The Handmade Dress

Yes my dear friends, that is a Radio Flyer wagon hooked to the back of "Timothy's" tractor. That's how we roll. LOL! This is how we ride to the chicken pen now. Cause who wants to walk to the chicken pen when you could ride in style? Boring! About now I bet some of you are wondering where mama sits. Did you even have to ask? Mama sits up front in Daddy's lap! Doesn't everyone do that? LOL! I will try to get a picture of that in about 6 months when my belly is huge. LOL! Now that will be a good picture! I'll try to be barefoot too. On another note. We are leaving town! Beach bound baby! (That's why I put in the picture of Maddie blowing a snot bubble in her car seat. This is the kind of gross stuff that only happens when you are stuck in the car on family vacation!) We will be gone for 7 days to the white sandy beaches of Gulf Shores, AL. The kids are so excited that they have wanted to pack the car for the last three days. We are going with my p...

My sister Rae is having another baby too!!! We went to the doctor together yesterday and we are due in the same week!! It's looking like we will be having babies around the middle of March. I am so excited I can't see straight (or think straight!). We have been dreaming about this since we were little girls! You should have seen the lady at the front desk "you have the same last name, because you married brothers? And now you are both expecting babies, and in the same week!?" It was so much fun! We were all giddy, excited, and laughing! God is so good! We have been so blessed. . Thank you all so much for your precious comments! You made it all seem real to me! Thanks for the prayers too! I wish I could hug every one of you!!!!

..........my belly to grow, lots of exciting baby talk, baby sewing, a crib in my room, a billion belly kisses from my sweet children, and lots of prayers to get me through this. . Yes! It finally happened! Just when I had given up all hope and become completely content with three little sweeties. God gave me just what I wanted in his perfect timing, a baby. . We are thrilled! Thank you for all of your prayers! Keep them coming! . GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!

Here is my recipe for the best camping food known to man! It's one of those a little of this a little of that recipes so just take what you want and leave what you don't. . This is what you need: . ground beef (we use 1lb for a family of five) bacon potatoes carrots mushrooms onion or bell pepper (I like both) dales steak seasoning (Moores if you are too far north to get Dales) . First you tear off sheets of foil about 12" by 12" (I like to use a little more so that I can cram them full). Cut all the veggies up small enough that they will get done about the same time the meat does, I usually slice my potatoes like potato chips about 1/4" wide (in these pictures I had used a tater twister I got for Christmas and it worked great! It makes curly fries). Then you roll your ground beef into little balls (a little smaller than a golf ball) and wrap those balls in bacon. put the meat balls in the center of the foil, put about a cap full of Dal...

Not a real rat, but there have been pictures on my camera and phone lately that I didn't take. At first I thought maybe I just didn't remember, but after a week or so and lots more pictures I figured out it wasn't me. I decided it would be more fun to figure it out through the pictures than to ask anyone about it, besides something really funny could come out of this! LOL! So for a while now I have had my suspicions about who it may be, it was between Molly and Tim, but I was leaning a little more towards Molly on this one. Then it happened, the moment I have been waiting for! I caught my rat! I got out of the shower (ahh ha! That's when it was happening!) to find a new clue, a video! Three videos in fact! The first two had not worked out that well, but the third one was so funny! It was Molly all along. Once again I'm glad I waited it out instead of opening my big mouth because this was QUALITY, let me tell ya! Now I have to explain a long running family joke for y...

Yep, we went on a camping trip Thursday and Friday with the group of girls and mamas from church. We had such a good time! For such a special trip the girls "needed" camping clothes (I'm sure you believe that). I made Maddie a "Miss Madeline" apron dress, and Molly a little shirt with pockets and shorts to match (I used the "Miss Madeline pattern for the shirt too). This isn't a great picture of the girls because they were not in the mood for a photo shoot while all their friends were playing! LOL! We cooked foil dinners over the fire and I was surprised that so many of the girls had never had them before! We grew up eating them all the time! I will share the recipe for those of you who would like to give it a try in the next post. They can be cooked in the oven too but it's just more fun in the camp fire. After dinner we all went to the playground to play tag and be silly and I got this funny picture of a couple of girls swinging. Can you see th...

I saw, what looked like a snake, this morning slithering through Tim's room while he was cleaning it! I freaked out and screamed before I discovered that it was a big lizard. I hate creepy crawly things! I got myself together enough to think to grab the camera just before we tried to catch it. The video turned out to be a pretty funny and I knew Ben and the guys at the fire station would enjoy it, so here it is! Ben, this is what we have to go through while you are saving other peoples lives! We have to catch (or not catch and just live with) our own lizards! Oh.. and be warned that I said many Mama cuss words AKA things that I say from time to time but don't let my kids say, like "Oh my God!" and "Get that FREAKIN lizard". Sorry, when I get scared they just come out! I'm working on that. Oh, and Tim's bed was mine when I was little. I'm thinking about painting it to look like a fire truck. It's called a playhouse bed, my grandfather designed...

Timothy has a treasure box that he keeps his most prized possessions in. He keeps it hidden in the stair well that leads up to the attic - in boy world that's prime property! I love that he is always collecting little things to keep in his treasure box, but I am always surprised that it's not what most people would think a four year old's treasure would be. Not one "treasure" is something that you could buy at the store, it's bits and pieces of his favorite places. A turtle shell from the castle, "bear" teeth from the cow pasture by the church, a "gold" coin, a rock from Uncle Andrew (he's only 9 yrs old), a "gold" lapel pin, an "Indian rock that goes to a map", and a few other odds and ends. It's a wonderful insight into my little man. I see what really matters to him and the things he wants to remember, every little treasure has a story. So here is our little video of me and my boy talking about h...

I have had loads of email over the last year from people who want to know more about heirloom sewing. Most of the time people have all of the "sewing know how" they just aren't with it design wise. I have put together a little list of things that make garments "heirloom" which really just means a garment made well enough that you can pass it down for years to come. Heirloom clothing could have been worn 50 years ago, today, and 50 years from now and would be appropriate in every generation. Choose classic styles. The latest flare leg bloomers and halter tops are great for now, but probably won't be passed down for more than a couple of years before it goes out of style, keep that in mind when creating something that you would like to be passed down. Use good quality buttons, beauty pins, or ties; never zippers. I know this is obvious but some people just have never thought about it! Pearl buttons are a littl...

What do yo do when something comes along out of the middle of nowhere and rocks your world? I guess we did what any other family would do. We covered all of the doors and windows with sheets and pretended it was a cold Winter day. We thought cold thoughts, which I am sure helps to bring down a high fever. LOL! We built a pretend fire in the wood burning stove (candles, they give it just the right glow). We ate homemade chicken and rice soup. And we watched "The Waltons", or as my kids say "the Walt- Walts", and Cinderella ABOUT A BILLION TIMES! We just snuggled up and waited out the storm. We spoiled Maddie rotten while she was sick (by the way I'm still paying for that lol! But I still recommend it). And we thanked God for moments like this.....