Elizabeth Turns 12

Once again I am a bit behind and she has now been 12 for almost a whole month. It hasn't taken long for her to get used to her favorite perk of sitting in the front seat.

Just a little bit about my Elizabeth. It is hard for me to realize that she is no longer my white-headed little toddler with the pudgy little cheeks. She is definitely growing up and becoming a lovely young lady. She is such a help to me and a pleasure to be with. She has especially blessed me this spring with her willingness to watch Creed and fix dinner almost every Tuesday night during soccer season...and joyfully too! She is quite the capable gal!!!

We don't do parties every year but she hadn't had one since she was 8 so it seemed past time! I saw a cute little book on amazon called Felties and thought it was something she and her friends would enjoy. She requested some of her friends from our homeschool co-op come celebrate with her and make "felties."

The girls working hard on their felties with my trusty assistant Miss Carol...those are IBC bottles, by they way. ;-)

Blowing out her 12 candles. She wanted to make her own cake so we worked on it together...chocolate 3 layer cake with peanutbutter chocolate icing.
The party guests...
Opening presents...lots of crafty stuff for my crafty girl...
and then some of the felties the girls made in the picture above and those following...










From us she got a new bike and I made her these owl pillows for her bed. She requested a Momma owl and two girls and a boy.


Happy Birthday Elizabeth. We are so glad you are a part of our family!

Janey Kate's Baptism

I am a bit behind posting this, but I didn't want to miss blogging about such an important event! On April 17th, Jon had the privilege of baptizing Janey Kate. She is the 5th one of our children he has been able to baptize. There is no denying that April is an extremely difficult month for us emotionally, and it was definitely an emotional day as we were grieving our little Knox, but it was also a special day with the reminder of the hope we have in Christ and the promises He has made to us.

BENEATH THE BLOOD STAINED LINTEL

Beneath the blood-stained lintel I with my children stand.
A messenger of evil Is passing through the land.
There is no other refuge from the destroyer's face.
Beneath the blood-stained lintel shall be our hiding place.

The Lamb of God has suffered our sins and griefs He bore,
By faith the blood is sprinkled above our dwelling's door.
The foe who seeks to enter doth fear that sacred sign,
Tonight the blood-stained lintel shall shelter me and mine.

My Savior, for my dear ones I claim Thy promise true.
The Lamb is "for the household" - the children's Savior too.
On earth the little children once felt Thy touch divine;
Beneath the blood-stained lintel Thy blessing give to mine.

O thou who gave them, guard them, those wayward little feet,
The wilderness before them, the ills of life to meet.
My mother love is helpless, I trust them to Thy care!
Beneath the blood-stained lintel, oh, keep me ever there!

The faith I rest upon Thee Thou will not disappoint;
With wisdom, Lord, to train them, my shrinking heart anoint.
Without my children, Father, I cannot see Thy face;
I plead the blood-stained lintel, Thy covenant of grace.

Oh, wonderful Redeemer, Who suffered for our sake,
When o'er the guilty nations the judgment storm shall break,
With joy from that safe shelter may we then meet Thine eye,
Beneath the blood-stained lintel, my children, Lord, an I.

From the "Continual Burnt Offerings" by H.A. Ironside

Baptizing Mallory Jane Katharine Anderson...child of the King!

P.S. She was a total crank that day! ;-)

Just Because

A Little Laundry Surprise

Do you ever find ay surprises in your laundry? I often do. Today I pulled out this sock.


This is what was inside.

However, do not be fooled. These are not blocks. It is coal for the kid's fire.

A Creed Funny

We were at the pool today and Creed said his hands were grumpy! He said that because they were all wrinkled up from the water. :-)

Skirt Week

One of the blogs I read, Crafterhours, is hosting a skirt week along with a little contest. I am entering the following skirts in their children's category. The skirts had to have been made in the last year. Two winners will be chosen...one by judges and one by readers votes. I think the voting and judging takes place next week if you want to check it out.

The first skirt is the one I made Elizabeth for Easter this year. I adore this fabric. I saw a picture of a similar skirt somewhere online and came up with this one. The only pattern piece I used was the yoke from My Favorite Thing's Little Hip Skirts. The rest is my own creation. The binding on the top layer is from a skirt that someone else had me shorten. It gave me just he fabric I wanted to finish it off!

It is fairly full. Elizabeth humored me with a spin for the picture.



The idea for the next skirt came from these "slash" jumpers a friend of mine and I made many years ago for our girls when they were little. In fact, Emma still wears one of them as a top all the time. I have been playing around with knit fabrics lately since they are so comfortable so I used some pieces I had left from other projects. The waistband is yoga style though it doesn't fold down. It has no elastic in it so it is very comfortable.

I asked Emma whether she wanted the brown or white on top and she couldn't decide so we switched it up and she can wear it frontwards or backwards!
She loves it and says it is super comfy!


The idea for the last skirt originated with a trip to HEB. I saw a little girl shopping with her mom in a similar skirt. I commented on it and her mom let me see how the ruffles down the side were made. Each ruffle has a sort of curve to it. So the top is thin and then widens in the middle and then narrows back out. I cut each ruffle twice as long as I wanted them to end up and used my gathering foot to gather them. I drew lines on the skirt with a washout marker where I wanted the ruffles to go and then topstitched them on the skirt. I tried not to be a perfectionist about it as part of the charm of the skirt is how freeform it looks as the ruffles fall every which way thanks to the gathers and the shape of each one.
This skirt also has a no-elastic waist which I attached to a yoke. I wanted the ruffles to start lower on the skirt so as not to look bulky under a t-shirt. The material is lightweight and soft and like wearing a t-shirt!

Last Minute Wordless Wednesday