Anna’s Sundress

The other day Djeryd asked me if, now that I’m no longer teaching Seminary, would I start blogging again?  I said, “Probably.”  Then he asked me if I would start sewing again, too.  I said, “Probably.”  Then he said, “Good, because I like it when you blog and then you make all kinds of crazy sewing stuff so you can blog about them.”  I still don’t know how to take the “crazy sewing stuff” remark, but it was the right encouragement I needed to jump back into the blogging saddle.  However, before I head up to my studio to “make all kinds of crazy sewing stuff” I have some projects I actually managed to squeak in between Seminary lessons last spring that I’d like to share.

I made this dress for right at the tail end of the school year.  I wanted Anna to have a pretty little sundress and I found a pattern in Sewing MODKID Style by Patty Young.  All of the clothing in this book is designed for knits, but I figured all the elastic shirring in the bodice would make it friendly for wovens.  I worked great.  I used the basic measurement guidelines that were in the book and then tweaked it to add more fabrics.  I also added a little flutter sleeve because I think they’re cute and they polish up the dress a bit.

After she had worn it a few times, I realized it needed a little pizazz, so Anna and I picked some trims from the stash and bumped up the style on her little dress.  This was another collaboration for us (we’re getting better at those).  I  really like it when Anna shares the creative process with me.  With this one, I actually drafted it up after we picked out the pattern and fabrics:

Obviously, things changed.  I think that is such an integral part of the creative process – flexibility.  For Anna’s sake I appreciate her being able to see that most things do not work out exactly the way we plan them.  Often better ideas will come along, or you cut where you weren’t supposed to cut, or a planned length of fabric comes up short, or a combination just doesn’t look quite right.  And we change.  We adapt.  We make it better.  We make it ours.

And Anna has definitely made this dress hers.  She climbs trees in it, plays in the sand, rolls in the grass, she even went canoeing in it.  She wears it everywhere and she loves it and that makes us both very, very happy.

Ode to Uno

Oh, Uno.

Oh, how we love thee, Uno.

The shuffle and snap of the cards,

The colors, the numbers, the Draw Twos,

(And especially Draw Fours).

We love to stack and to skip and to draw.

We love to yell “match!”

And beat everyone else to the pile.

We live to watch Anna get gigglier and gigglier as she draws

And draws

And draws

Her new cards.

We love to shout “Uno!”

And go out with a victorious Cheshire grin.

We love that we all like you

And we can all win.

But the very best part of you, Uno,

Is ice cream of us

When you are all through.

Ickies

We’ve had ickies running through our house of late.  Nothing horrendous, thank goodness, but nothing particularly fun either.  Mostly just fevers and coughs and sore throats.  Erik caught it first, which is typical, then Anna, then Alyx.  And now I think Sean may have a touch of it.

I feel bad for Erik.  Because he is almost always the first one to come down with a bug, he is quarantined in my greatest efforts to avoid family-wide contamination.  Sometimes this is effective.  Sometimes not.  Once Alyx gets something I give up entirely on separation mostly because she will not tolerate a cuddle ban, and everybody else knows to wash their hands and not stick germy things in their mouths.

Still, it’s crummy for Erik.  He is the coolest, though, especially about stuff like that.  Love that boy.  I’m hoping we are through the ickies this winter and we can keep My Little Pony turned off until sometime next year (Alyx and Anna laid down and watched that for days).  I’m just grateful it was mild.  And I’m grateful it’s over (even if that is just for now).  And I’m grateful I got extra time with my kids (is it bad that I love it when they have to stay home?).  And I am overwhelmingly grateful I did not catch it.  Here’s to hoping for a healthy spring (and the rest of winter, of course). 

Shelters 101

I believe the only thing Djeryd purchased at Scout Camp last year was book about surviving in all sorts of strange circumstances.  A couple of weeks ago my sweet boy pulled it out to expand his mind.  Within an hour he was tracking down both Sean and myself to see if he could use random materials in the yard and garage.  Since I am always curious to see what creation  he is thinking up I said “yes,” and waited patiently for this to be built:

Erik is almost always good for jumping on Djeryd’s various wagons and this was no exception.  He is an amazing support to his big brother, and Djeryd loves his companionship.  In a couple of days they had worked out the kinks, stabilized the poles, and added a tarp inside the shelter (so you did not have to lie on the grass).  Erik, of course, wanted to sleep in it.  If it was summer time, I would not bat an eye, but we were still in the midst of ickies being transferred from kid to kid and I was not about to introduce a new virus due to immune systems being compromised in the very cold night air.

I loved how they drug Sean out on a Sunday afternoon to get his stamp of approval.  The tent stayed up for a week, not getting much physical use, but a lot of self-esteem building.  I love it when my kids look at something they’ve made and feel that joy of having created something with their own brains and their own two hands.  The ability to create is a true gift. So go do something with it!

Junk Drawer Face-Lift

Around Christmas, while Sean perused the hard drive aisle at Fry’s, I found myself in the magazine section staring at an organizing magazine with the creator of iHeartOrganizing on the cover.  I could not wait to get home and check out this website.  I was hooked and have been delighted to be inspired virtually every time I’ve visited this space.

A couple of weeks ago I came across a post where she used cereal boxes and wrapping paper to convert a messy drawer into cheerful, organized bliss.  I gave it a whirl with the cereal boxes I had on hand.  I did not totally fill the drawer because I ran out of boxes, but I am rounding up more and looking for more drawer make-over opportunities throughout the house.  I’m loving my recycle bin lately. This project proved to be a quick, easy and inexpensive way to have a place for everything and put everything in its place.  (Sorry I do not have a before picture, but I assure you, it was a mess.)

Really fun.  Give it  a whirl.  You’ve got absolutely nothing to lose with this easy project.  And your drawer will be so pretty when you’re finished.  ;->

Valentines

I got the idea to “Heart Attack” our family for Valentine’s Day over here.  I think we may have done this last year, but I honestly do not remember (a good reason to take more pictures, I think).  Anyway, last Monday night we all sat around the table (except Erik, who was sick on the couch) and wrote out our Valentine’s to one another.  Then we taped them on the wall for a little extra love this month.  I liked the idea so much we did it in my seminary class as well.  And let me tell you, some of those brought tears to my eyes.

Because the majority of my children do not have legible handwriting (which drives me absolutely crazy), I will transcribe the love they wanted to share with one other.

Anna: I love Djeryd how he helps me sometime.

Erik: I love Dad because he makes good waffles.

Djeryd: I love Dad because no matter what he is always there for me.

Erik: I love Anna because she dances.

Anna: I love Erik how he is funny.

Anna: I love Alyx how she makes a big mess.

Djeryd: I love Mom because she will make anything or help make it even if she can’t eat it.

Anna: I love Dad because he makes funny magic tricks, like ones when it goes in my ear.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Three Months – In a Nutshell

Any other year this post would have been broken up into several posts over the past few months.  But this is not any other year.  This is this year.  With this year’s challenges and opportunities.  And so rather than spending several posts trying to catch up on three months of our life, I have opted to quickly fill in and move on from where we are.

If you read the last post (written by my wonderful husband) you know that I spend every school day morning with some amazing teenagers teaching and learning with them the gospel of Jesus Christ as it has been restored in the latter days of the earth.  It is incredible and I love it.  It is also very demanding of time and energy and it has taken me a little while to get things figured out, thus the absence of blog posts.  But things are evening out and I’m ready (I think) to revisit my blog regularly. 

I’m sure there will be more posts about all of this, but for now, let’s recap.  ** Warning: Picture-Heavy Post. **

We had Thanksgiving at our house and took the opportunity to send a little Christmas love note to a relative on his mission.  You decide which picture is best.

Djeryd had a winter band concert and spent a lot of time practicing.  He really loves orchestral music, so band is not exactly his speed, but we are trying to convince him to stick it out until he can join orchestra in high school.

Anna is turning into quite the little artist (Djeryd, too, for that matter), and astonished me with this lovely picture she drew to fill up a completely blank box on the front of her folder.

I think this picture represents the only homemade gifts  created by these two hands of mine this Christmas.  And I barely got these little pillowcases finished as it was.

Sean took the entire week of work off between Christmas and New Year’s.  It was heaven to have him home.  We soaked up every minute (and I reveled in watching movies until way too late every night and sleeping in as late as possible every morning).

Djeryd made a Lego Ninjago board for a young friend of his.  He also created cards and bargained for Ninjago minifigs from his cousin all to make a complete set for his friend.  I loved watching him put his heart into this.

And his heart into this . . .

The grandkids completed another successful run of the annual Nativity.  I love this tradition.

Erik’s grandmother knit scarves, hats and mittens for all of the kids this year.  How’s that for love?  Believe me, we felt it.

(I tried not to include any extraneous photos, but this one was too cute to leave out.)

Life returned to normal as soon as Christmas was over.  Around here that means back to military drills and digging out the war trench in the back yard.  They all take it so seriously.  It cracks me up. 

In  my three-month-picture-dump I came across a few instances of my camera being commandeered.  As annoying as this can sometimes be, today I found it endearing.

Last, but not least, here is the only picture I have of Erik’s Pinewood Derby this year.  What?  You don’t understand?  He made this board to display his car when it was finished.  That’s it.  End of story.  I was feeling that taking pictures was futile since I would never have the time to even look at them, so I didn’t take a single photograph after this point three or four weeks ago.

I am not making any promises about this little blog, but I’ve missed having a record of our family life.  For that reason I will visit and post more often.  It goes too fast.  Too many memories are already long gone because I didn’t take the time to record them.  I don’t feel guilty.  I have been doing my best and that’s what counts and it is what it is.  But now it will be better.  ;->

Where did MyLiege go?

If any of you are wondering why nothing has been posted here since mid-October… let’s just say, the blog has been reassigned, pseudo temporarily, to a new writer-- who is not as diligent, as brave, as articulate, as loving, nor as beautiful, as the previous writer. However, I will give it my best.

Where did MyLiege go? Well, that depends on your perspective. Bottom line, she was asked to teach early morning seminary a little over a month ago. For those that do not know, seminary is a religious class for high school students. They meet at 6:30 in the morning and study a book of scripture. This year they are studying the New Testament. As such, MyLiege spends almost all of her free time studying the scriptures, preparing lessons, fretting over teaching methods, and worrying about the kids in her class.

The Lord promises us that we will see miracles in our lives as we look to Him and exercise our faith in Him. At times that requires walking to the edge of the light and taking a step into the dark. For MyLiege and I, this has been a step into the dark. As promised, the light has followed; we have had lots of spiritual discussions— the Spirit of the Lord has been felt. I can even say miracles have occurred—we actually get up at 5:10 in the morning. (It has been 20 years since I knew that every day had two 5:00’s.)

I am grateful for my wonderful wife, who accepted this call, is giving it her all, in spite of her own fears, and is doing an amazing job! Thank you MyLiege for being my inspiration—for being so diligent, brave, articulate, and loving. You are so beautiful to me!

Sean

Lu’s Flower Pants

Here is pair #2 from Dana’s fabulous pattern (#1 is over here).

 

This pair began it’s life without any detailing, then I added a three layer reverse appliqué in the shape of a freehand flower after some prodding by my husband to put my signature on them.

I did not get a picture of it.  I loved it, but it was just too much.  The great thing about this fabric is it goes with practically anything.  That patch suddenly limited t-shirt options to those exactly matching the three bright colors in the patch.  And guess what?  Lu did not have a single shirt in any of those colors, and I did not feel like making any.

 

So, daydreaming in the car on our way to Sunriver I came up with the solution: Cut out a smaller version of the flower in the original black multi fabric and stitch it right over the top of the “too-much” flower . . . and . . .

viola!  It’s back to being completely versatile while still having a little bit of something special.

Happy Anniversary

Sean and I recently celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary.  Our actual wedding date is at the end of summer, but life always seems so crazy with birthdays, vacations, and getting ready for school that we have not had luck squeezing in more than dinner in the week or two surrounding our actual wedding date.  So we’ve taken to celebrating our marriage at different points throughout the year.  For instance, we celebrate the day we got engaged with flowers and reminiscing.  We celebrate our first real getaway that happened with Djeryd was two by trying to head over to the coast for few days in March each year.  But this year we actually took a trip to mark our wedding anniversary, even though it was a good two months after the fact (life is all about flexibility, right?).

 

We wanted to go somewhere that invited activities other than shopping (the outlet malls at the beach are a little too enticing sometimes).  We found a little house at a resort with swimming, biking, museums, all sorts of fun stuff.  Above is a picture of our little house, which was perfect.  We were within walking distance of the grocery store and restaurants and gift shopping (one does have to fit that in), even a library.

We cooked most of our food because of dietary restrictions.  It was fine because we really enjoy cooking together and we don’t usually get to cook together with four kids clamoring for our attention.  We did go to one little café where I ordered a salad (the only gluten-free/dairy-free item on the menu).  It came with bread which I gave to Sean in exchange for his potato chips.  It was delicious!  ;>

Unfortunately, we eventually had to go home.  Honestly, it took about two days to get all the stress out of my system and just relax, we had one really fun day and then it was time to go home.  I am ashamed to admit it, but it took me three-and-a-half days to actually be happy to be back home. And I know I should just be grateful I got to go anywhere for any amount of time because not everyone has that opportunity, but I was still grumpy for it to all be over without my permission.

The drive home was gorgeous and we made several stops in an effort to soak up every last bit of the time away.  I was actually giddy the whole way home to be surrounded by such incredible beauty.  I kept making Sean stop the car so I could take pictures of trees and bushes and creeks.

The very best part of our trip was my anxiety was virtually non-existent.  I don’t usually talk about my anxiety issues because it’s really personal, but I know that lots of people deal with anxiety on a daily basis.  So here is my teeny bit of anxiety advice: try eliminating dairy and gluten.  Just try it for a few weeks, then reintroduce one thing (for me it was bread) for three days and then see if your symptoms return (which mine did, but it took a few days).  I have been battling this for five-and-a-half years.  This was the first trip in five-and-a-half years that I was not a wreck.  The first trip I could actually pack for without curling up in a little ball on the bed saying (and sometimes crying) “I don’t want to go. Please don’t make me go.”  The first trip where I actually prepared food and cleaned up food and helped pack everything up to go back home.  Seriously, it was a miracle.  I just share this little bit in the hopes that it might help someone, somewhere.

Evolution of a Sunset

First it looked like this:

and then it looked like this:

The only thing that would have made it better was the gorgeous Pacific on the horizon.  Beautiful.

Family Photo Shoot

This weekend I had the opportunity to photograph my brother’s family.  We do a white elephant gift exchange at Christmas and a couple of years ago I wrapped up a gift certificate for a family photo shoot.  Unfortunately, due to health reasons, it took a while until I was up to reimbursing them.  So here we are, two years  and over 650 pictures later, and I am delighted with the results.  I thought I’d give you all a little peak at their gorgeous family.  Ready? I know I am not the most imaginative photographer.  And looking at these I can see some things I should have done differently.  But, all in all, I think they turned out really well.  And it was an absolute  privilege to take them.  So I’ll chalk it all up to a happy memory and a good experience and an opportunity to show a little love to my family.  Merry Christmas!