Heaven just got a little bit sweeter...

My Great Uncle Sterling, pastor of our church, and a wonderful man of God entered those Pearly Gates dancing last night! Although I am beyond happy for him, because I know he was ready, I can't help but cry for us. There is a Sterling sized hole in all of our hearts this morning.

Sunday morning during Sunday school while my Dad was teaching he fainted on the first row. They came to get Ben (from our boys Sunday school class) to check him out, when we got there he was fine. He said that he didn't remember it, but he felt fine, he promised us that he would see a doctor this week AND HE GOT UP AND PREACHED! That's the kind of man he was! When he hugged me after service he said "Boy that was a good hug! I love you, and you are the best Great niece! You notice I said GREAT niece!" I love that those were his last words to me....He went fast, he didn't suffer, he wasn't sick, and he lived a wonderful eighty something years fifty of those were spent leading people to God.

He told my Dad yesterday before he died that he couldn't wait to get to heaven! I have to say, it sweetens the process a bit to know that he was so ready.

I will be spending the next few days with our family and church family celebrating his life. Please pray for his seven sons, I can't imagine how hard this is for them. I'll be back next week. xo, Sam

Mama's New Clothes

Ben has been wanting me to wear a dress for a while now....You see, when I had Molly I started wearing skirts and shirts, because it was so much easier to nurse babies, and I haven't had a dress since. But since Ben asked for a dress I decided to give it a go. I have had the "Built By Wendy Dresses" book for a couple of months now but I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't really got past the muslin stage until last week. Last week when I got to feeling better I started out on a mission! My mission was to use the Built By Wendy bodice as a starting point to make the perfect fitting dress/ top go-to pattern for myself. Once I have that pattern just how I like it I can whip up a new top or dress anytime I want! Add that to the go-to skirt pattern that I already have, and hunny I'm all set! The dress above was my first try, it's OK, but it's a little big under the arms, I would like it to be a little longer, and it needs a little room taken out of the waist. I made this one out of a thrifted duvet cover, I thought I would probably never wear it because of the color but I think I like it now.

I did have three flowers (see how it looks like one is missing?) but one has disappeared, I'll make another one before I wear it again.

 

In the end it was a good thing that I made it too short, because that gave me my next idea.....a petticoat! Well really it's just a skirt (made out of the lining of a thrifted shirt that is now the shirt below) with wide crocheted lace along the bottom, but I love the layered look and I can use it under other skirts and dresses too!

 

See! It's all starting to come together now, the perfect skirt, with the perfect dress or shirt, that's like a whole wardrobe worth of mix and match clothing if I can get this right!

So then I made up this shirt out of a thrifted skirt. I took a little too much room out of the bust but it's pretty close to being exactly what I want.

I used tiny crocheted lace around the neck and bottom, but when I get this pattern just right I'm going to put a lot more time into the details.

This is another skirt that I made and I think it layers well with the dress too. I'm so excited about being so close! Now all I can think of is all of the different shirts and dreses that I will be able to make when I get the basic pattern just right! I've been so discouraged about making things for myself before now (besides the occasional skirt) but now I'm on fire! Do any of you have any suggestions for fabrics, blogs, or books that may help me on this little adventure? Any tips or suggestion based on my pictures? What do you think?

Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Like I said in the last post, I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking....The first place you will see is the public beach in Gulf Shores, the second place that looks cleaner is the bay, the third place is Fort Morgan, and the fourth and worst place is residential Fort Morgan where we usually stay in a beach house.

Hey Guys!

We are well! By Thursday we were all feeling much better and on Friday morning I left on that quick beach trip I told you about. We decided to stay over one night so that we could go see all of our favorite beaches and see how they all looked. I just got home at 2:00 this morning! It ended up being my mama, mama-in-law, and Mrs. Donna (one of the cutest little ladies that has ever lived!) who went to see the beach. Right now I'm working on weeding through almost a thousand pictures of the beach (oil spill) to make a slide show on flickr. We had a lot of fun hanging out together, but the beach was worse. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, I'm trying not to get depressed about it again. I'll have them up sometime tomorrow.

This week is going to be fun around here! Last week I got in a ton of new fabric to play with! Wednesday when I was feeling a bit better I sewed up a dress for me, that I happened to LOVE. Since then I have made another dress and a shirt for me, an outfit for Maddie, and I plan on making at least another dress and top for me this week because I think I've just about perfected the fitting issues (you will be able to see a little bit of my shirt in one of the oil spill pictures, it's the cutest green dotted fabric!). I'm going to get back to building that slide show, but I wanted you all to know that we were back in the land of the livin!  xo, Sam

It's strep.

I'm relieved that Molly had something common and treatable. Only problem with that is.....now the bug has got me. Maddie is still running fever on and off but feels fine, Molly feels great, and I feel like poo. Ben has done a wonderful job of being Mr. Mom. He took the kids to the doctor today while I stayed home next to the potty, and he even picked up an antibiotic and nausea medicine for me while he was there. Good man. The nausea medicine is working but I feel super groggy and loopy, but that's cool, better than hanging out with the potty. I'll be back soon. Thanks for the mama meeting guys, y'all rock!

Mama meeting, my house, now.

Why can't I just post that and have you all show up for coffee? I have been so stressed out for the last few days!! Besides fighting a bit of lingering depression from the beach trip, I have had one sick little girl on my hands. We rushed Molly to the ER on Friday afternoon, she was hurting in her upper abdomen and she was having trouble taking deep breaths because of the pain (she had been hurting off and on- mostly off- for three days but nothing serious, until Friday!). Scary- even for a paramedic daddy and a pediatric nurse mommy. They couldn't find anything wrong at the ER and then that night she started running a temp of 102! Molly has been in remission for 5 years now, and I was all comfy thinking that she was just a normal kid with no special issues, when this completely knocked me off my feet. Even more scary. My family doctor called in some medicines Saturday morning when she was still holding steady at 101 and now she is feeling much better, but now my baby has a high fever! I hate this! My family doctor thinks that they could have Strep or Mono. I hope it is something as simple as that. Tell me that this is no big deal. Please pray for my babies! I'm taking them both to the doctor tomorrow morning (Monday), I need a good report. One of my sweet Sunday school boys (one of my little cousins) is also fighting MRSA, so I'm worried about him too. I need a little de-stress meeting with other mamas :( ......xo, Sam

Our Gulf Coast Vacation

Hey friends. We got back late Wednesday night from the beach. We had a good time with the people we were with, but the beach part was pretty depressing. I wanted too keep you up to date on Facebook because I knew everyone was wondering what it was like down there, but I just couldn't post depressing news the whole time.  

When we first got there the beach "looked" fine. The sand was beautiful and clean, and the water looked like it usually does, but when Ben and Tim got in we noticed that there were tiny reddish brown spots in the water and sticking to them. It was sad, but I thought, "Well, I can handle this."

Later, we went for a walk down the beach and we quickly noticed that tar was building up on the bottoms of our feet. It was kind of like stepping on several hot sticky pieces of gum on a parking lot. They have "Tar Wash" stations set up at every hose with a brush inside so that you can scrub down. I heard that the smell was unbearable, but I don't think I smelled oil but a couple of times the whole trip. It didn't really even smell like oil, it was just like what you smell when you first step out of the car at the gas station, it wasn't strong at all. Luckily the place where we were staying had a pool, so the kids did get to swim, but it just wasn't the same. When we go to the beach we are there to see the beach and the fish and the sand, we want to see what God made and appreciate nature. I don't know that my kids have ever even been in a pool at the beach more than a couple of times before.

They come through and clean the beach every night, and you could tell that they were keeping a close watch on it because a helicopter flew over every few minutes. There were also several boats in the water working and we saw lots of the orange booms out. It seemed like they were scrambling around doing something constantly.

The last day we decided to put old suits on the kids and let them get in one last time in case they never get to again, but when we got to the water something looked weird. There were long rusty colored strips, one right after another, stretching as far as we could see, coming towards us.

 We realised then that he kids had missed their chance. As it started washing in my little hippie heart couldn't take anymore, I cried. It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. Sitting there looking out at the ocean, filled with oil as far as you can see felt so overwhelmingly hopeless, like an old friend with an incurable cancer. I didn't see one living thing in the ocean the whole time I was there.

Just in case this comes up in any g**gle searches and someone besides my blog friends see this, I want to say that I am NOT up for ANY political discussions about this. I heard enough of those while I was there. I am NOT trying to talk people out of going to the beach, in fact, I think it would do us all a little bit of good to see it with our own eyes. I'm actually leaving in the morning to ride back down with my mama, mama-in-law, and a couple of friends so that they can see it. As a homeschooling mama, I see this as a tremendous learning experience for my children, and as sad as it may sound, it is history. I also hope that people do continue to support the gulf coast the best they can. God knows they need it. I'm just a beach loving mama who is telling my family's story and the way it made me feel. That's all.

Our family will be participating in the Craft Hope project. If you have any question about what else we may have/haven't seen, bring it on! If you aren't going to be able to get your kids down there to see it, tell me what you want to know about. I can be the homeschooling mama's scout. Like I said, I'm heading back down just for the day tomorrow and I can try to get specific pictures for you or your kids if you let me know by then. You can let them leave comments/questions too if you like and I will answer the best that I can. Sorry for such a depressing post guys, but I knew that you would want the truth. xo, Sam

At home this week...

Wow I didn't mean to stay gone so long! My computer is finally up and running again (which is good) but I have to admit....I sort of liked my computer vacation. I think a little laptop vacation is good for a body every now and then. We had a great week on my little vacation and now I'm back to tell you all about it!

Our week started out with these two little munchkins! My nieces Lily and Iris got to spend the night and that meant that I ("Aunt Panta") got to get as many kisses as I wanted for two days! And I got to be a part of those sweet just-woke-up moments that aunts don't get a lot of...it was so heavenly! I woke up super early and went back to sleep on the couch so that I would be the first to hear them get up. When I heard Iris stirring I ran in to find this....How stinkin cute is that?

They woke up excited about feeding the animals! The first thing they did was look out the window to see them all lined up at the gate waiting for breakfast. What's so funny is they have a freak-out if an animal even touches them, but if there is a gate between them, they are as cool as they can be.

We did a little parade through the house waking everybody up. Ya know, somehow nobody grumbles when Lily and Iris are the ones saying "wate-up"....hmmm....

Then Saturday was our official "family work day" around the farm. While Ben was loading the stuff onto the tractor I took this picture of my sweet Molly. They aren't allowed to go into the gate with the animals unless they have on shoes, and she didn't have hers on since we were headed to the garden to pull weeds, so she just sat down next to them and talked to them through the fence. She loves those animals like a little mama...so sweet.

Oh boy, it was a hard day to be working outside! It was so HOT! But we all pitched in and got it done. Maddie's not too bad at pulling weeds for one her age.

I called her my "bucket girl" because for most of the time we stuck together and if I needed the bucket closer she moved it to me. That baby sacked out about an hour after we got back up to the house! She worked hard!

While we pulled weeds we made up silly stories about how we wished we didn't have weeds or how we wished it wasn't so hot. There were so many good ones! Molly wished that it would snow to cool us off, Maddie wished that all of the weeds would die, Tim wished that he was inside (my practical boy), Ben wished for Spring time weather year around, and I wished that I could send the weeds an eviction notice and they would just leave of their own free will.

Ben told us all about how these very same buckets were used by his grandfather, Papa Clevenger, for the same purpose. Then we talked about how in the old days this is how everyone lived and worked together. Ben told them "You know back then everybody had to have a garden to feed their family, and everyone had to work if they wanted to eat. They couldn't just run out to the grocery store." Molly said "I love our garden, but I'm glad we have grocery stores!"

This coming week we are headed to the beach with some friends who own a condo. They say that the beach and water are just covered in oil. Ben and I talked about staying home since we won't be able to swim, but we finally decided that it would be good for the kids (and us) to see the mess first hand. Sometimes experiences like that can change the way we think forever. My little hippie heart just hurts when I think of what this is doing to all of our sea life, and the families that depend on it to survive....I don't know if I will be able to post while I'm there, but check in with us on Facebook. I'll post pictures and updates as much as I can with my phone. Hopefully before I come home I will have found a way to help out. Do any of you want to join in?

I'll be back soon friends! xo, Sam

Computer crash, and coming cuteness.

My laptop went bonkers last week! I do have a desktop, but I usually do most of my work on my laptop so that I can be wherever the kids are.....so I've been super slow about answering email. I'm sorry! My whole routine is off, we have been gone for like five days straight swimming and soaking in the summer. Also my mother-in-law hasn't been able to get email from me, and that makes me wonder how many other people haven't got email from me.  I sat on the phone with her one day and sent one email after another to her correct email address and she just never got them. So....what I'm trying to say is I promise to get caught up on email today, but if you need a response from me and don't get it today please email me back or give me a call tomorrow at (205) 433-9040 (that way I know that everyone gets taken care of).

On another note, Lily and Iris are coming to spend the night tonight!!!! I plan on having my camera ready in the morning so that I can get some sleepy happy pictures when they first wake up. Being an aunt ROCKS! But I do miss that I only get the sleepy morning cuddles every now and then, so tomorrow I'm going to get it all in pictures. Get ready for a serious cuteness overload people! xo, Sam

Mama's Summer Embroidery Project

The "Summer of Embroidery" is off to a good start! One of my summer projects is hand embroidered alphabet designs booklet. There are four different sets of designs using three different types of embroidery. I can't tell you how relaxing this project has been so far. It has forced me to slow down, sit, listen, cuddle, drink way too much coffee, and stitch...all very good things. All of the embroidery samples are done now so it won't be long before this project is in the shop for all of you to enjoy too.

This set is shadow work embroidery with lazy daises.

This is one of my favorites! It's all bullion stitched stems, roses, and buds. I have done similar initials on baby gowns for years, but I normally just freehand the design. The only trouble with that is that after I give it away I can never use the same design again. Now that all of the work is done I can just trace these off and whip up a baby dress in no time!

In this set the letters and numbers are outlined and then filled with pretty floral designs.

This set is a little more casual and fun..... and also has a big fat stain on it that I didn't notice until this picture was already uploaded! No worries, I got the stain out, but by then it was too dark out to retake the picture. Oh well, you get the idea. See...those things happen at my house too.

So what do you think, do you like'em, lov'em, hate'em? Which set is your favorite? How could you use these?

Our Hanging Gypsy Collection

For a while now I've been trying to come up with a way to display and enjoy all of the things that we collect on our adventures. My window sills are full, the china cabinet and book shelf have been over-run, and we have baskets everywhere, but none of it really works. I knew that I didn't want to throw it away, but I also knew that I couldn't keep it all laying around or stuffed in baskets because you can't really enjoy it that way either. Finally, the other night, I had this idea! I didn't really know what to call it but I pictured a gypsy wind chime crossed with a hanging nature collection that could hang over the kitchen sink.

I told the kids to round up some beads, twine, and fishing wire, while I gathered some of our favorite pieces. I knew that we had an awesome twisted branch in the attic that we carried back from a trip to the beaver dam months ago. We knew when we saw that pretty branch that we would one day have the perfect project for it! I got the branch and we went to work.

We tied on beads so that they would make pretty "twinkles" dance around the kitchen, and then everything else came from our collections around the house. Ben found that little bottle a while back and I couldn't get it clean, so we filled it with pretty rocks from Molly's rock tumbler and hung it with wire and leather laces. We decided that that would be the perfect vase for all of the flowers they bring me! To the left is an old shoe horn that came in a jar of treasures that Granny Dear sent us.

Then there is the shell that Timothy has kept from a beach trip a couple of years ago, and a rattle snake rattle that also came in the jar of treasures....you get the idea. We decided not to add anything else just yet though. We all agreed that things like this are best built over time. I wonder what this little collection will look like after all of our summer adventures?! I'll bet we will have a new one started by then, maybe over the big window in the living room or on the front porch over the swing (that I'm supposed to get soon, ahem). I love it! What are some creative ways that you have found to display little treasures?

And the winner is.....

Marissa!

Congratulations Marissa! And thank you all for your sweet comments, y'all are the best!