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!

Christmas Packed Up, and Ready to Ring in the New Year!

I packed up all of our Christmas decorations today. As much as I've tried to wait until after the new year to take them down in the past, I've learned that I would much rather start out each New Year clean and fresh, so I have officially made it a new tradition to take the tree and all other decorations down on December 31st of each year. I'm quite excited about the packing job I did.

 

First I put all of the shatterproof generic ornaments in large Hefty zip bags.

 

 

 

I placed all of my treasured keepsake ornaments in a sturdy box, to be covered with tissue, and placed in the large bin.

 



 

 

I'm most excited about the way I stored the lights. I got this idea from "Auntie Martha," better known as Martha Stewart. My friend likes to call her "Auntie Martha," and we've all just become comfortable with it. It just sounds right and normal to me! Ha ha. Anyway, I just took cardboard about the size of the storage box, and I cut a slit at the top and bottom of the cardboard in opposite corners. I put one end of the light strand in one slit, wound it around the cardboard, and placed the other end into the other slit. These cardboard pieces stack so perfectly in the storage container, and no tangles, no fuss for the next time they're needed. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of this before?! Thank you Auntie Martha.

 

 

Now everything is packed away, and ready to go for next Christmas. And now, I have 50 minutes left until 2013. Happy New Year everyone. I'm going to finish watching a movie with my family as we ring in the New Year!

Post Christmas Savings

My dad gave my kids cash for Christmas. He usually does this and wants me to get for them what they need. Usually I put the money away, and spend it as needed. This time, I took the cash with me straight to the store. After having cleaned out my boys closets (a long awaited project), I was able to get a better feel for what they needed. I went to The Children's Place, and to Kohls and took advantage of the major after Christmas clearance sales they had going on. I got some serious loot. I can't remember the last time I bought so many items at one time! The sales were so good. I purchased $724.90 retail value in clothing, but only paid a total of $241.56 for it! It gives me a little high when I score at the clearance racks. This was a good score! Here is a picture of most of what I got for the kids. Some items were not included in the photo as the boys were wearing their new pj's at the time, and had the other sets folded and put away. I also got myself a little cardigan that I wanted, and it ended up on clearance. I used my Kohl's cash for that one.

 

Christmas Week With Loved Ones

I've had an eventful, busy week thus far. First of all, Santa came and dropped off some presents for the kids. They were quite happy. "Santa" put a lot of thought in making sure the children didn't receive a bunch of stuff they didn't really want. Quality, not quantity, was the goal this year. I think that goal was met. The kids were happy, and mom is happy. No need to spend unnecessary money and add clutter.

 

 

 

I don't think it's too late to share some of my holiday decorations in my home:

My fireplace setup. I love all of my household's stockings with their initial pin!

 And here are a couple of close ups of some of the ornaments on my tree.  I love my ornament collection.

I bought this table cloth, kitchen towel, and door mat on big clearance at Kohls. I love me a good clearance sale!


My holiday table cloth.



and a more closer look at the details. I love holly and pine cones.

 

Also, my husband's birthday was on Wednesday, the day after Christmas. At this time of year, I've got Christmas presents, and my husband's birthday on the brain. This year, I surprised him with a grill that he really wanted. I think we'll be having some grilled meals in the future!

 

 

A couple of nights ago, we had good friends over for dinner. I am still elated from the joy I received from having them in our home. I said on a couple of occasions, "I should have you guys over some time for dinner." I got sick of hearing myself talk, and decided to act on it. I'm so glad I did. This has been a challenging year for me, with the life change of a new baby, along with still caring for a toddler and two older kids. As I've said before, my house is certainly not put together the way I would like it to be. Add to that the flood earlier this year that has things out of place. The thought of having people over in spite of this is usually cause for increased anxiety for me. I've really made an effort to not let such things get to me as much, and I'm so glad I have. I don't want to waste opportunities to nurture my friendships. I know they don't think less of me. Things will get back in order in due time, but the joy that friendship brings, especially these friends, is priceless. Here are some photos of my table setting:

I made this arrangement from a flower bunch I purchased at Trader Joes.

I used the fine china that I inherited from my mom, and charger plates given to me by my mother in law...

...and these Princess House crystal drinking glasses, also inherited from my mom.

 I never really cared about any of these fancy table settings and such. I probably wouldn't even have any were they not given to me. Now that I have them though, I do like them. It's nice to use pretty, fancy things at times. I think it's important to use our nice, fancy things, even if it's with a bunch of people (including myself), who are normally super casual in nature. We owe it to ourselves to treat ourselves well. Hope everyone had a good week. I'm winding down from this week, and looking forward to 2013.