When I survey the wondrous cross.

I read these words today and I was moved so deeply. I wanted to share this with you.

• When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died; my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride

• Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.

• See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown.

• Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

Country girl toes.

Someone told me once that I had "country girl toes". Well it never really made sense to me what that was until the other day. It just clicked.

This is how it happened:

I was cleaning up the living room just like I always do. First I picked up things that needed to go to the kids rooms and hucked (hucked- a redneck way of saying threw) them into the hallway. The hallway is their territory. Mama. don't. clean. the hallway... Then I cleared the junk off of the coffee table, and folded and put away the quilts. So far this is normal right. OK, maybe the 15 chickens chirping in the background is a little hickish (yes our new chicks are still camped out in the living room), but lets just look past that for now. Then I started picking up the things in the floor with my toes and passing them to my hands. I do this all the time, so the "click" hasn't happened yet. This is my system, I put dirty clothes on my shoulder and I keep the trash in my hands. If the object is neither trash or dirty clothes I pick it up -with my toes- and just toss it in the general direction that it goes. On this fateful day the object was Molly's shirt. I picked it up with my toes and give it a good back toss in the direction of the hallway which was behind me. The shirt flew over my head and landed on my face! It scared the poo out of me! I thought I was being attacked! *click* That's what it means! After all these years I finally get it. Country girl toes. Yep, I've got'em. When you can use your toes to help you clean house, and are even skilled at tossing and passing, just so that you don't have to bend your big behind over.....you've got'em. No question about it. It's just a little piece of redneck that was built right into my DNA. And that my friend is one more thing I have to be thankful for!

NOTE: I have added a category to my blog. Confessions of a hillbilly. Feel free to poke fun!

Our adventures. Chicks and castles.

First I want to say, wow! You are all so interesting! I enjoyed every comment on the last post. I love to hear about you. Please feel free to comment with similar experiences and stories about your family. Sometimes I have people who comment and then write" sorry for writing a book". Don't be sorry! I love it! I love this community. I don't want it to always be me just going on and on about myself and my family, I like for you to chime in. Believe me it's way more interesting that way. :) Thanks again, for being the best bloggy friends a girl could have! You guys are awesome. ;)

We had a wonderful week full of adventures! First we hatched our own chicks. We had some eggs in an incubator and we checked them just in time to see a chick pecking his/her way out. Needless to say all of our normal school activities were called off for the day as we sat around this tiny egg and watched. Molly named the chick Rose. Later she said "Mama, poor little chick, It will probably grow up to be a rooster named Rose!" She is so funny. She feels sorry for everything. Tim did too, he wanted me to just crack the shell and let the chick out. He thought it was hurting.

Our next adventure really began Monday when Molly wanted to hear a story about me when I was a kid. They love my 'when I was a kid' stories. So I remembered this one.

My brother Simon, sister Rachel, and I were exploring in the woods one day when we found an old stone tower. It looked just like a watch tower! We were so excited. We decided that there was probably a castle nearby so we walked along a stone wall that was very grown over vines and bushes. After walking a ways we saw it! It was an old abandoned castle! The roof was caved in and there were trees growing through the floor. In front of the castle there were stone mazes that we ran through, and played hide and seek in. We imagined that the castle could have been the very one that Cinderella lived in. Or maybe it was a beautiful princess that we had never heard of! We went out there all the time and played in our castle, but we didn't tell anyone. We were afraid if people found it they would tear it down. To this day that castle still stands. You have to go to Nana and Papa's house where we grew up. Walk to the cow pasture, around the lake and up to the far corner of the wood line. Behind a big tree there is a hidden trail. You have to climb the barbed wire fence and climb up the hill where you will see an old narrow road. Go left on that road till you see the watch tower then you know you're close! Follow the road until you see a trail to the left, turn down that trail and you will come out right in front of the castle!

They were amazed by this story and thought I had made it up! Me? Make a story up? LOL! Well I do admit I "fancy" them up a bit, but I never make them up! You see, this is how it really happened. There was a old factory from the 20's that was shut down. Mom and Dad played there when they were kids. The first time I heard the story I heard it just like that. My Dad took us out there, and for years we thought it was an old castle. My dad would take Simon and Ben and his brothers out there to camp out when they were kids. So I just passed the story along just the way it should be told.

We planned a trip, and yesterday we hiked out there and my children got to see the castle. They were completely amazed. They couldn't believe it! They played in the same mazes that their parents and grandparents played in. It has grown up so much that you can hardly get to some of the things that we wanted to show them, but we had so much fun. We're already planning another trip and this time we are taking rope and a lunch.

Who's reading?

Sometimes I feel like I know my readers because I have so many sweet people that comment regularly; but then I check out my stats and I see that I have hundreds of people coming through every day. Really? Are that many people interested in my little world? I'm sure at least half of those people come here on accident! LOL! They have no idea what they are getting into!

For the last few days I have been trying to imagine what you are like, those of you that really read what I write. Sorry about that by the way, I wish I could offer you all better grammar, punctuation, and content! LOL! I also have people I know in real life that tell me they read my blog. A lot of the time I am surprised and it makes me wonder who else reads that I know in real life? So can we play a little game? I would like for everyone (please, if you have the time) to comment and tell me a little about yourself. If you know me in real life speak up! I will be commenting in the comment section of this post. I'm so excited! I can't wait to get to know you!

Now let me tell you heirloom sewing folk about this dress. I made it for Maddie to wear to a wedding. The yoke has pulled thread work that I just love! Crochet insertion (the pattern will be in my second book), with silk satin ribbon running through. I really like the lacy look of this insertion. The fabric is a peachy pink colored voile. The skirt has six pleats in the center and gathers on the sides.

NOTE: If you want to comment but do not have a blogger account, comment as anonymous and leave your name.

Busy

What a crazy week! We were away from home every day this week. I am such a home-body! I love being at home with my kids, there is this quiet rhythm that is so peaceful. I wouldn't call it a routine because it's not the same everyday but it's more of a flow. Weeks like this really make my head spin. I feel overwhelmed by the smallest projects, and I'm easily discouraged. I feel like I haven't been recharged. I always wanted my home to be that place, and now, sometimes I'm surprised at how strong that pull has become. That need for everyone to be here together, doing their own thing, but just near. Ben was out of town last week and it felt so good for us to all be home together last night. We ate pizza, drank coke, and watched a silly movie. I woke up feeling tons better!

Maddie had a trip to the ER. She had been limping so we went for x-rays. Turns out she pulled a ligament in the bottom of her foot. Of course before they came to that conclusion we had to have a million (OK not a million but it felt like it!) x-rays, blood work, and 6hrs in a hospital room.

I taught a two day crochet class at Elizabeth Anne's. The second day Molly came with me and taught a kid class. They were just too cute! Molly had them making crocheted bracelets, bows, and necklaces. They even sold a couple of things to customers! Needless to say Molly loved her first Crochet class!

And just for being gone so much I had this waiting on me last night! And there is more in the laundry room waiting to be washed. I better get to it. Oliver Rain, I haven't forgotten you! I'm still trying to come up with something. LOL!

Bird Applique

I think we have birds on the brain around here. We have been growing these little chicks in my living room for the last couple of weeks. They have a few more days before they are big enough to go out to the big pen. We hear their sweet little chirping all day. The girls and I decided they needed a new Summer outfit, with birdies of course! So this is what we came up with. I bought shirts for $2.99 at Walmart, added this sweet little applique-super quick by the way! Then I made a couple pair of shorts with a little coordinating ruffle. I love the pink and brown fabrics. Well since I already had it all drawn out, I wrote out the directions for a free pattern download. I have a new system for downloading patterns, it's much easier than before!

Just click HERE (or on the word tutorials at the top of the page), click add to cart (pattern is free), follow the prompts to download.

Can you tell I took these pictures after the girls wore them? LOL! Maddie's is on the right. The kids have been so funny with chicks in the house! The chick in the picture is Jamima Puddle Duck- because Molly's favorite movie is "Mrs. Potter" and "Jamima Puddle Duck" is her favorite book. One day Molly said "Mama, poor Jamima Puddle Duck she's such a dumb little chicken." I said "Why is she dumb?" And she answered "because she thinks she's a duck!" I hope I will always remember these little things that they say. Tim went to the fire station with Ben last night for a union meeting. When he got home I asked "Tim, where have you been?" He said "I went to the fire station and talked to da guys". I couldn't help but snicker at my little four year old man! He thought he was so big going to work with Dad.

Now that my shop is open I want to start a mailing list so I can keep everyone informed about new patterns and freebies. If you would like to be added to the list just comment on this post and leave me your name and email address, or you can email me at mamacaffee@hotmail.com.

NOTE: If you want to comment but do not have a blogger account, comment as anonymous and leave your name ( and email if you want to be added to the mailing list).

Have you got yours yet?

I got mine! Sew Beautiful came out a little before I expected so I had to get in gear and finish my shop, but it's done! I am so excited that I finally have that off my back. I have been up until 3am for three nights now and boy am I tired! The exciting news is that now all my patterns can be downloaded instantly after purchase. WHOO HOO! And all my freebies can be downloaded from my website now. If you want to see those go to "tutorial" at the top of the page and when you see the one you want click add to cart (the are not priced) and follow the prompt to download. I have the cutest freebie pattern that I hope to get out in the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to posting more often now that all this is done. If you want to look around the shop click shop at the top of the page or click HERE. Please tell me if you have any suggestions!

Oh and don't even ask me how many times I have looked at that page! I am such a nerd. Molly thinks I'm famous. Poor kid! LOL!

The chicken farmer who wears handmade skirts.

This is how I was described in a recent post by my real life friend Kim. She is such a hoot! You should stop by her blog and read her hilarious account of our get-together at my house. She is crazy! Oh and let me warn you she writes in a British accent! She thinks she's Jane Austen. LOL!

Question and answer. You asked!

Let me tell you first that I'm (or blogger) having formatting issues! I hate when this happens. It won't let me put spaces between the questions and answers. If you can give me any tips, PLEASE HELP! I will change the post as soon as I know what is wrong.

Katie asked: I'm about to homeschool. We're starting next year. So, tell me your favorite thing and least-favorite thing about homeschooling. Plus any advice you might like to add.

A:I love that we can learn about whatever is going on at the time instead of a super strict curriculum, and that it's not just one child learning your younger kids can learn along with the bigger ones. A good example of this is the zoo. We have season passes to the zoo and we're going to see the opening of the kangaroo exhibit. We can just take opportunities to learn as we go instead of learning everything out of a book. We go back to the book learning when there is nothing new in real life. Oh and I love that my kids can be with me all the time. I can't really think of anything that I dislike about homeschool. I guess there are little things like sometimes we just want to be lazy or we have something really fun we want to go do. But, that's good too because when we want to be lazy we just skip a day, then we divide that work up and do a little extra each day until we have made it up.

Cindy and Megh asked: What process do you use to draft patterns and how did you learn?

A: LOL! I don't know if I have a real "process" I am pretty scattered! It usually starts as a thought I guess. I think of a dress I want to make but there is no pattern similar, so I just have to figure it out on my own. Every now and then there is a pattern close enough that I can have a starting point, but a lot of the time I'm on my own. I just think it through, sometimes this part takes days. I have to tell you something! Ben knows me so well! When I am in this phase of the "process" I don't talk much because I am thinking. He starts asking "What are you building?", I think it's so funny that he can tell when I'm "building". After I have it all worked out I try it with not so cute fabric, in this stage whoever i am sewing for has to be close at hand. At this point I know where the kinks are and I have to go back to thinking about how to fix it. After I have the not so cute version fitting the way I want it to I make the real version. This may sound so mixed up to you but in my mind it makes perfect sense! LOL! "Where did I learn to draft patterns?" Trial and error.

How did you learn french heirloom sewing?

A: Books. I inhaled every book I came in contact with after I had Molly! I started sewing when she was just a few months old. I have been sewing and devouring books for 6 years now.

Karen asked: Do you have any words of wisdom for heirloom sewing on a budget? Most of the materials and patterns needed seem to be so expensive.

A: I use a lot of thrifted clothing or bed sheets. I always use those extra soft white sheets to make slips and linings. I guess my trick to using thrifted sheets is Cascade. Yes, the dishwasher stuff. I get the original white liquid Cascade. You know how the sheets or pillowcases have that yellow look to them. Well soak it in some cold water in the sink with cascade for a few hours (1/2 cup of cascade to a sink full of water) and they will be the brightest white! Don't you remember the collar. On heirloom dresses I just save my money and get the better fabrics, you really are saving money. The dresses that I made for Molly are just as nice for Maddie because the better fabrics hold up so well. The cheaper fabrics are just not for "heirlooms", they don't hold up kid after kid. When it comes to the heirloom patterns I would say they are worth their weight in gold! You can use them forever, they don't really go out of style, and they are a lot easier than the more commercial patterns.

Sheila asked: I've asked you this before Samantha, do you ever sleep? You seem to get so much accomplished.

A: Since the surgery I have been sleeping at least 8 hours a night because the medicines I'm on make me soooo sleepy. But the funny thing is I don't feel near as productive! Normally I would say that I stay up past 3 am at least twice a week, the other nights I probably get anywhere from 6 to 8 hours of sleep. I am such a night owl, all the good ideas start flowing in at around 10pm. LOL! I usually wake up around 8 am, sometimes the kids will let me sleep till 9 before they get up

This is the view from my bedroom door. That's my fabric/pattern wardrobe.

Where in your house is your sewing machine/room?

A: My bedroom. I have a corner and a wardrobe that I use to store fabrics in.

This is to the right of the door. I know it's not very pretty or inspiring, but it's enough!

Do you have unfinished projects that didn't turn out how you wanted?

A: Yes! I usually come back to them when I get a good idea of how to make them better.

If you weren't a wonderful stay at home mom, what career would you be in?

A: This one is so easy! I was a pediatric nurse before, but I feel kind of out of the loop. So if I ever went back to nursing I would LOVE to be a lactation nurse. I am the lactation nurse of my circle of friends! I love helping new mamas nurse their babies, it is just beautiful! This is a area of nursing that I feel like I have been WELL trained in. I have 5 1/2 years experience!

Anonymous asked: You seem to be such a calm, down-to-earth, and fun mom on your blog... what are your top 3 mommy tips?

A: I have often wondered how people perceive me as a mother by reading my blog. Sometimes I worry that people will think I'm this perfect mom that never makes mistakes. I'm not! I have grumpy days just like everyone else, my kids fight, we have our own little set of battles, but we have so much fun!

I guess my first tip would be let your kids help out, give them little chores. Some people think this is slave labor LOL! But it gives them something to be proud of, a job well done. It makes them feel like they are needed in the family. A good example of this is Molly helps me cook and clean up every night. If she didn't do her job we wouldn't have dinner. She knows she is needed and she is so proud of her job. The other night she told me that it was her favorite part of the day.

Tip number two. Hmm... I know everyone has something that they love doing with their kids, mine is walking. We call it "the adventure". When I feel like my day is going down hill fast and everyone is grumpy, we just drop everything and go for a long walk. I love it! Everyone forgets what they were being ugly about when your having so much fun.

And number three, look at everything as an adventure. We could spend a whole day playing and never pick up a toy or electronic device. We have fun digging up buried treasure in the back yard, riding down a road we have never been down, building a campfire and pretending to camp out, playing survivor man (we build a shelters, LOL!), sliding in footie pajamas across the hardwood floor, I think we could have fun doing anything!

And because we answered these in our home group tonight...What would you do with a million dollars if you had a week to spend it, anything left would be gone?

A: Pay off my house and give the rest to our church for a new building (we are in a converted garage right now).

What's the best gift you ever gave?

A: I have no idea! Maybe.... a wedding dress....This one is hard!

Open Mic.

Hey friends! I get lots of personal email from people who read my blog and they had one (or two) burning question about this quirky mama of three that they just had to ask. I love those emails (and sometimes comments), they really make me think! Well, since I couldn't think of anything to blog about -other than the tutorials that I am behind on- I decided to have an open mic night. You know what I'm talking about, you get to ask me questions! Just leave a comment asking anything you've been wanting to know and I will answer them in the next post. I'm kinda excited! I'm always so interested in you all, I know I'm going to enjoy the questions you come up with. Oh, and about those tutorials. There has been NO sunshine for the last few days! If it wasn't raining it was cloudy. I do the videos at my kitchen table and if I don't have any sun from the french doors, they turn out so dark that you can't see good. Same with the growth pleat tutorial, but I promise as soon as the sun cooperates I will put them up. I think you are going to like this next video! I'm going to talk in it. Yep that's right, I think I am growing out of my fear of hearing my country voice on video. How do ya like that? And to prove that I'm really trying to do better I included a full length picture of me in my new skirt. A few of you asked to see the skirt on me, but to tell you the truth I did not want to put my big behind on the Internet for everyone to see. Then I thought about that speech I made about having a woman's body and not being ashamed, so here it is. Big mama's here! LOL! I'm sorry the mirror is so clucked up, it's my prized antique dresser. I don't have one clear full length in the whole house and that's just the way I like it. Let me tell you a little more about this skirt, it was my mother's tablecloth. Wanna hear the story? We were camping. It went something like this. Me: Mom, where did you get that tablecloth that's on the picnic table? It's so cute. I want to get one to make a skirt out of. Mom: "Oh it's just a piece of fabric" I secretly already knew that. hehe. "take it." Me: Oh, I don't want to take your table cloth. Mom: "I bought a bunch of fabric to use for table cloths while we are camping. I got the fabric on sale so I just got a few different prints" Me: Oh really? I want to see the other ones too! This picture is from the other night when the kids and I surprised dad with his favorite dinner. It was so cute Molly was the "waitress". She put on a dress and an apron. Helped me cook and clean the kitchen. Then when Dad called and said he was close we lit the candles and she set the table. When Dad walked in she told him where to sit, asked what he wanted too drink, took his plate for me to put food on, and took it back to him. We had so much fun! After we were all seated and Molly had blessed the food, she asked Ben with concern "Daddy, do waitresses get to eat?" It was hilarious!

A free pattern and some "sweet-ta-tae-tas".

As promised here is your pattern download for the little applique strawberry. Just click on the picture and follow the directions to download.

(this is a video, click on the play symbol to watch)

Oh my sweet little boy! The other night we were eating sweet potatoes, and Timothy was telling "sissy" (Molly), "wook what I made, it's a sweet tataeta sawich". The first time I heard those sweet little words I ran to get the video camera. You can tell in the video he's being a little shy, but it's so sweet! I tried to get him to talk more by asking questions but he wasn't falling for it. LOL! I hope you enjoy our funny little video.