Home-made Christmas: My father-in-law's blanket

I made our niece, Karlee, a quilt for her birthday. It took me 2 hours to pick out what fabric and colors I wanted on it. It takes me forever to pick out fabric for any project. Anyway, I used fleece on the back instead of cotton because I wanted it to be cozy-cozy for her. And, I didn't want to use batting, because, personally, I hate the way it makes blankets feel. Kind of stiff and not comfy.

 Chuck, my father-in-law, loved her blanket so much I wanted to make him one. The fleece was his favorite part, so I knew I had to use it for his.

This was actually a project that I stayed up until 4 in the morning working on. I cut the squares and sewed them all together that night... I actually thought I could complete the whole thing that night. I'm sewing naive.

Since they surprised us by coming down to visit, I hadn't taken pictures of it yet, because I didn't think I'd be giving it to him. But, I'm glad they did, because I was so excited to give it to him!

So excuse the kitchen floor pictures!

I used fleece for the back, 2 layers of flannel on the inside (in place of batting) and some corduroy on the front along with flannel and cotton fabric.  

It's heavy and thick and hopefully perfect for him to wrap up in when he's taking his naps downstairs!

Home-made Christmas: Fabric Boxes

This year for Christmas I had a genious idea that I would make everyone's presents. And, I had this idea like 3 days before Thanksgiving.

3. Days. Before. Thanksgiving.

This gave me approximately three weeks to complete about 14 presents. It helped that I have a small addiction with this website and especially this website... so I've saved a million and a half crafty things I have mentally put on an impossibly long to-do list. And, I mean impossibly long.

So, on Black Friday, I frantically scoured the racks at JoAnn's with my sister-in-law where I scored major, major deals (like flannel for $1.98/yd and minky fleece for $4.95/yd), all the while creating beautiful and wonderful things in my head that everyone would cherish and love for years to come. I thought I was pretty much invincible when it came to sewing. And, while thinking these crazy thoughts, I was also thinking, "I'll stay up during naptime--after working until 1am the night before--I'll stay up all night if I have to... I did it all the time when I was 19/20. That wasn't that long ago."

Yeah. Right.

Stay up during naptime. Ha! Let alone, "stay up all night?". Is it just me, or has every single mom since having a baby, actually dreamed of sleeping... because I do. There are days that I can't wait to get to just because I know I can actually lay down and take a nap.

Anyway, so I planned on making all these beautiful things for everyone for Christmas. I had it set in my mind that it was going to be a "hand-made Christmas". This only happened for a few people this year. Shocking, I know. Next year will be better planned.

But, I still wanted to write about the ones I did do. So, this entry is about Mom's and Jenni's fabric boxes. I had "pinned" all these different blogs on how to make different fabric boxes and they looked like so much fun and my family and I have this problem with accumulations of small and various odds and ends and need cute little things to hide them in.

Excuse the lack of amazing photos!

Jen's boxes... yellow, her favorite color.

And, Mom's boxes. Green, her favorite color. I've forgotten how to set up the photos so they look nice, since it's been so long since I've actually written anything here. But, there you have it. Part 1 of home-made Christmas! I wish my camera took better pics so you can see the details of the boxes... but, so be it. Maybe next year Santa won't forget about me.... ;)

Let go...

I've been filled with a lot of pent-up frustration. Like a lot. Mostly at myself... but,really, sometimes I don't even know what I'm feeling. Just very discontent and restless. And, worried. Very worried.

And, I hate being a worrier. It gives you wrinkles, turns your hair gray or makes it fall out, and you could get an ulcer... Nothing good ever comes out of worrying.

I know I've posted it before, but, I love it:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)

Conviction. Aye, yi, yi.

"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."

Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

Oy.  

It's like I know these things in the back of my head. Somewhere shoved in the dark corner of my brain I've shoved the knowledge of these verses and buried them in a hole... And, this evil, controlling, scary, selfish person takes over and completely warps my brain into thinking I need to have every situation be a certain way... and I need to say this and do that and blah, blah, blah... craziness. No wonder I'm about ready to burst wide open with anxiety.

I need to calm down. Ever since little B was born I've been a worrying, anxious freak. This is what mother-hood does to you. It turns you into this scary worry-wort. I have no idea how my mom had 4 of us under 4 at one time. I'm just thankful she didn't kill one of us. ;)

Ok, all jokes aside, I need some prayer as I'm working out this little "early-life crisis" (yes, I'm waaaaaay to young for a "mid" life crisis). I know God has a plan for me. A path for me to go down (and I'm praying every day that it includes a new job)... so, I need to chill out, and let God handle it. 

Which is an amazing feeling when you actually let yourself go to God. It's a terrifying feeling, but it is amazing.  

sewing itch.

Today I finally, finally, finally took out my sewing machine. FINALLY! I missed it so much. I hated seeing it packed away in it's box. The table I use to sew on is being used for a garage sale, so I've had nothing to set it up on... and, if anybody knows me I hate starting things and then not being able to finish it, especially sewing projects.

And, I didn't want to set it up somewhere and not be able to organize all my other sewing stuff around it. But, I bit the bullet and set it up on the kitchen table. There wasn't a whole lot of room and B thinks that when I'm sitting at the table, he needs to, too.. and he also needs to pull on the fabric, un-thread the thread and, obviously, hug him over and over and over. ;)

I didn't do a huge project. I just needed to feel fabric again.

I up-cycled a sweater I've never worn.

Before

After

It felt amazing to sew something together again. And, now I have a new summer top to wear! :) 



New places, New beginnings....

We finally have a place to call "home".

With enough room for a growing boy to run around in,

scream in, bang in, jump in, throw himself across the room in...

you get the point.

God definitely knew what He was doing when He provided us with this new place to live. :)

In honor of Lake Mill's cuteness and our new love for this little town,

B and I took a walk and I took pictures of some of the houses/buildings I've fallen in love with.

Yes, I said, some. I haven't walked the entire town yet... I'm sure there's more for me to drool over.

Excuse my lack of photography skills... and my non-professional camera.

I love the porch.

I love the porch, the windows, the decorative touches....

 

The houses are so old and Victorian-like. It makes me want to tour all of them.

Well, this one isn't Victorian... but there's something about it that I like.

It kind of reminds me of a house you'd see on a Disney movie.

How can you not love a big ol' porch like that? I want to sip lemonaide on it in my wooden

rocking chair. P.S. it's for sale... if you have a couple hundred thousand laying around, I would definitely

have no problem living in it for you.

This is my favorite house. And when I say that I mean I purposely walk by it almost every time I go for

a walk so I can imagine living in it. The picture doesn't do it justice. But, there were

other people walking around and I didn't want to look like the nut of the town taking pictures of everyone's house!

This isn't old or big and Victorian. But, I love its little summer cottage cuteness. This happens to be for sale too... but, it's about $400,000... since it has it's own lake access. Chump change.

The public library. Yes, it's the library. I can't wait to take B there to investigate the inside!

Main street. Filled with all it's little shop cuteness.

I would LOVE to take a pottery class here. You can't see it in the picture, but there's a basement studio where they teach and have demonstrations.

This little place intrigues me too. I think it's a kind of antique store. Everytime I go by, there's something new placed out front.

Our street's pier. I would've gone down to take a picture of the lake, but my little walking buddy has 

a melt-down everytime we have to leave.

Last, but not least, our little place. It needs some lovin, but the inside is much nicer. Pictures of that to come later... after I finish unpacking.. and clean. ;)

Anyone know what these tall baby's are?! We thought they were freakishly huge asparagus, but now they're blooming... does asparagus bloom?!

Hair Loss

A little update.....

The past few weeks have been SO stressful! I think I've lost a million strands of hair waiting to see what God has in store for us. Luckily, my hair's pretty thick, so I haven't noticed any bald spots... yet.

We've found someone to sublet our apartment; a cute couple who was so sweet and loved our little place. Which is great, because B hasn't exactly been gentle on the walls or the carpeting. But, they said it was the perfect place for them and they loved B's artwork. ;) Pending their approval from management, they'll be taking over our little home... which made me almost cry when I was talking to them about it (so emotional... I hope I get my "ladies days" soon so I can stop being such a sap). Even though it's been such a frustrating experience to live in the middle of a big city with a 2 year old with no real yard for him to run around in, this is the first place we've lived as a little family and it's bittersweet to think of leaving it.

I also talked to the landlord of the duplex we looked at (and fell in love with) in Edgerton, and he's offering it to another couple that got their application in before us... they must of filled out while they were there, because I filled it out and emailed it back to him within 2 hours of us seeing it. But, the duplex was perfect with the original hardwood floors throughout, a beautifully redone kitchen, a nice yard... the list goes on and on with it's complete perfectness, so we knew it was going to go fast.

We're looking at a new place in Lake Mills today... it's not in the country, but I looked at it with google satellite (which totally creeps me out because you can look at anyone's address and see their home) and it looks nice. It's on a corner lot with a decent sized yard... it definitely needs some yard work lovin', but luckily for me, the hubs is a landscaper by trade and I'm pretty sure I could get the work done for next to nothing. ;)

I feel good about this place, but, I felt good about the other place, too... so, I guess we'll see how God plays it all out. It's frustrating and exciting all at the same time to wait and see what God has in store for us... mostly frustrating because I'm SO not the type of person that's ok with not knowing what's going to happen. I definitely think He's using these past few weeks as a learning experience for me; so, I'm desperately trying to let Him mold and shape me into the woman He's obviously trying to make me in to.

The job posting I applied for at work closes on Tuesday, so I'll know more about the job next week probably (hopefully). But, I do work for the federal government and they aren't exactly known for their speedy response times. So, I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't know anything for another couple of weeks, yet. Which, of course, means more hair loss...

Patience is a virtue....

Romans 8:24-25
We were given this hope when we were saved. If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. (NLT)

Patience is a virtue God did not bless me with. He did however see fit to make me a complete control freak who worries constantly about EVERYTHING!

Psalm 37:7
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

God always knows what I need to hear... that verse convicted me to the point of tears. I'm so anxious about possibly moving and possibly starting a new job. I'm so anxious it's almost all I think about. I over-analyze everything, think about it, analyze it again and then think about it some more. But, God says to call on Him, to lean on Him, to depend on Him. He will provide us with everything we need.

I keep crying out to God (sometimes literally crying because I feel so overwhelmed)... and when I start to feel like everything is going to fall apart, I remember that God said He would provide for those who trust Him. We will never have to worry about the things we need because God will bless those who live for Him.

So, today I'm going to be thankful that God blessed us with a place to live, even though it's in the middle of a loud and noisy city, and be grateful that He gave me an amazing job that a lot of people would be thankful to have.

Please continue to pray for us/me as we wait to hear about the house that Wade and I both fell in love with and as we wait to hear about the job I applied for.