling.

I figured, rather than e-mail the info to her

I’d deviate from my normal scrapbook blogging and post it here,

just in case anyone else is interested....

First off
remember
I’m no expert.
Shoot
I’m not even good.
I’m just a beginner…..

Go here and watch the video.
Several times.
Read her post, too, a few times
but definitely watch the video several times.
Watching some other videos might be helpful, too.
Maybe try a youtube search.

I think just doing some internet searches
and finding a look that appeals to you
(everyone stipples differently)
would be good.

~

Practice!!
And then practice some more!!!

~

Not everyone uses quilting gloves,

but I found them to be very helpful.
I got a pair from Hobby Lobby for just $3.50
(and that was full price - cheapest quilting supply you‘ll ever buy!)

~

Your machine needs to go fast
but your hands need to move the fabric slowly.
That right there was probably the biggest ‘ah-ha’ for me.
When I slowed my movements, my stippling improved tremendously.
~

Relax
they say that if you are tense, it shows up in your work.
Can’t speak to this one,
although Tyler says
there’s a pretty good chance I’m a bit tense even if I think I’m not…..

~

Some people say to ‘doodle’ stippling.
Theory being
once you’ve drawn it, it’ll be easier to sew it.
I didn’t try this one
as I knew it would only discourage me
since I can barely draw a stick person
~

I also purchased a ‘hopping foot’.
It certainly isn’t a necessity
but I feel like it helped me keep my stiches fairly even.

~

I have always enjoyed taking a rectangle of fabric

and turning it into something else,

so it's really no wonder I like quilt making

(not to mention the 'cozy' of the quilt itself)

I love the look of stippling;

I can't say its my favorite part of quilting, though.

At least it isn't yet....

Surprisingly,

I really enjoy hand sewing the binding.

go figure

I lost track of how long I spent on the quilt
what with all the trips to the sewing machine shop
spending long hours with my seam ripper
and exchanging rotten thread & whatnot
~
Except for about 3 1/2 more hours on the binding
it’s finished!
and
I expect I’m finished with quilting for a little while…..

just a tad emotional

I’m a tad emotional.
I cried

when Tyler told me Sam’s didn’t have our olive oil.
How ridiculous is that??
I have tried and tried to get ready for
-well-
who knows what.
I’ve never had an eighth baby before.
Or a 4th c-section….
Or no big girl to help me…
So I’ve tried to just have my household in order
including every food-stuff we might possibly need

for the next month or so.

Every time I get everything crossed off my list
I find something else that we’re nearly out of….
Finished at Sam’s.
Made bread Friday and realized we only have about 3 cups of oil left.
Went to Walmart for the last last time
and within hours
I’d made the second to the last bottle of Fabuloso
That stuff lasts forever
and now it runs out??
~
I’ve been grieving the loss of my little girl.
I’ve done this enough to know how it works.
When I leave the house at 5 am Wed morning
Lily will still be
little
But
when I get home on Friday,
she will have grown by leaps and bounds,
never to be that same little girl again.
Oh
I know
the big Lily will be even more fabulous
than the precious Pie I have now.
But I will still miss the treasure she is right now.

~

I'm just a tad emotional….
~
I only have a day and a half left to come to grips with the fact
that
in all likelihood
I will never again participate in the miracle of life.
How does one come to grips with that??
~
Ok
maybe more than just a tad….
And I hate being a crybaby!
hmm
Perhaps we should rent a comedy this evening....

yes man

Jeremiah:

Is this a stay home day?

Mom:

Pretty much.

Dad may have to run to the hardware store, though.

Jeremiah:

Why don't you run to the store

and leave Dad home with the kids

'cause Dad says "yes" more than you do.

deep breath

OK
I'm ready.
Oh
I'm ready for my baby girl, too
but I was referring to the quilt...

My final practice piece.
My stippling is nowhere near perfect yet
but I think it's passable.
So
this afternoon
I'll take a deep breath
and give it a go.
~
and yes
life is still continuing on around here.
Oddly enough,
not revolving around
quilts!
Brandon has been sharing his geography lessons
with his bubs
and today
they fashioned a very simple volcano

fun!!

creative math

+

6 hrs and 3 bobbins

=

+

another 3 1/2 hours

and I forget how many bobbins

=

one
quilt top
and
an aching neck & back
(but one fairly tickled momma)

beat ya to the car

I was challenged

so I had to....

oddly enough

I lost.

~

I think I nearly gave a lady a heart attack, though.

I don't suppose she'd ever seen

a forty year old

37 weeks pregnant woman

barrelling through the Hobby Lobby parking lot.

I wasn't exactly running like a gazelle, mind you;

it was more of a waddling

I hope my maryjane mules don't come flying off shuffle.

but she seemed a bit stunned anyways.

~

When we made it to the car

Josiah says,

"Well, I guess I just always win when I race you.

I win the pee race, too!"

But then

after the next fabric store

("How many fabric stores are there?!" he wondered)

he let me win.

~
I know

it's pretty pathetic

when a 3 yr old has to let you win.

what I've learned about quilting

It's a very expensive hobby!
It goes much faster when you have a fabric stash;
running all over town to buy 1/4 yard of several fabrics
takes way too long.

I told Tyler I was going to reward myself
for recovering the cushions on the glider.
It was a job I wasn't looking forward to
so I figured a reward was just thing I needed to motivate myself.
He asked what would my reward be?
"Well, most people might not think of it as a reward....
I get to make a quilt for the rocking chair in the living room!"
~big smile~
I really like this quilting stuff.
He's probably wishing I'd have gone with chocolate
(not that he won't like the quilt, but somehow
my 'reward'
probably seems a whole lot more
like an addition to an already long to-do list)
~
speaking of my to-do list
I was able to cross off six things yesterday.
And the cushions I was dreading so much?

They only took about 2 1/2 hours.

goodbye dairy

I had my last glass of delicious farm fresh milk

followed by a plate of yesterday's leftover

Best Dip in the World

over rice

for dinner

and topped off with a final slice of Turtle Cheesecake

~

The consensus seems to be

that it can take up to two weeks

for all traces of dairy protein to leave your body.

Figured I'd give it an extra day, just to be safe.

Goodbye

all things dairy

hello

baby girl!!

recent projects

A fun blanket!

This just seemed appropriate for a baby girl

with lots of brothers

It took a surprisingly long time!

About 5 hours, I think.

I got the idea from here

but I did mine a bit differently.

Mostly,

I had only about 1/4 - 1/3 inch between stitches

and she had an inch.

And

I worked from the back side of the blanket

'cause after I'd done a few feet

I realized that with this particular yarn

it looked much better on the back than the front.

So I ripped out what I'd done & started over.

Oh

I also used an embroidery needle to poke the holes

before attempting to stick the crochet hook through.

Maybe I'm just a big wimp

but I needed those pre-poked holes!

the diaper bag!

I'm pretty pleased with it.

I need lots more practice on my stippling,

but its not too shabby for my first attempt.

The basic shape of the bag came from this.

a few more socks for the Pie

Lana makes most of her socks for me

but she doesn't have white yarn

and the beaded socks aren't her preference to make...

I need to make a few pairs for Baby, too...

some spit rags
(aka burp cloths)
'cause it's much nicer to spit up on something pretty
don't you think?

I bought 1/2 yard each of 2 flannels.
I would have just cut them into 4 strips, roughly 11 inches each
but I wanted to make a couple for Lily for her doll, too
so I only made these about 9 inches wide.
I may have to make another set;
Tony found some really cute fabric for the blanket he's making....

One of the drawbacks

to using your dining room table

for sewing and such:

you may hear your threee-year old exclaim

"Fabric was in my food!"
~

Of course
we can't forget the kitchen!
We finished it with 2 days to spare.
Brandon & Tony were a huge help!!

thanks, guys!!!

Jeremiah & Josiah
when we uncovered their 'shelves'
Lily was still sleeping.....
~
then there are the shelves for our bedroom
which I haven't managed to get organized yet....

~

Maybe it's no wonder our house is always a wreck
~sigh~

I still have several things I'd like to accomplish
in the next couple of weeks.

~
It could happen.

happy new year

I'm the first one to post in 2009!

resolutions and gifts

I’m not really one to make ‘new year’s resolutions’
mostly
‘cause I’m not one to keep them.
But as I was rushing around today
- as usual -
I thought
I just want to be able to be still.
It seems that this year
more so than others
has just been so very busy;
we’ve rushed from one thing to the next
not having time to do things quite the way I’d like.
Always rushing.
Seeing things that need changing
but somehow
not finding the time to figure out a plan to actually make changes.
And always
no matter how much time we spend cleaning
the house is a mess.
Not one of those “oh, I’m sorry the house is a wreck” messes
and one is left wondering where exactly this mess is.
Truly
a mess.
I don’t like living this way.
~
Then I realized
I will be spending several hours a day
in the very near future
being still.
Sitting and nursing our precious new baby.
How good is God?!
Nine months ago
He knew I would be at my breaking point
and so He sent me a gift
to be opened at just the right time.
~

I just love presents!
‘specially soft cute cuddly ones!

you know you're at the vet's

when everyone talks to your

'poor little sick dog'

(who just trashed your house,

necessitating an emergency carpet cleaning.

Poor dog, my eye!)

and no one mentions a word about your

ready-to-pop 8+months-pregnant belly

~

speaking of -

only 3 weeks 'til we get to hold our little sweetie

in our arms.

I can hardly wait!!!!

Look at those cheeks!

my genius husband

Tonight

we were in the middle of another building project

- shelves, this time -

(it's almost sad how proficient we have become at shelf-building)

and Tyler decided to get the soup warming up for dinner.

Slave-driver that I am,

he figured if he waited for me to get it warming

it'd be several hours still before we ate...

I asked he'd turned the burner on good & low.

Didn't want to risk a pot of 'smokey' Turkey Noodle Soup

(with the turkey, this time - sorry guys!)

He said

"I put it on 7."

Seven?!

Eight

is as high as the stove goes!

Needless to say

I flew to the kitchen

where I found

that he had brilliantly

fashioned a double boiler

in which to heat up the soup

risk-free!

In all my years of cooking

it has never once occurred to me

to heat up a thick soup this way.

Pure genius, I tell ya!

ta-da

I finished it!

For my first real quilt,

I'm pretty happy with it.

~

I used this gal's tutorials - which are excellent, I thought!
I figure it took me somewhere between

15 and 17 hours all together.

Never mind how much money....

but I do have a fancy new walking foot for my sewing machine :-)

~

I really had no business working on a baby quilt

when the little girl currently in-house

still needs more diapers

and I have plenty of Christmas prep to keep my busy

but I just couldn't help myself.

I was a bit nervous when I stuck it in the washer

but all the 'experts' had told me

'nobody prewashes anymore'

I went ahead and threw some salt and a color catcher in

for good measure

Now all I need is a snuggly little baby girl to go with it!

well

and a diaper bag.....

God's provision

“I have sort of an odd question.

Is there, by any chance, a metallic primer of some sort

that one could use to make a surface that magnets would stick to?”

I timidly asked the lady at Lowe’s, fully expecting to be laughed at.

I am famous for coming up with a need

for products

that do not exist.

When I told Tyler it would be really neat if there was such a thing,

he agreed it’d be cool

but he certainly didn’t think it existed.
~
We’re making a
- Shhh -

k i t c h e n

for the kids for Christmas.

~
When I had the idea
(I am also famous for coming up with ‘easy’ things for Tyler to do
It’s a compliment, really, I think he can make anything.
It‘s probably not the kind of compliment he appreciates, though…)
I sorta thought we’d begin building several weeks before Christmas.
I had no clue Tyler would be working major overtime
and we’d barely see him
the entire month of December.
~
We started on the kitchen yesterday.
As in
I bought supplies while Tyler was working
and we drew out the pattern on the wood late last night.
Turns out

there is such a thing as a metallic primer that attracts magnets

called - ironically enough - metallic primer.
It’s kinda pricey at $20.77 a quart

but it would be so cool for the kids to play

with alphabet magnets on their fridge… so we splurged on it.
Anyways
Tyler had decided not to go to work today
So we were going to get as much done on the kitchen

as we possibly could.
Which is where God’s provision comes in again

(I consider the fact that metallic primer even exists

to be His provision, too :-)
~
I’ll occasionally hear or read

of God almost miraculously providing for people.

They find insanely good deals.

And I moan, “why not me? my family?”
Well, today, He provided for us.
Beautiful weather.
A sixty degree day, smack in the middle of December,
just so we could work on our little project.
How cool is that??

We commented several times

about what a blessing the nice weather was.
We were all amazed at just how much progress we made.
(granted, we did work all afternoon & evening, but still…)
The icing on the cake came when we finally called it quits.
It was after 7 o'clock.
We were hungry and worn out.
Ordinarily, we might have left our mess for later
but
we knew the weather was going to be turning nasty tomorrow.
As in
nearly freezing
with rain.
So we had to go ahead and clean up everything.
It is, after all, December
and we could expect it to stay cold and yucky indefinitely.
Trips to the shop and burn pile in the dark
seemed preferable to trips in freezing rain....
Tony got dinner on the table for us
and came out to help with the last of the pick-up.
We came in the house
washed hands
and sat down to eat.

We had served up the chili, but hadn’t even prayed yet.
3 minutes max from the time we closed the door.
Tyler said, “Quiet, everyone. Listen”
and so we did.
And we heard
rain.
Tears filled my eyes.
God does provide ‘like that’ for my family!
But He does it in the ways that we need.

We don’t necessarily need 50 cent a pound strawberries

(although we would certainly enjoy them)
But today, we really needed to make a major dent in our project;

Tyler may not have another day off before Christmas.
We could have done it in cold,

but it would have been miserable.

God cared enough to send us one lovely day

- the one day that Tyler could be home -

so that we could make something special for our kids

and He even held off the rain

until we were completely finished for the day.
~
Thank-you Lord, for your provision.

Forgive me for doubting your care.