The Handmade Dress

 Today I wanted to share some of my favorite words from our favorite children's Bible "The Jesus Storybook Bible". I think it's just perfect for Christmas!  "No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne - everything - to rescue the one he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life! You see, the best thing about this story - is that it's true. There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. It takes the whole Bible to tell this story. And at the center of this story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle - the pi...

WE WERE APPROVED BY DHR, AND WE ARE NOW WAITING FOR A MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOODNESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After almost three years of wondering if we would ever really make it this far......Praise God it's HERE!!!! We could be weeks away from meeting our new child (or children)!!! Weeks, not YEARS! Talk about a Christmas miracle! As we celebrate the Greatest Adoption Story ever told this season, my family will also be celebrating this amazing breakthrough in our own adoption story. Friends there have been times over the last three years that I felt like we would never make it here. We had so many dreams shattered along the way that it seemed like an impossible task. BUT HE IS FAITHFUL!!!! There are absolutely NO WORDS to describe the way I feel right now! I've cried, I've laughed, I've called, I've texted, I've jumped, I've danced and I've said how I can't believe it at least two thousand times! We MADE IT!!!!! Very soon I w...

They showed this at church last night. It's so cute that I just had to share it with you guys! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Merry Christmas friends! xo, Sam

We made a little visit to Children's Hospital this week. Very soon after I wrote my last post my babe became very sick. She couldn't hold down anything. After 36 hours of vomiting, and a visit to the doctor, Thursday morning we ended up in Children's. I had a dream the night before that she had a blockage. She hadn't had a dirty diaper since Monday and she only had a low grade (99) temp. It wasn't just a tummy bug. Sure enough the X-ray showed a suspicious bit of intestine that had likely turned inside of itself (like a telescope) creating a blockage. They said that it was probably happening intermittently, which is very common at this age. She was admitted for observation and IV fluids until she could keep herself hydrated and yesterday we brought her home WELL. My goodness how these little ones can scare the life right out of ya! We thank God that he once again protected our little Claire. This condition could have been much worse, some childr...

Today I'm playing with ceramic paint for the first time! It's so much fun, but I'm not all that good at it yet. I think the pens would be easier, but I got this kit with my 50% off Michael's coupon so it was much cheaper than buying a bunch of different pens. I got the mugs at the Dollar Tree. My plan is to practice up and then make myself a whole set using miss matched white pieces from the thrift store. Wouldn't that be delightfully odd? Miss matched dishes all painted with the same theme? I like it! I just need to get better at it. I think my brushes may be too stiff because they are leaving lines in the paint. By the way, you are welcome to look at the mess in the background. :) Claire put that there for me. My sweet chubby little babe, she loves playing by the tree. I am so grateful for little baby messes around the house again! In the last two months she has gotten so mobile that she has been keeping us in messes to enjoy. :)  xo, Sam

A vintage Airstream! A 1962, 24', Tradewind to be exact. Woot woot!! Yep, we didn't even own the popup for an entire month before we traded in her in for an older model. I bet you're thinking who trades a perfectly good popup in for a gutted clunker? Well, I guess we do! I know she's a little rough around the edges, but ain't she a bute? Craigs List, I thank you. We were able to sell the old camper and buy her for the same price. Our plan is to work hard building and fixing all year and have her ready to go by October. Our new family member (or members) should be home by then too!   Once she's done we would like to be able to take 4-5 trips a year, some short and some long. As a family we decided that traveling is what we want to be doing for the next few years, but as this new exciting chapter of our life books begins, another had to end. We can't run a farm and not be here. The big gardens are fine, we probably won't travel in the Su...

. Finally here I am writing about our first trip! I say first because there will be more, oh so many more after this! In fact, when we got home we made some pretty big changes in our lifestyle, and made some big decisions about how "Our Gypsy Travels" will fit into our life from now on (more about that next week). Our only real plan was to get to the Blue Ridge Parkway and play it by ear from there. We headed out with a popup from Alabama, and before it was over we had been through seven states (and a district Molly says). We went from Alabama to Maryland and had a blast! . Our travel rules are simple: -Have fun -Spend as little money as possible, but see the most we can - For every busy day we take a day of rest -If we have seen all we want to see we need to "move on" -Always leave a place better than you found it -Try to only eat food that we prepared (that kinda went along with the money thing) Day 1: Our maiden voyage began on a ...

 My little Claire was very enthusiastic about helping decorate for her first Christmas. ;)  She was just delighted with the results too!  And we, well we were all delighted that she was delighted! We were also delighted with the pudgy rolls on her legs, and feet, and back, and well, all over. At nine months old this little lady has us all wrapped around her chubby little pinky finger. Where have the last nine months gone anyhow? I can't tell you, but I can say that they were full of firsts. xo, Sam