Precious Moments

My daughter, Abigail - Abby, as we frequently call her, is probably one of the sweetest, most gentle, loving, smartest, and spunkiest 19 month olds I've ever met.  And I'm not just saying this because she is my daughter (although it may play a small part), but because she amazes me more and more each day.  From an early age (around 3 months), I started to use sign language with her so she could communicate.  I taught her "milk", "more", and "please", which she still uses to this day, even though she can say those words now (she just says and signs both together).  Her current vocabulary just amazes me!  She probably knows about 50 words, and pronounces them fairly well.  She's always seemed to be a fast learner and catches on very quickly.  Recently, she's been saying, "please" and "thank you, Mama" - all on her own!  She's just becoming such a polite little girl!

Jeremy and I try our hardest each day to show Abby how much we love her.  But more importantly, we want her to know how much Jesus loves her.  Every opportunity we get, we try to teach her about God and Jesus and what His word says.  We have a children's bible that she loves to read as well as many movies based on the bible.  At each meal before we eat, we pray together.  When we ask her if she's ready to pray, she grabs both of our hands and closes her eyes.  So cute!  She also does this before nap time or bedtime.  And she won't let you forget to pray!

Yesterday, while driving in the car, I had my I-pod playing Shawn McDonald's "Take My Hand".  Love this song!  If you've never heard it, look it up sometime.  I just love the lyrics and the beat and the way it makes me feel when I listen to it.  A couple months ago, as we were in the car, Abby started complaining and crying about something, so in an effort to redirect and distract, I turned this song on and we "praised Jesus" together.  There's a part in the song where the lyrics are "na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-naaaaahh, I need You!" and it repeats a couple times.  During this part, I had my hand in the air waving it back and forth "praising Jesus".  Abby had fun copying me, and soon quit complaining about whatever it was she wasn't happy about.  Well, yesterday, I had this song playing again, and heard Abby in the backseat doing something.  I look back, and she has her hand in the air waving it to the song singing "na-na" with the beat!  My heart just melted!  I joined in with her, and soon Abby's baby doll was "praising Jesus" with us too!  How awesome to see her love for the Lord, even though she may not understand everything fully at her age.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6.  How reassuring and awesome God's promises are!

Tied up

I had this idea that I wanted to make Evan a tie to wear for his Easter outfit.  I used some left over fabric from a previous project, and thought it would be easy to just stitch some fabric together, add some elastic to it, and voila!  I'd have a cute, handmade, quick and easy tie!  NOT!  It ended up being nearly a four hour project!  I blame my neurotic perfectionism.  I started by researching a couple internet sites and watching a few tutorials online.  Most of what I read and saw, though, was on how to turn a men's tie into a children's tie.  Not what I necessarily wanted to do.  So, I tried to make-up my own method.

The actual tie wasn't so hard.  That only took me a few minutes to do.  Stitch the edges of some fabric together, turn it inside out, create a "dimple" at the top, stitch it in place - done!  The tricky part is the knot at the top.  I was trying desperately to find a simple way to add the knot without any stitching showing or any seams.  It actually looked pretty good, but being the perfectionist I am, I wanted to back of the tie (which nobody was going to really see) to be seam-less, too.  I couldn't figure this one out!  After re-doing the knot about four times, I was somewhat satisfied and finished the tie.  Here it is:

Kind of cute, huh?  I'm open for suggestions on how to do the knot . . .

Playhouse fun

The kids and I met with Aunt Julie and cousin Zaria today for a play date at DeAnna's Playhouse in Holland.  For those of you who have never been there, it is like the treehouse at River Town Crossings Mall times, like, 20.  We had only been once before, but both forgot our cameras that first time.  There are so many things for the kids to play with and the kids love it!  Among the many toys there, they have a pretend bank, construction site, store, house, a music room, an art room, a stage complete with dress up costumes, and a room especially for babies!  They also have a designated area to eat your packed lunch with complimentary coffee, baggies with cheerios for the kiddos, and magazines.  I made sure to bring the camera today to get a few quick snapshots.

Thanks, Julie and Zaria, for the fun morning!

Sew cute!

I've been having so much fun lately making children's clothes with my new sewing machine (thanks, Mom, for the great Christmas present!).  I started off by making an apron, a few purses, a new diaper bag, and a couple diaper wipes cases. It is so much fun to pick out the pattern and look through all the fabric choices (I mainly shop at Field's Fabrics) - there are so many different colors and prints to choose from!  I could spend hours there selecting just the perfect mix and match combo of fabrics for my "master piece".  One must be very careful when selecting fabric, though, since it can become a little pricey.  I try to pick at least one fabric for my project from the clearance section to lessen the cost, but I've been able to create a few projects using entirely clearance section fabric - SCORE!  Although it takes forever to cut out all the patterns and fabric, it's so exciting once it starts coming together.  I usually get all giddy toward the end of a project, and start working really fast to finish it.  A couple times this has backfired, where I've accidentally stitched something on the wrong way.  Then, of course, I have to undo everything I just did and redo it - ugh!  Spazzy Perfectionist, just slow down!

So, after a few what I like to call "starter" projects, I thought I'd try my hand (no pun intended) at sewing some children's clothing.  Since I have 7 nieces, I thought it would be fun to make dresses/shirts for them all.  Here are a couple to start:

They turned out super cute, but the sizes are a little off from what the average child size should be, which has been a little tricky.  It ends up making the neck really wide, so the first dress/shirt I did needed some altering to make it fit properly.  I think once I get the kinks worked out, they will be perfect!  And they are, surprisingly, simple to make - bonus!

My next project was a request from my sister-in-law.  She's in love with these ruffle pants, so I made her daughter a pair of pants that match her dress/shirt (from the first picture).  I just finished them last night, and was so excited about how they turned out!  Adorable!

Once I get a little more practice, I think I might be able to sell some projects online!  Hopefully, people will want to buy them?  (hint, hint :] )

The next step

Something that God had really been laying on my heart recently was that He wanted me to be baptized.  I had not been baptized since being saved in 2007.  Jeremy brought it up sometime last year, and I really didn't feel the need to do it then, but thought I'd pray about it and give it some thought.  I had been starting to think more about it the past few months, then had a dream about a month ago where I was getting baptized.  I thought, "OK, God, I hear you.  I'll get baptized."  Honestly, it wasn't something that I particularly wanted to do - you know, me on display in the front of the church, being completely submerged in a pool of water, getting soaking wet.  I don't like to be the center of attention, and certainly didn't want to be wet while doing it!  But, one must follow the call of God.  If this was the next step He wanted me to take, then I shouldn't question it.

So, I made the decision to get baptized, and did so last night.  I was so nervous!  I was with a group of about 40 others.  The ceremony was at Resurrection Life Church, the church I attend with my husband and kids.  The baptism pool is situated upstairs, behind a wall with a picture-window "peephole" to allow everyone to see you.  We were ushered up the stairs, given baptismal robes, and lined up to take our turn.  Once in the pool, we were asked if we wanted to say anything.  I adamantly did NOT want to say anything.  I was nervous enough, I didn't want to have to talk, too!  But, once again, the Holy Spirit inside me insisted that I say something.  I felt like He was telling me to say I was thankful for my amazing husband, kids, and my family (who were all present for the ceremony - thank you, everyone!).  I thought, "Really?  I am thankful, but they already know that.  Do I have to say it out loud??  To EVERYONE here?"  "Yes, you do," He replied.  "OK.  Fine, Lord.  I'll say it."  So, at the last minute, I pushed my shoulders back, lifted my head up, and proudly told the whole congregation (in a quivering voice, of course), how thankful I was for the family He blessed me with.  Whew!  That wasn't so hard!  Then, they asked me to state out loud who my savior was.  "Jesus Christ," I replied.  And then, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I was completely submerged into the pool and resurrected filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit!  Amazing!

After the baptism, we were told to change into our regular clothes, and were ushered into a prayer room where they had their "prayer warriors" ready to pray with us.  All in all, what a wonderful experience.  So glad I had the opportunity, and the change in heart, to get baptized.  God knows what He's talking about, and someday I'll learn not to question Him and JUST DO IT!

It's a start

First things first - let me tell you a little about myself and my family.  I am a twenty-something year old married to the man of my dreams, Jeremy.  We had a speedy courtship - we met and were engaged within 4 months and married 6 months later.  During our engagement, we built a lovely home together, from the ground up.  I remember someone telling me during that time, "If you can build a house together, you can do anything together!"  That person had a lot of wisdom!  Those 6 months we built our house were some of the most busy, stressful months of our relationship!

Thankfully, we made it through and decided we still wanted to get married - lol!  We were married December 6, 2008 in a winter wonderland :)  I prayed so hard the weeks before the wedding for there to be soft, fairytale-like snow falling, and that is exactly what God gave us!  It was absolutely beautiful!

Soon after the wedding, we were blessed to find out we were pregnant with our daughter, Abigail.  She was born September 4, 2009.  Not long after she was born (I think she was 8 months), we found out we were going to have another addition to our family!  Evan was born January 19, 2011. 

What a whirlwind of the past couple of years!  I can say, though, that they have been the best 3 years of my life!  I believe that God has brought Jeremy and I together for great purposes,  and by relying solely on His ultimate timing and wisdom, we have been blessed beyond measure!