hello and cross stitching

we are back in mobile for ryan's spring break. just stopping by to say hello.

i've been thinking about cross stitching lately...take a look at these...

hanging in my mom's foyer


a table cloth from canton


the quilt i just bought from canton... only $9 (can you believe it!)


the pillowcases i made for sara's big girl bed (not needed yet but soon, i'm sure)



my little big girl...

the new car

look at what the mailman brought us last friday. sara was so excited! every time she sees it it's like christmas morning! thanks caden for letting us try yours out first.

just wanted to show you what sara has been practicing... that's right ... climbing out of her bed! she has not quite mastered throwing her other leg over... yet!

have a good week!

can you say,...

cat... dog... momma... milk... lily... sissy...you get the idea.

this phrase has been said a lot lately. sometimes it just takes asking her to find out the new words she knows.

on our way to mobile i was repeating my family names... uncle asher... Gigi... uncle mike... aunt amy... grandpa. so, at one break we were hanging out in the car, playing our little game and i asked "can you say grandpa?" her response -"paw paw"- in the most sweet little country accent. there we were, sitting in the sonic parking lot laughing and repeating paw paw, paw paw, paw paw. i was so happy she said his name... it was so sweet. it melted my heart. i would say something about grandpa and she would say "paw paw" and walk back to my dad. and my sweet dad would say "i heard that" so proudly!

we are back from our visit. back to cleaning up dishes, avoiding laundry piles (clean clothes of course) and back to our home.

it was such a sweet time spent with my parents. it was nice just to be there... just being. i had a good talk with my dad that i will never forget. and spent some good time just being with my mom.

here's my little cutie... sporting pig tails...

my dad

i love that man. this picture is one of my favorites... not sure why... maybe it's the look of playfulness that's between us, like i was trying to take something from him or trying to tickle him...or maybe it's the awesome clothes we were sporting... i'm not sure what was actually happening in the picture or why it was taken, but i'm glad it was.

my dad's health has been declining over the past months. it started out being his liver that needed to be replaced and being put on the transplant list was the solution. then, as the doctors looked further it was cancer... a very rare kind that the hospital had only seen one slightly similar case of. so off to another doctor, who finally said last week that, even if they had a million dollars, there is nothing they can do.

so this is where i am ... in the midst of telling my dad goodbye, as he is in hospice care for pain management...i was telling sara today as we walked out of the store while she was crying and reaching for the ladies she was leaving, "goodbyes are ok... we will see them again." i got in the car and lost it... realizing this is what God has been telling my heart for the past week. goodbyes are ok and i will see him again. i don't understand this part of the journey, why things like this hurt so deeply... but i trust Him.

thanks for listening.
i am going to spend time with my family... to soak up my dad and love on my mom. just wanted to update you on my life and let you know i am pushing back taking orders for awhile...

i'm back...

from my self imposed blogging break (sorry for the absence) and a fun weekend with a dear friend. (my first away from my baby... big weekend!)

a few months ago my friend, Alisha, sent me a huge box of African fabric. the plan was to turn it into cute aprons to sell and help raise money for her work with Christopher House Ministries.

after the holidays, i finally had some time to finish a batch of aprons and flower broaches (with the help of some sweet friends- thanks Dana and Christy!)

so i hopped on a plane with a dozen aprons and headed to Alisha's this weekend to kick off this idea (and spend much needed time with a friend). her roommate, Erin, (who has the sweetest collection of tea cups) hosted a great tea party in honor of her new home and the Aprons for Africa trunk show! it was a fun time of meeting wonderful women and sharing a bit of my talent to raise money for someone i love.

here are the pictures of the finished project...

go take a look at my friend's blog.... Alisha on Location ... you won't be disappointed

p.s.- it was a huge success... thanks!

Merry Christmas!

hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable day.

we drove to Mobile to spend time with my family... it has been so fun just hanging out and watching sara interact with everyone.

wanted to share this sweet picture of a christmas tea party...

enjoy the holidays!

p.s. i'm really enjoying the collage function on picasa...can you tell?

look what fun we had this morning! we invited some sweet friends over to have a Christmas pajama breakfast party. thanks to them for braving the cold weather to have a such a memorable morning!

missing aunt sissy

isn't she pretty? i miss her face and her help and her movie quoting self! it has been quite sad to not have her around... it was such a treat to have my little sis live with us over the past 3 months. (not only for child care but also for our relationship)

she had the crazy idea of going to breakfast in our pajamas on thursday.. so we got up and threw on our slippers and went around the corner to have a great breakfast...

i'm so glad sara got to spend so much time with her!

we will miss her... but i am so proud of her and can't wait to see what happens next!

i sewed a few Christmasy things this week... take a peek...

and you know there is a toddler in your house when you find this...

oh, Jesus in a tea cup!

my new toy

i know you all have been wondering what i am doing with all of my new found free time (yeah right, huh?) .... well yesterday i accomplished so much... i worked on a couple sewing projects for myself and sara (will post later), had coffee and lunch with my sis, washed and put back on my sheets (the whole making the bed after washing the sheets thing gets me every time!), helped my hubby study for an exam (ask me anything about the Model Rules and a lawyer's professional responsibility and i might be able to answer), ordered Christmas cards, and began taking apart the mile high pile of laundry sitting in my bedroom...
and i have been spending time learning how to work this thing....

yes, my sweet and thoughtful husband gave me this for graduation.. along with some flowers and a cheesy yard sign! i have been taking way too many pictures of nothing...

my sweet model... sara was in bed... and i had to practice!

love, love, love this little girl!

i will take some pictures of my sewing and post soon...
hope you are doing well

finished

today was such a sweet day.

it was the end of a wonderful experience. i was really blessed to be under such a great teacher and now a great friend.
today the students had a surprise "going away" party for me. (so many of them think i am moving...even after much explanation... its hilarious!) I was given handmade cards, sweet letters begging me to stay and many dollar store gems! they were so thoughtful and really cute. I will miss my days with them...
but can't wait to sleep in, hang out with sara in our pj's and sew!

and the winner is...

sara had the honor of drawing a name....

and she handed me...

Mary!
(i'll email you soon for your address)

we spent our thanksgiving in mobile with my family...

it's beginning! can't wait for more of the holiday season.

a thankful day

happy thanksgiving!

the itch and a giveaway

i've had the sewing itch for the past couple of weeks now. but i couldn't scratch it (sounds wrong, i know) until my student teaching portfolio was complete... well, look at what i finished!

i worked on this the past week hoping to have it ready early so i could take a few days to sew and work on other things around the house before Thanksgiving. it was a long process but i am so glad i finished... so as soon as i finished, i began working on a couple things i had been wanting to make... here they are minus a birthday gift.

dino shirts for some little guys


and a girly Christmas outfit for Sara


in honor of finishing my portfolio and Thanksgiving, i thought i would have a little giveaway. i've never had one here but have always wanted to... so here it goes, post a comment by Friday and then i will randomly choose the winner and send you this little goody!

hope you enjoy your monday!

vertebrates

can you find me? right beside the cat and fish... gotta love second grade humor!

sorry for the absence... school is winding down, which means finishing all of those requirements. it is going quite well. i love my students and my cooperating teacher!

have i mentioned that a certain little someone has learned to climb onto chairs? annoying as it might be ... she is so cute sitting in a "big girl" chair!

she is enjoying the big girl outlook that the chairs bring!

and a bow is definitely more important to an outfit than pants... can you tell?
have a good week!