I made this little shirt for Annie, and it turned out so cute that I bought more fabric to make another one. The next one is blue with little white flowers, and I'm going to try changing the pattern for buttons in the back instead of a zipper. This pattern can also be made into a dress, which I'd like to do as well. I made Annie an Easter dress, too, which was my first effort at sewing using a pattern (and actually finishing it.) The dress turned out cute, too, and we get complimented on it almost everytime she wears it. The dress is pink with white polka dots, with little gathered sleeves and a gathered skirt, and has a wide ribbon going all the way around the waist. I even made a matching purse! I've tried sewing in the past (clothes) and have never really been patient enough, but for some reason am really enjoying the creativity and the challenge of it now. All I want to do anymore is sew! I'd try to sew for myself more, too, if I wasn't getting so darn fat and hard-to-fit...

April snow

Remember how excited I was for my weeping cherry tree to bloom in April? WELL!

She's the cutest little birthday girl on the planet! Annie just turned 4 years old. We invited 2 little cousins over for a tea party, and they were all adorable in their dress ups. Each brought a doll as a guest. The girls were determined to enjoy themselves to the max, and didn't want to stop until the food was gone. Emalee(cousin) kept saying "This is wonderful!" and "This is fun!" The girls got to use real glass plates and cups, and the dolls each had their own mini cup and saucer. The girls had little tea pots to pour water for the dolls, and I poured juice for the girls. I'm pretty sure Annie will insist on this tea party becoming a birthday tradition. By the way, it's AWESOME to be able to do girly things with my daughter!!!!

By the way, be a good sport!

Josh, my 9-year-old, put this sign on his door a while ago. Eventually he got tired of no one knocking before they came in, so he taped thumb tacks to his door knob--sharp side out--along with the sign. Do you think that after ignoring the first part of the sign and grabbing the knob, you should be a good sport about your hand getting skewered?

Jacob's Surgery

The deed is done! The surgery was on February 27th. The first photo was taken in pre-op, when Jacob was being silly with his hair net. He thought it was pretty funny until he saw what he looked like in the picture, then he took it off and wouldn't put it back on--even when the doctors asked him to as they wheeled him away. I wonder if they had to do it after he was asleep? The lower pic was taken on the way out to the car. The nurse pushing the wheel chair was the nurse who helped us throughout the recovery period, which was about 3 hours. She was awesome! About the surgery...it was horrible! I hope I never have to go through that again, especially considering this was only a "minor" surgery! It gives me a new respect for my brother and his wife, who have had to go through major cleft palate surgery with their son (who is a year older than Jacob) several times. Anyway, Jacob is fully recovered, and we are just waiting another week for the swelling in his nasal passages to go completely down. His voice is SO different!

Spring is coming!

Just two more months, then this will be my front yard view...I can't wait! This photo was taken in April 2007.

These is my Words

So--my book club just reviewed this book, "These is my Words" by Nancy Turner. I went to the review without reading the book because I hadn't had time, plus I wanted to get a feel for the book first to see if I really wanted to read it. The review was interesting, so I decided to go ahead with it and borrowed the book from my friend. I seriously couldn't put it down! I did nothing but read for two days! Ray happened to be home from work on one of those days, and I'm sure he thinks that all I ever do at home is sit around and read whenever I please! The book is written exclusively in a journal format, and of course gives so much detail you know it could never be a real journal. Still, very entertaining.

Shaving???

I can't even believe it! My 12 year old son shaved his face this morning! I could hardly believe that I even had a 12 year old in December, and now this. Of course, it will probably be another year before there's enough for him to shave again, but still...I never really imagined going through these things with my boys. Life moves on. Wow.

Teddy Bear

Isn't he adorable? Jacob is my squeezable boy. He doesn't mind a bit when I draw him onto my lap and hug him, even when he's in the middle of telling me something. Jacob goes "under the knife" in a few weeks for a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. A common, simple procedure, yet still difficult to deal with as a parent. I'll have to let him go into a room without me, surrounded by nurses and doctors and just wait, doing nothing, knowing that when he wakes up he will be hurting. Yes, I know his quality of life will be greater. It doesn't stop the "what if's" from popping up, though.