A Flop

Well, I did it...I created a flop. I have been gradually trying to do projects around the house. I have been generally very happy with them. Take my blankie in the previous post or Lydia's bedroom. (I will post pictures of that later.) However, this project was disappointing. We purchased a bench for our breezeway(entry-way) about 2 years ago. I really like how it has worked out. However, I have been wanting a cushion for it since we have purchased it, but I could not find one that I liked or that fit. So I thought I could make one---you really only need straight lines for a cushion. Well, I did some measuring and it seemed like a bed pillow was just about the right size for the bench. I was really excited about that because then all I would need to do is make a pillow case type thing and put a pillow in it. Walla, the finished project----it looks like we are storing a bed pillow on the bench! I have not decided yet if I am going to leave it as it is, or try to find an actual cushion and redo the cover.



And now a fun picture of Lydia. She has suddenly started pretending that her stuffed animals are real. She will read to them, want us to read to them, feed them, pretend to change their diaper, put them in time-out. Here she is pretending to take a nap with her friend the bear.

An Adoption Project

Quite a while ago I had an idea of something I wanted to make for our next child (who hopefully will be adopted). I was reading the book, "Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew." It had a very beautiful poem/parable in it that I copied so that I could put it in a scrap book that I would be making for my child. Here it is:

Long, long ago, in eternity past, God determined that there would be a beautiful braid made of shinning ribbons--a braid woven in the secret places, a braid called "adoption."

Each ribbon was a different color. One of the deepest of purples, another the richest of greens, and the third the most vibrant of reds.

Each ribbon had a purpose, each a vital contribution, and each a unique position with the other two ribbons.

The green ribbon represents the birth family and their deep yet often-forgotten contribution to your life.

The purple ribbon represents our family, chosen to nurture that God-given gift of life passed on from the birth family.

The red ribbon represents you--a unique weaving together of nature and nurture into one marvelous human being, with awesome potential.

--Sherrie Eldridge

What I really liked was the depiction of the different colors and what they represent. I decided to make a "blankie" with those colors to give to my child when we took them home. Now, this will really only work with a child under one or two, but I am fine if it doesn't end up working.

You see, Lydia has a "blankie" that my parent's gave her when she was born. At first we just let her play with it. But then at about 5 months old we put it in her crib for her to sleep with. That was really the only thing she slept with besides her pacifier until she was about 16 months old when we added blankets in her crib. She loves her blankie and it is becoming well worn. We hope to do the same thing for our next child because we feel like it is important to have a comfort object. The blankie is a perfect comfort object: it is small, portable, washable and fun to play with (the tags). We ended up having to hide this new blankie, because Lydia wanted to play and cuddle with it. Here is the picture of the new blankie. Now remember, I am not the best sewer, but I try.



Here is Lydia sleeping with her blankie at about 5 months old.

Christmas In Pictures

Merry Christmas! I know this is very late, but I thought I would summarize our Christmas season in pictures. We spent Christmas Eve with Jim's family. We enjoyed some time together and the traditional Christmas Eve JB's pizza. Lydia learned, that night, that there were actually fun things in those wrapped boxes.





On Christmas day, my parents and brother Devin, came to spend a few days with us. We also enjoyed having them around and even shared a few sick germs with them. (oops!) Lydia enjoyed all the attention.






Then, two days after Christmas we were blessed with the healthy birth of our new niece. She was named Willa Kathryn. We are excited to get to know her as she grows over the years. As you can see, she is really cute.

My Mom

Tonight I was looking through my pictures to post some Christmas pictures on the blog. However, I came across two pictures of my mom that just made my night. My mom makes me smile, laugh-out-loud and sometimes even cry because I am laughing so hard. Here are her pictures.