Weddings and Godliness

Happy April everyone. I can't believe the entire month of March has passed, and I haven't made a single blog post. I was either too tired, too busy, or just demotivated. Also, I had a wedding on the brain. Two Saturdays ago, my baby cousin, may as well be my baby sister, but is my sister in Christ, got married! She and her now husband, planned this wedding in one month! I was standing by and geared up to help in any way I could. I ended up doing a little wardrobe duty.

First, I helped by adding a corset to the mother of the groom's dress. It fit her well, but just couldn't zip up all the way. I had never done this before, and I was roughly instructed on how to, but I did it, and it came out good! I wish I snapped a photo because it came out so cool looking, but this project kept me up until 2am the night before the wedding, so snapping a photo was the last thing on my mind. It worked out beautifully for her. I'm happy to now have this bit of experience to add to my arsenal of alteration skills.

The next thing that I did was add some beautiful caps sleeve straps to the bride's originally strapless dress. I was so proud of my cousin, because she made a conscious effort to be modestly dressed, and made sure that her bridesmaids were as well. This can be a challenge, especially when shopping for a wedding dress with only one month's time, and especially when most of the wedding dress styles are strapless, but if you're determined, you can make it happen. She is a true woman of God, and truly desires to glorify Him. Anyway, I was happy to help out with this. I used Butterick pattern B5184. This pattern also offers options to add a short sleeve, and long sleeve to a strapless dress. I snatched it up when I saw it because I thought it would come in handy one day, and it surely has.This is the second time I used the pattern to add to a strapless dress, and I'm pleased with the outcome. Here is a photo of me and my hubby with the happy couple. It's one of those, end of the evening, well after the ceremony, photos, so not the best shot, but you get the idea. She looked amazing, and the straps worked out well, and photographed nicely, especially in the earlier shots.

In other news, I have kept up with my daily bible readings. I'm so proud of myself, because of all the times I've tried to do this in years past, this is the furthest I've gone. I've been doing this every morning, usually when my kids are still asleep. This has proven to work out for me. I simply can't focus on reading when they're awake. I think it's the format of the One Year Bible that really helps me. Also, looking forward to reading a little from Psalms and Proverbs everyday is nice. In the past, those books were not part of the every day reading schedule. Today, I read from Psalms 73. It was particularly encouraging. Just a reminder of how we can feel discouraged when we see those who do not proclaim God, and are even deliberately attacking, yet are so successful in this worldly life. It can seem so unfair, but God knows and takes care of us who trust Him, no matter what our circumstances. He's also got something for those who are against Him, yet so successful. I've been so happy to have kept up with my reading. It's a blessing to have God's word, if you allow it to work in you, by reading it daily, and putting it to practice.

Also in other news, my downstairs room is finally finished! It has been for weeks now, but it has been slow going to get everything moved back in and organized. I'll try to post pics of this soon. I'm so excited to get my life back. This set back has really been a difficult inconvenience to deal with. The flood happened last Summer, and here we are just getting it back to normal the following Spring. Right now, all the things that were originally in the room, are in a huge pile in my garage. Gonna work on it this week!

Birthday Fun!

My baby girl had her first birthday last week. I can't believe how quickly one year came and went. She is growing, and changing, and becoming more independent each day, making my job a little easier each day. I have enjoyed taking care of her for her 1st year so far, but I'm also looking forward to different days of mothering, not requiring constant hands on attention.

For her celebration, I made cupcakes. I made the buttercream frosting from scratch. Soooo good, and no junky preservatives! I had fun with this. I look forward to having more opportunities to practice and improve on my cake/cupcake decorating skills. This kind of stuff is so fun for me. I love being creative in this way! I purchased the little flower and butterfly candies already made, but in the future, I hope to make my own out of royal icing. One day!

 

 

 

Valentine's Fun

Happy Valentine's Day, technically a day late, but I'm up late at the end of Valentine's Day as I know it. My two older boys had a small school project to create their own Valentine boxes to be used to receive valentines from their classmates. I was proud of them in their creativity and excitement for this project. They had a great time at school. Here's what they came up with:

My oldest and his "Plants vs Zombies" themed box....

...with his creative conversation hearts on top!

My second grader's box with some "Phineas and Ferb..."

...and some cool hearts all over.


 

Also, I have been staying on track with my daily bible reading. This is such a great feeling. Everything else in my life seems way out of sorts and chaotic at best, but at least I can gladly say that this new habit I'm forming is staying steady. This week, I read about the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thinking about love this day, and week, I can not think of any better love story than this one. Knowing that Jesus endured such a cruel death so that I can have a home in Heaven... that's love greater than any other. 


Off to a Good Start to 2013

Happy February. I fully intended to post at the beginning of January, but due to technical difficulties, I couldn't, and then when that was resolved, I just never got to it. Boo. So, better late than never. Happy New Year! I usually don't make New Year's resolutions, but this time I kinda did. The preacher at our church has challenged the congregation to read the bible in one year. I've tried to do this maybe a total of four times ever, and I've never had success. I thought I would give it another try starting the beginning of January 2013. I purchased a One Year Bible, and so far, I've actually stuck to it. I like how this bible is laid out. Each day, we read a passage from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverb. It's been so encouraging thus far, and humbling to read the familiar stories that illustrate God's awesomeness.

Also, on January 5th, my husband and I celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary with a lovely dinner and a movie date. It's been a good 12 years being married to my best friend.

I'm also happy to introduce to you the first lily bloom of the year from my garden. I love my cala lilies. Consider the lilies, how the grow. It is comforting to know that God takes care of me, because these days, I don't have much control of my crazy life. Taking care of four young kids, and a home is exhausting!