No Hitting Below the Belt

Things have been really busy here. Bunny's getting a new tooth and has just gotten over a fever to beat all fevers. She's still pretty listless and needs lots of love from her mama. I was disappointed because I couldn't participate in Craft Hope's newest project. It involves knitting and that is one craft I haven't even attempted. My disappointment was short lived as they are now hosting an Etsy shop with all donated craft items that will benefit Doctor's Without Borders for Haiti. (Sorry I haven't added any links, for some reason, they haven't been working for me) I've decided to make some stuffed animals: bears, giraffes, pigs, birds... for this project, and I've been busy. I'll post some pictures soon. And, getting back to The Love Dare, Day #12 has yet to pertain to us. We are told to willingly choose to give in to an area of disagreement, letting my husband know that I am putting his preference first. To tell you the truth, nothing came up yesterday, but knowing God, the opportunity will present itself soon. Today's Dare is to make rules to fighting fairly and live by them, with or without your spouse. So I guess this would mean not calling my husband a *^%*face which I did last night after he started freaking out about helping me get our super restless and strong-willed children to bed so that I could finally lay the sick baby down....dun dun dun...during the last 2 minutes of a really close football game. He was being a *^%*face, I guess next time I don't actually need to tell him. Oh the highs and lows of marriage. My husband laughed at my choice of insult and realized how petty and selfish he was being. It's all good. It just stinks when it gets to a place like that and there are no formal rules set in place to protect you from your own stupidity. Proverbs 12:16 A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks insult. Proverbs 14:17 A quick tempered man does foolish things.

Busy Bee

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I've been quite the busy little (using the term loosely) bee lately. we've been using the mild weather to get outside and do some much needed yard maintenance. I've finished up my quilt and sent it off. I'm not the quilt maker I hoped to be, but it wasn't so bad. And yes, Beanbag did cut off all of her bangs a few days before I snapped this picture. At least the yellow highlighter that she had used for makeup was gone. We've been putting the finishing touches on Bird's big girl room. The wall is painted, curtains made and hung, closet organized, and feng shuied to the best of my limited knowledge and capability. We've also established our Missions Board for our Miss Rebecca. We have pictures, prayer requests and maps all on a posterboard to remind us to pray for Miss Rebecca and her ministry StreetHeArt . I've also been preparing for a craft bazaar at the grange after Thanksgiving. I've been finishing up some colored pencil cases, drawing aprons, aprons, and jewelry. Today I plan on starting some wallets and change purses. The car's in the shop and I'm pretty much stuck at home, might as well make the best of it. Gotta go. BuZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Putting The Pieces Together

Yesterday, I decided to start my newest project for Craft Hope . I have made a couple of blankets in my time, but never a quilt. I decided to pull out all the scraps of cloth I've been saving for "something". I made a template out of the smallest scrap and cut the rest to match. I assorted them into a complete mismatch of hodgepodge and began sewing blocks of 4. When this is done, I plan to lay it out and see how big it is and if I need something to seperate the blocks in order to make them a more cohesive piece. I'm also planning a trip to my favorite fabric store. It's about 45 minutes-1 hour away, but all the fabric is $1.99/yd. I will also be picking up fabric for the girls' new rooms. I need a backing for the quilt, 3 sets of curtains and possibly some stuff to make each of my girls a quilt or bedspread. We'll see.

Good-Bye and God Bless

Today is the day that we are shipping our sock monkeys off to California! With a kiss and a prayer, they will be delivered into the hands of a child who will love them, not that my own children weren't willing to do so. They weren't perfect, but they were cute, and I learned how to do something new while helping out a great cause.

PS The guy on the left was finished before bed last night.

A Day to Myself

I had a day to myself yesterday. I had Bunny, of course, but Birdie and Bean were having a lovely day of their own with their Uncle Brother and his family at the beach. Uncle Brother got his name because he is the only boy in our family. So instead of calling him by his real name, my sisters and I just started to call him Brother and with the births of all of our children it evolved into Uncle Brother. I had so much planned for my day to myself. I had picked up a bunch of delicious cucumbers from my CSA and planned on making some pickles to bring with us on vacation for Bird's birthday. Didn't happen. I planned on being able to read a couple of chapters of "The Princess Bride". Didn't happen. I planned on cleaning the house from top to bottom. Didn't happen, I didn't even take the clothes out of the dryer from the night before! I planned on making 4 sock monkeys for Craft Hope. Didn't happen, although, I almost finished one, she needs 1 eye and a smile! I planned on doing my Bible study. That I did do and it set the tone for my whole day. It may have seemed like a wasted day to the untrained eye, but to me, it was perfect. I did my bible study and spent a huge majority of the rest of the day playing with and snuggling and kissing my Bunny. During the average day, she gets so overlooked by all of the vocalized needs of the big girls, the discipline and training that's going on, and the day to day stuff of life. Bunny is so mild mannered and goes with the flow so easily, that I rarely get to just spend hours upon hours lavishing love upon her like I did for my Bird and my Bean. So that's how I spent my day to myself. I learned more about my God and my baby girl. It was totally worth the sink full of dishes, the dog hair tumbleweed covered floor, and the still unopened cover of a beloved book.

Picture Pages

I have been wanting to post pictures of the girls in their pillowcase dresses, but I decided to wait until I had finished making their Black Apple Dolls. If I dare say, neither are too bad for a first timer. Craft Hope just posted their new mission of sock monkeys. It is yet another project I have never made and actually never even considered making as I think they're kind of freaky looking. I'm excited to learn though.

Pictures

I just wanted to share pictures of the blankets we made for crafthope. The girls used fabric markers to decorate theirs and I tried my hand at blanket making. Today, we're off to pick some blueberries and when we return, I hope to be able to make another blanket and a pillowcase dress. Blankets need to be mailed by tomorrow for the July 25th deadline!

Pillowcase Dresses

I love how God works! I have been looking for a pattern for pillowcase dresses for quite sometime. Searching the web left me clueless as am am not a very experienced sewer. I basically gave up on the idea and moved on. This past weekend, my family and I went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in our town and I happened across the CUTEST pillowcase dresses, which reignited my enthusiasm. After searching the web again, I came up with something, but I still wasn't super impressed. This morning, I sat down for my usual breakfast at the computer and while reading one of my favorite blogs, came across a link to a site called craft hope. http://www.crafthope.com/ Craft hope reaches out to the virtual world to fill the lives of real people with hope through the gift of sewing and crafts. They are currently on their 3rd project, outfitting an orphanage in India with all their linen based needs. Are you kidding? I am so on board. After reading through the current mission and making a vow in my heart to start TODAY, God blessed me. A couple of projects before this one was making pillowcase dresses for an orphange in Brazil!!! ARE YOU KIDDING? It was complete with pattern, directions, a picture tutorial and all. Go God!!! Thank you, my King!!! They also have a pattern and tutorial for the cutest dolls...Christmas gifts, anyone??? I am so happy to be getting on board with such a great cause. Praise you, Lord for the way you work.