The Paint Is On...

Back before Thanksgiving, we started renovations on Children's Church. Vicki offered to paint. This was supposed to be quick. Two weekends at most. Seriously.

Once we got into it we realized that some work that required carpentry skills far above our poor power. Mistake #1: We started this thing during deer season. What were we THINKING!! Then the holidays...Thanksgiving...Christmas...New Year's. Took forever to get everything done.

Since November, we have had Children's Church in Aunt Patsy's Sunday School room . She very graciously invited us to move in. But you know, we just all need a place to call our own, right?

So this weekend (a three-day weekend for Vicki), we started painting. Friday Robbie, Carsyn, and I went to get paint, rollers, drop cloths, brushes...all the "stuff" we would need. And Saturday morning I met Vicki there and we got our paint on. We got it on the walls. We got it on the floor. We got it on ourselves. And the place looks good!!! It looks even more amazing after we went this afternoon and put the second coat on. Who knew the second coat would go soooooo much faster!!

The painting marathon was not without excitement. I'll share a little:

There is a staircase going down to Children's Church that really needed some tender loving care. We decided to paint those walls. We didn't think about that the highest part of the ceiling would be at the lowest point on the stairs. We had one pole to extend the roller, but still we couldn't quite reach. So we used a little stool on the stairs. Hush. We know now that was stupid, but we were desperate. First I was on it and Vicki was below me on the stairs. I can honestly say that I only wanted to reach just one.more.inch. And WHOOP there it is!! The stool flew out from under me, my feet went flying, I don't know where the brush went, and Vicki put one hand out --not sure what she was doing but it was the thought that counted.

So Vicki decided to climb up. Judging from previous experience, I decided to stand behind her and hold on. Sure enough, here she went! But no worries--I had such a tight grip on her t shirt that she practically bungee jumped. You know, she just rebounded. I'm telling you, it was the one more inch thing both times!

We are both so glad Lauren wasn't there to witness either mishap. She would have had to go to the emergency room, and that would have prolonged this thing. Poor thing, Lauren just cannot handle seeing a fall. It just sends her into gales of laughter!

We are far from done, but let me tell you and the universe I AM HAVING CHILDREN'S CHURCH IN THAT ROOM NEXT SUNDAY.

Unless God has other plans, of course.

Which I will, of course, try to talk him out of.

Somehow.

The Pappy Is Gone...Now Here's How We Go to Sleep!

Carsyn has been devoted to her pappy. DEVOTED!! None of us were OCD about getting her off it at a particular moment in time, but we thought she would probably talk more if she didn't have it. We also thought (and prepared ourselves) that the experience would be ...ummm...traumatic. But lots of prayer and a reading of the Farmer's Almanac and some rather miraculous cooperation on Carsyn's part, and..........it's gone!

I'm not even going to try to convince anybody that she doesn't think about it. Occasionally she just has the sweetest look and points straight to her mouth. She'll even ask for it. In desperation, she even stuck a tiny, hard, baby doll pacifier in her mouth for a moment of relief. But even with all that sweetness, she has really done well giving it up -- COMPLETELY!

Now she's on to other means of satisfaction. This is her newest one:

Yes, the doll wears a size larger than Carsyn does. All I know is, she loves that doll.

In other news, Kaylee turned 4! She's such a pretty little girl, and she bosses those boys around like crazy! She had a Hello Kitty birthday party. Here's a candy bowl I made for her table:

AND... I got the Christmas tree down. You have no idea how hard that was (with baby help). Robbie even said, "You didn't have Carsyn today? You did? How did you get the tree down?" Ha! Never underestimate the determination of ZiZi!! I had lots of help, but she mostly wanted the tree back UP.

She worked sooooo hard to get those lights back on!

Finally, just because it is just beyond adorable, I want to show you  a precious birthday outfit. One etsy customer went out of her way to get her little girl a snowflake birthday suit. I found snowflake legwarmers, and Vicki and I put the tutu together while the machine hummed away.







And this outfit was born!!! How cute is that!

That is all. The End.

Is It 2012 Already??

Well, the Christmas holidays are over (I need to host the family for a meal again and let them take down the trees), and the New Year has arrived. I remember, when I was little, knowing for sure the world would not be here by the time we had to write 2000, and here it is 12 years later! Wow!

The year 2011 was such a huge variety of emotions and events:

• I decided to take some time off school to help with baby sitting and because I felt a need to be more available for Pam and Kenny.
• Kenny moved to the best of all places.
• Our gymnastics team (level 3) placed 1st in the state meet.
• My sewing business took off like CRAZY (thanks goodness).
• We were able to spend lots of time with all our babies (older and younger).
• Both sets of our parents had a wonderfully healthy year.
• All our children  and grands had a wonderfully healthy year.
• Santa Claus came even though I thought I was going to sew straight through Christmas.
• I found out that holidays are still hard (Every day is, actually. Miss my BoBo soooo much).
• We started some renovation work on Childen's Church (It's amazing how much I have missed that basement).
• We opened CHRISTMAS presents OUTSIDE on the arbor in 77 degree weather-- and the weather dropped to below freezing for the next two nights!
• I made Sugar Cookie Truffles and Lemon-Lime Sugar Cookie Truffles, Rolls, and Peanut Butter Bites BY MYSELF!!!

I can't possibly remember everything, but I AM making  some New Year's resolutions:

• Blog more often
• Shop earlier
• Get more organized
• Save more money
• Be healthier
• Clean more effectively (must be linked to Get More Organized)
• Go on more "dates" with Robbie
• Create something -- or some part of something-- every day
• Pray more
• Read more
• Be a positive influence
• Build a better relationship with my stove

Happy New Year!!!

**Additonal News and Resolutions:
1. I got the tree down--WITH Carsyn "helping" (putting the lights back on as fast as I could get them off).
2. I resolve to remember to hit the PUBLISH POST button (been several days since I wrote this post!)

Catching Up--The Holidays

Catching up…

I don't even know if I can call it that. I haven't blogged in FOREVER, and I love to blog. But my goodness! Time just runs out!

Not that I'm complaining. It's just that it's hard to even think about blogging when I have so much sewing to do. I have made so many zebra outfits that PETA may come check us out. Snowmen on t shirts, monograms on everything you can imagine, dresses and pants—my goodness at the pants—and a most adorablegorgeousoutofthisworldamazing minky dot romper for Grace to wear in the Christmas program.

Carsyn has not yet moved into the world of compatibility where sewing is concerned. Thank goodness for LOTS of help from others. Without Mama, Gabby, and Karissa, a lot of children would be naked at Christmas...or at least not as cute.

Anyway. On to the holidays. Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is our eat here and decorate our tree night. All the kids were here to help. Supper was wonderful, the kids were sweet and soooooo helpful. We have almost as many ornaments left as when we started the night J

Presents, however, are missing…still. Seriously. No presents wrapped yet. And that's a LOT of wrapping waiting for me. Oh well. Maybe tonight.

After the decoration success, we had Thanksgiving lunch with Robbie's parents on Thursday. And then, Thursday night, we went Black Friday shopping!!!!! No, it was not Black Friday yet. Let me just say that watching people like Lauren try to hold her eyes open was pretty hilarious. Vicki definitely won the prize for the most energy of the night. We had a blast and were happy Karissa and Kelly could go. Liz, Lauren's sister-in-law, went with us this year and we had such fun! Sunday Thanksgiving lunch at Mama and Daddy's was wonderful as always. And then, with almost no warning, it was DECEMBER!!

The big Christmas push was on—finish shopping (Every year I say I'm going to be DONE before December. I never am.) The problem this year has been finding time to go. What's that you say? You've heard that before? That's because it's TRUE!! I may not be making the trip to school every day, but I promise I'm busier than I have ever been in my life! I have one more trip to make. You know the one: everything's is counted and the numbers are not right; a bit more tape would be good; and what if I see something I just really like—for anyone J

Merry Christmas!

Chivalry Is NOT Dead...

Chivalry is a term that dates back to the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur's time. It's the concept of doing what is right, helping those in need, being kind, being thoughtful, and, if needed, rescuing beautiful (or not) damsels from fire-breathing dragons :)  For as long as I have taught, my students in Arthurian Romance or English 9 have been assigned a paper on the topic of chivalry and whether it still exists.

Of course, I KNOW it does. I live with one of the few remaining knights :)

He is a gentleman through and through, and so are my boys.

But sometimes it's nice to see another example--one completely out of the family or my comfort zone (because we all see the best in our own people, right?)

This past week I had the pleasure of participating in the Holiday Bazaar hosted by Andalusia Manor in Andalusia, Alabama. Thanks SalLee Sasser Williams and Tamala Hutcheson for thinking of inviting me! It was my first experience at something like this, and I learned a lot. Mama went with me and the company was so welcome. She helped customers and was my biggest fan :) Many of the customers who came through were employees of the facility, and others who visited brought their family members who reside there to shop or look around. Some people from the general public came in, and everyone was sooooo nice. But then there was one who just stood out...

I was standing behind the table and noticed someone coming in the door. At first, I had to look twice because, as Grace would say, the boy coming in looked just like "Mac Attack." (I think she may have a life-long crush on my former student--probably because he always should such chivalry to her.)

This young man wasn't alone. He was an employee of Andalusia Manor and was pushing one on the residents in a wheel chair. She was much, much older than he and I did not get the impression that they were family at all. I watched him the entire time he was in the room, and I so wished I could show my students this real-life example of chivalry.

He was so kind, so gentle, and so patient. He took his charge to every table. There were tables of jewelry, makeup, children's clothes (me!!), monogrammed bags, cookware, toys, Thirty-one items, Christmas wreaths, and Holiday decorations for sale. It was obvious that few, if any, of these things would be of great interest, but no one would have known that by watching him.

Mr. Knight-in-Shining-Armor stopped at each table and explained what was being sold. He even held up jewelry to her neck and ears and told her how good it would look on her. They stopped at our rack and he talked about embroidery and how everything was personalized. He took her to the makeup table and talked about lipstick and perfume. At the table selling decorations he talked about stockings and wreaths and Christmas. He was never in a hurry and wasn't the least embarrassed to be doing his job--his calling. 

I wish I had gotten his name so that I could mention it on here, but I didn't :( 
He certainly deserves to be complimented.

Andalusia Manor is blessed to have such wonderful people working with their residents, and the residents are certainly blessed to have such kind, caring individuals as this young man. I can only hope we have raised our boys to be as kind!

Thankfully Speaking...

There is a challenge going around on Facebook right now to post what you are thankful for every day in an effort to celebrate more of a thankful month than a thankful day (Thanksgiving). I think that is awesome. I wish I had time to do it. Or the brain to remember every day. But I get so bogged down in the "stuff" of life and sometimes don't even LOOK at Facebook except for ZiZi's page or to read messages someone has sent.

Carsyn is sleeping this morning and my day hasn't officially gotten started yet (even though I've been up since 4:30 A.M. and posted assignments, answered emails, finished  some projects, and washed a load of clothes). What a perfect time to reflect on what I'm thankful for.

• I'm thankful for my relationship with God and my church family. I don't know how people handle the hard things in life without God and church, and I'm glad I've never had to figure that out.
• I'm thankful for the amazing parents God chose to place me with. They are there for us all the time, always ready to do whatever we need and asking so little from us. My goal this year is to try to be more available to help them.
• I'm thankful for my siblings. David and Pam are the best brother and sister a kid could have. And their spouses are precious to me as my new brother and sister (I don't like the term "in-law"). Their children are like my children, and their needs are important to me. I don't understand people who can distance themselves from their families. So sad.
• I'm thankful for the wonderful husband gave made just for me. He takes such good care of me and our family. Ours is such an incredibly content relationship, and for that I am so blessed.
• I'm thankful for my second set of parents, Robbie's parents. They are so loving and supportive of all we do.
• I'm thankful for my three gorgeous children. God blessed me so much by allowing me to be the mama to Josh, Lauren, and Robert. Every moment I have or had with them is precious and cannot be replaced.
• I'm thankful for my new children--those that Josh, Lauren, and Robert married and brought into our family. They chose well and the joining of our families has been basically seamless. My newbies are as much a part of my thinking when I talk about my children as Josh, Lauren, and Robert are.
• I'm thankful for the little people that our couple kids have blessed us with. Gracie, our first, is the most verbal and LOVES to talk! Dylan, just 6 months and a day younger, is such a little man and helps take care of everybody when he comes to see us. Daniel has the most precious little lisp and his truly his daddy's mini me. Kaylee is quite the little boss around her brothers, but, my goodness, she has to be! Carsyn, the youngest, is sooo funny doing her arabesques and slinging her arms around for "Deep and Wide."
• I'm thankful for a school that says, "We understand you need to be at home right now. And we understand you still need to teach. So, yes, you can do the online classes."
• I'm thankful for a business that is growing stronger and stronger. My mission is to make cute clothing at affordable costs. My customers seem to appreciate that!
• I'm thankful to my daughter for including me in her gymnastics studio. I have such fun teaching those kids, and I look forward to their classes every week and their meets on the weekend.
• I'm thankful for my health. Sometimes I get headaches, and I have more aches than I used to, but that's just a part of getting older, don't you think?  I mean, what 29-year-old doesn't get a little stiff now and then?  :)
• I'm thankful for my friends. I have read that if one has 2 people he can call good friends he is truly blessed -- and that's what I can call myself: truly blessed.
• I'm thankful for those little things that make life easier-- computers, cell phones, Nick Jr., air conditioning, automatic transmissions, washers and dryers, microwaves, refrigerators-- but none of these things would make up for not having those items listed before.

So, what are YOU thankful for?

Pumpkins and Posers

I am a creator. I sew. I paint. I cut vinyl with my super-cool cricut and make cool snazzy things. I turn non-writers into authors (at least of essays).

Rarely do I have the misfortune of being bested by one of my creations. Maybe bested is not the right word. Attacked? Ambushed? Smothered and suffocated? I don't know. Anyway, here goes:

First, the pumpkins.

In the sewn category, there have been 2354 pumpkin shirts and outfits leave the Den of Stitches. That may be slightly exaggerated. But I'm sure at least fifty are ready to wear by little girls all over this area. Such a cute outfit too. You see why everybody would want one :)

Let me just say it has been a valiant effort to fulfill all these orders. I have bought every piece of orange and white fabric from Orange Beach to Birmingham. Who knew orange was a SPRING fabric and no more could be ordered!! Am I the only one who associates orange with fall???? Oh, well.  I am now to the point that I can offer to do shirts only...there just isn't enough fabric for pants. But that's good, right? That's what Robbie always asks me.

And then the tutus. Lord, at the tutus! I had to get Vicki and Grace to spend the night and help me! But these tutus were not for children...nope, no ballerinas in this bunch. These were all GROWN women who were dressing up for the run they sponsored. As one of the participants put it, "Nothing says I'm a serious runner quite  like a tutu." What fun! How cute!

Finally (and this is where I was held hostage by one of my own creations)--the poser. My niece Karissa is a budding photographer. She is not only learning to take sonographic (is that even a word?) pictures of a person's insides in school, but she also has her own photography business that is growing...and growing...and growing. But that's good, right?

So anyway, back in the summer she sent me a picture of a photography poser and asked if I could make one for less than the advertised $75. Ummm...yeah. So I searched the stores until I found a remnant of a vinyl/leather-like fabric (to be easily cleaned if wee ones have accidents) and put it aside. Then last weekend I decided to "clean out" some stuff that had been hanging around, stressing me with its not-done-ness.. I know, I know...not a word...

I should have had someone (a photgrapher, maybe?) taking pictures of this whole experience. First I laid the fabric/wild animal (it acted like one) on the floor. I taped a ribbon to a marker so that I could make a perfect circle, and I drew it off. Let me just say I was quite proud of myself. Cutting it out was not problem, and neither was the cutting of the band to separate the top and bottom. Karissa is going to fill this thing up with those little beads that go in bean bags, so it needed some expansion room and a zipper. Next, off to the sewing machine...and the relationship between me and the THING turned ugly.

Most things I sew are docile and yielding. They squish and gather and can be easily compacted. But not the poser. Oh, no. Here I was, at the machine, with the poser fighing me, trying to slip away, and, when that didn't work, attacking me!! I kid you not, the poser tried to kill me!  I was hunkered over the machine , sewing away, fighting to keep the thing under the machine and sew in a circle, when the part I was not sewing curled up and came over my head!

I can just imagine the headline: Female Seamstress Smothered by  a Poser

It would make for interesting reading, don't you think?

Anyway, I got it done--even got a zipper in the band (no small feat, let me tell you). And I sent it on its happy way to the new owner. Loving feedback as I do, I waited to hear from her...and waited...and waited. Fearing that the thing might have tried to take her out too, I sent a message asking if it worked. Her response: "It's still in the truck."

Hope it doesn't try to attack her when she opens the door...