Isaac's Advent Calender.

I finished all of the Advent bags for Isaac on Saturday. I think they turned out really really cute. I was thinking of hanging them from a string of Christmas lights somewhere in the house but I don't know if I have enough room to do that for all 3 of the kids. So I think instead I'll get a nice basket for each kid and set them somewhere out of the way but easy to access. Can't wait to fill them up tomorrow and start the process of opening one each day starting Tuesday. I hope they enjoy it as much as I think I will.

Mackenzie's Advent Bags.

Wow, did I undertake a lot when I decided to make these bags the pattern for Mackenzie's advent calendar. Not only did I have to cut them all out, but I had to box the bottom corners, top stitch the top and then iron them flat before adding a Velcro button to make sure they stay shut. All of that after I sewed in a small strip of elastic on the back as a loop for when I string them up on the wall. This year I'm sticking with a basket for each kid. Maybe next year I can string them along the walls.

Lots of projects in the works.

I've finished all the sewing on Isaac's advent calendar, 24 little dinosaur pockets. All that's left to do is add the drawstrings and fill with goodies. It's not very Christmas like but I was thinking, maybe I could use it for his birthday too in July. We'll see.

I've got all the pieces for my next apron all cut out. All I need to do is find an hour or two to dedicate to the machine to get it all pieced together. Maybe over the Thanksgiving break I can get it finished.

I've got 14 little owls all sewn up and waiting for eyes and a nose. I'm thinking of stamping something on their little belly's, maybe something simple like 'Welcome' or...eh...I don't know.

The start of Christmas.

One of the ways I know that Christmas is right around the corner.....Holiday Pretzel Treats with red and green M&M's. A special thanks to my friend Becca for giving me the recipe for these easy, fun, snacks.

Extended Family

These are some pictures from the September reunion that my old church family has every year. I didn't get a picture of everyone but the good pics I got I thought I'd post here. I grew up with these people. The guy in the bottom left corner in the brownish shirt, is one of the David's that my Isaac is named after. He was my pastor growing up and family friend.

Danny, bottom right, is my god father. :)

Justin, top left, just a few years younger than I. My mom and his mom are best friends so we spent a lot of time together when we were younger.

Sherry, right next to Justin, is my Aunt/cousin on my mom's side. :) What can I say, she's a firecracker and I love that she loves my kids as much as she does me.

The two ladies on top right, Dreama and Cathy. Two very different people that brought very different things to the table for me while growing up.

The bottom middle picture, the annual volleyball game. The girl with the ball, that Jessica too. She's wonderful. I miss her.

Next years picnic can't come too soon.

Have you seen this yet??

I love these pictures, in a funny sort of realistic way. Thought I'd share it here.   My favorite would have to be The Princess and the Pea, only because that was my favorite growing up. Though Rapunzel is sadly beautiful. I love the colors in the photos as well. Very bright and clean compared to their backgrounds.  If you click the link below it'll take you to more Fallen Princesses.

http://www.jpgmag.com/stories/11918

Heart Cords

I met Cathy at Mentoring Moments at my church. The second one I had ever been too.

"Do you have children?" She asked me.
"Yes, 3, do you?"
"Two girls. What do you do?"
"I work here at the church part time and I homeschool."
"Oh I homeschooled my girls too."

The conversation turned to homeschooling for the rest of the night.

She was bright, funny, full of energy and knew how to make friends. She didn't hesitate to pick up my notebook and write her name and phone number on the back page in case I ever had any questions about homeschooling. I still have that piece of paper in that notebook.

She and I didn't stay in touch, we ran in different ministry circles at a big church. It was only a few weeks later that I started editing one of her husbands ministry books before it went to the publishers. It even took me awhile to realize that he was her husband. So I knew Cathy more through her husband and her two daughters that started helping out in the children part of the church that I was organizing.  Her passing, 20 days after she was diagnosed, totally caught me off guard and struck something inside of me I've yet to put my finger on.

Her husband's monthly newsletter for his ministry is dedicated to Cathy this month. I urge anyone that knew her that reads my blog or didn't know her to read the short newletter.. She was a true love on earth and those that she touched are many and miss her.

Copy and paste the link below.

http://www.fuel-yms.com/pdfs/e-Zine/NOV2009FUEL-YMS_eZine.pdf

Fun Apron.

So I love aprons and have even started collecting them. I love wearing them and love the different styles and patterns. So when I saw this pattern and fun fabric I got excited. I've wanted to sew my own apron for awhile but I didn't want to jump into a big complicated pattern and get bogged down with making something that was more work than fun. Making this apron was fun. It was quick and easy, the only time consuming thing was turning the apron ties at the waist and around the neck right side out. :) I need one of those turning hooks. Maybe next trip to the fabric store I'll pick one up. I plan on making more of these and I already have my next pattern.

Thanks to Mackenzie for modeling this, though it went against everything in her Gothic being to do so, she did a bang up job. (Though she did make me promise to cut her face off in the pictures that I used on my blog)

Virginia Tech Hockey.

Growing up my dad and a few of our friends from church would all get together and catch a couple of semi-pro hockey games. I loved them. It became my sport of choice. Followed by watching in on TV, leaning the names of all the players on my favorite team (Messier, I still love you) and having a ritual all my own for the Stanley Cup game. Ahhhh, hockey, I've missed you over the years.

My sister and her husband have season tickets to the Virginia Tech Hockey games this year. The kids and I tagged along about 2 weeks ago. This was a first for all 3 of they kids. They seemed to enjoy watching their cousin play football this year and I was sure that hockey was going to be a bigger hit since it all happens to quickly.

I was right, it was a hit and we all had a great time. We all want to catch another game soon.

My Isaac

I sit on the couch, a pillow tucked under my arm so that I'm leaning towards the middle cushion.

He's behind the recliner, digging in the toy basket for some little action figure he can't find.
Will you come sit beside me when you find your toy? I call to him.
Okay, he drags out, his reply soft, full of mischief, like maybe he wont sit beside me after all.

But he does, and for a minute I am happy. For a moment I'm content sitting beside my only son and being close to him.

Did you find your toy? I ask.
I found wings. He answers, holding them out for me to see, his eyes fixed on the TV. The Fantastic 4 has just come on. A favorite of his.
Were you looking for wings?
No, I wanted to find my Human Torch but I just found wings.
They are pretty, I tell him, curious as to why the Human Torch is so easily replaced by plastic, fairy wings.
Hey. I call to him softly, wanting his pretty brown eyes to look at me.
He does look at me and smiles. It's a soft smile, his lips still closed but tilted tightly up at the corners. A smile that says I'm pretty happy right now and not sure why mom is bugging me. But a beautiful smile nonetheless.

I don't have to say another word and he's leaning his cheek towards me for a kiss.
I kiss his cold cheek and run my fingers over the short hair at the back of his head.
You're a good boy, I tell him, meaning every word of it, knowing that at times he doesn't feel like a good boy. At times, he struggles to be a part of the activity around him.
I love you momma, he seems to sing.
I love you too, will you kiss my cheek now?
And he does, and for a moment, I'm lost in the sweet boy smell of him and the sweep of his sweet little boy lips quickly brushing against my cheek. And for a moment, he's the only guy in my life that has stolen all of my heart.