First Real Sewing Project

I have been diligently working on my first, real sewing project. I volunteered to make my sister-in-law's baby bedding (with my mother's help, of course). Mom made my boys' baby bedding, and it's better than anything you can buy, so I thought I could handle that project, too. Ha. Ignorance is bliss. Anyway, let me just say...

I am sooooo pleased with it! I'll warn you, it doesn't look professionally made--my stitches are a bit sloppy in places, but I am very pleased with the outcome! I've included a picture of the valance, but that's all I'm going to reveal. I want it to be a surprise to the Mommy and Daddy. I hope they like it as much as I do. If not, I'll take it back and sell it on eBay. :)

I needed this. I've needed something to really sink my teeth into, then sit back and bask in the results. I feel good; and the fact that I'm giving it to some bodies that I love makes it all that more sweet. I stitched every single stitch. :) Me. :) Amy. :)

Thanks to Mom for your help; thanks to Grandma for giving me a sewing machine a couple years ago; and thanks to Kerrie and Jeremy and Baby Nephew for trusting me with the task. I hope you like it. :)

1 Year Minus 2 Months

Owen turned 10 months old on Thursday. It's hard to believe we're close to reaching the anniversary of his birth! Ugh. "Uncle Brett" was here to visit yesterday, and he began to list Owen's latest developments and achievements. He's much more vocal (to the point of embarassment in a restaurant), stands alone from time to time, is climbing, and playing harder. It won't be long before he's a big kid like Corwin, and Corwin will be a school kid.

I'll take a moment to be mushy. I am blessed, folks. God has given me an amazing family--more than I ever imagined it could be. Not only do I have a rich, Christian heritage in my parents and their parents, but I have a husband who is on board with me to raise our children likewise. I pray that God makes these boys into soldiers for Him who will fight the Good Fight in a world immensely more wicked than it is today. Needless to say, I am proud of all my boys and am thankful to be able to be called their mother and wife.

I'm saying this as Owen stands beside me clearing the bookshelf of every single book, a few at a time. Ugh. I'll get to that later.

Here are some 10 month pictures that I took of Owen yesterday. If you want copies of them, email me and I'll send them to you. I think they're awfully good considering they're done "By Mommy". You might notice a slight bruise on Owen's forehead. This only adds to the reality of being 10 months old. He fell at church Wednesday night and hit his forehead on the pew. Poor kid.

By the way, who of you isn't loving this gorgeous weather??? Who would've thunk? 70 degrees in August. It's been a strange summer.

A Decade Ago

This is what I was doing 10 years ago, today. It's hard to believe that 10 whole years have past since this moment, but here I stand on my 10-year anniversary. I am incredibly thankful to God for the man he chose for me to spend my entire life with. Would I have chosen a sport-crazed, hick farm boy from po-dunk Arkansas? No. None of that was on my list of "Things to Look For in a Husband" (as I'm sure a music lover from Dallas, TX wasn't on Jason's list), but often times what we want are not the things we need. Soon the things we need become the things we want, and I would want no other. (sniff, sniff)


And, this union has resulted in this:

and this:

I can't complain about that. I am blessed beyond measure.


Speaking of Corwin (and his space shuttle)... he attended VBS at a local church this week, and the theme was "Operation Space". Needless to say, we've been in orbit ALL week. We even watched some shuttle launching videos on YouTube, and checked out some space books at the library. Guess what he wants to be when he grows up? Yup. An astronaut. Go for it, boy!

Bye-Bye, Bottle!

What a way to wake up!

Here's a quick pic of the boys the other morning. Corwin came in and woke me up, then he wanted Owen to lie in bed with us. He thought that was fun. Snowball (my old friend) got in on the fun, too.

But, the main purpose of this post is to brag on Big O. He is bottle-free now. Dr. Russell suggested we start the weaning process so that he's off the bottle by 12 months. Well, we started yesterday and the boy is taking it in stride. He acts as if he's not had a bottle in months! We sit him in his chair at meal time, give him his cup, and he drinks it off-and-on while we feed him. We've also introduced several table foods. It won't be maybe a week more and he's off baby food, and I am looking forward to that!

My First NYI Experience

This past weekend Jason and I sponsored the teenagers on our first, official Nazarene function. We took six kids to St. Louis for a youth convention and had a blast!

Friday evening began with a service. The speaker was excellent and really challenged everyone in the audience to take this whole Christianity thing seriously and get busy reaching people for Christ. It really made me think about what more we could be doing.

After the evening service, they took all the kids to a huge "RecPlex", complete with two ice skating rinks, volleyball courts, basketball courts, arcade, etc. Everyone tried ice skating, though it wasn't pretty. Here's Jason showing his poise and grace:

Being the photographer, I was not able to catch myself in action, so you can just picture me gliding with ease around the rink. (Ha!) It's been 10 years, or more, since I've ice skated, and my balance and agility is much impaired. I never fell, though. Jason did, but he says it was only to avoid running into a small child. No one really knows.

The next day, after another service and some business, we headed home and had lunch at Incredible Pizza (kinda like a Super Chuck E Cheese). We enjoyed lunch and lots of games and a go-cart ride or two.

I am thankful for being given the opportunity to spend the weekend with six awesome kids, worshipping with 400 students and sponsors, and being challenged by God to "think outside the box" when it comes to ministry. And, I can't wait to do it again.

Big O and August Canned Corn

Big O had his 9-month appointment today. Nothing exciting, just height and weight check and hemoglobin. The boy has good iron, by the way. Anyway, Owen weighed 23.8 lbs. and was 29 1/2 inches long. He is in the 80th percentile of other babies his age. As Dr. Russell says, "He's perfect!"

I canned some corn yesterday. Yes, you heard me right. CANNED SOME CORN! Dad gave me a bunch of his garden corn and I didn't have freezer space to put it, so Jason had the grand idea of me canning it. Well, I mentioned it, but he encouraged me. Anyway, his mom sent up her pressure cooker and some canning supplies and I laid into it. People, it's a lot of work, but it's worth it in the end. I have 8 beautifully sealed Kerr pint jars full of corn that we'll enjoy over the next few months. I am proud of myself. I read the book and had absolutely no trouble. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is a skill we might need to practice again to sustain our families.

This Thursday the boys will be headed to Arkansas for the weekend. Jason and I are taking the youth group to a youth convention. I'm looking forward to it, but anxious about sending my kids away. I'll be ready for Sunday afternoon when we pick them back up. They'll have a great time with Nana and Pa, but it never ceases to make Mom a little anxious.

Corwin is with Daddy at the baseball field. Jason has started working with his pitchers, gearing up for baseball season. I can't believe it's already here. I don't think I'm ready. I'm never ready. I'm sure Corwin is helping those high school boys perfect their skills right now.

Can't believe it's August already! That's all, folks. Thanks for reading!

Ahhh... Good Times...

We just got back from a week of camping at Tablerock Lake with my mom's side of the family. It is something we've done many, many summers over the years. I remember the summer camping trip being a highlight of my childhood years. I'm hoping to continue that tradition for my own children.

It was a great week with amazing weather. We had warm days and cool evenings, and only one rainy day, which we took advantage of and did a little outlet mall shopping.

Corwin and Jason tried a little tubing. It was a lot of fun, and Corwin loved it, but he didn't like getting water splashed in his face.

The boy is ready for just about any adventure.

And, of course, what is camping without a little corn shucking??? Dad harvested some of his garden corn to share with everyone and the kids enjoyed the job of undressing it. I won't tell you what Lindsey found in her corn cob as she was eating it during dinner (but it rhymes with dorm, was long and slimy). I passed on the corn that evening.

My grandparents, fortunately, were able to join us as well. How many 80-something-year-olds do you know are still able to camp and go? They've camped with their children, their grandchildren, and now their great-grandchildren. How awesome is that?

And, here's Owen being a super-duper good camp baby. He is the best baby! He adjusts to any environment he's put into. The only thing was he kept waking us up at 6:30 in the morning. Ugh. The sun rises too early in the summer, in a tent.

Corwin had a blast with his cousins, Silas, Ethan, Emerie, and Eliza. Here is Silas and Corwin calling each other horrendous names like, "Marshmallow," and "peanut butter" and laughing hysterically. Someone should really get a hold of those boys' mouths and wash them out with soap.

Ethan and Emerie are, thankfully, entertaining Owen in his ExerSaucer.

Corwin, Ethan, and Eliza are searching for shells among the rocks. I think Grandpa escaped down there to do some fishing.... He didn't get far.

Ethan and Corwin spent one afternoon chasing bad guys to California in the blow-up boat. Corwin was the motor (complete with sound effects), and sometimes the motor would break down. They'd have to row to shore and fix the boat, then get back to bad-guy chasing. It was fun to see those boys use their imagination (of which they are well endowed).

So much work to be done! Silas and Corwin had to make a runway for the airplanes, too. Who knew camping was so much hard work?

Eliza, again, entertaining "Baby Owen".

I was actually dreading a whole week of camping, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was hard (with a baby), but I had a lot of help, and the boys had a blast. Jason got to fish a couple times a day, I got some time relaxing on my raft and playing with my kids in the water. We had enjoyable camp fire conversation and restful nights .

As I sit here feeling overwhelming at the "mountain" of laundry and recovery to be done, I realize how blessed I am to have survived and enjoyed. Like I said, we've done this for many, many years (not every summer, but nearly), and many families don't enjoy a 4-generation vacation. And, realistically, this might be our last. Thank You, God, for this privilege.