A New Chapter of Our Life Books

I once read a book where a lady explained to a child that everyone has a "Life Book". She explained that when you have something big and new happen (like get married, move away, have a baby) that you start a new chapter of your Life Book. I love the thought of having a Life Book, I have often thought to myself "How is this going to fit into my life right now? Well, I guess I'll just have to start a new chapter where it does fit."

We started a new chapter of our Life Books a few months back when we had come to a crossroad in our adoption process. Ahead of us was a dead end, that after months we couldn't find any way around, but this other road held promise. I could blame it on people, an agency, or circumstances, but I truly believe that God had us on the path that we needed to travel to get us ready for where we are now. Frustrated, out of money, and with nothing else to do but just quit, Ben and I took a chance and decided to "try out" this DHR adoption class that was about to start. We went....and we both felt an almost instant sense of relief. We felt like we had finally gained some ground and could see an end to this dream. After a few classes we knew we were where God wanted us. At first we were very disappointed because we felt like we had lost children from our Bulgarian adoption (the only thing I have to compare it to is miscarriage). In two years not one piece of paper with our name on it had traveled to Bulgaria, but in our hearts it was so real.

Our new chapter has been a completely new experience for us, it has been (comparatively) fast paced, full of training, excitement and fun! We have learned that a lot of the things that we believed to be true of domestic adoption, were just myths. Probably the most important truth that we learned, was that a domestic adoption can be just as legally sound as a international one.

So where are we now? We are "officially waiting". Ahhh....that feels good to say after so long. Yes, after more than two years, lots of tears, prayer, worry, frustration and paperwork, we are waiting for the day that a social worker calls and says "We think we have a match." and yet another chapter of our Life Books will begin! We are so excited to see what (or who!) God has for us!

Saying that felt awesome. In the coming months we would greatly appreciate your prayers and support as we finish this journey! Thank you friends...xo, Sam

PS. If you are thinking of adopting or are stuck as we were and would like to know the minute details of our process, I would be happy to share them with you. Just give me a call at (205)433-9040.

Creative Play and Inspiration

Today I was out on the porch enjoying this cool morning and looking at all of the "signs of life" around me, when it occurred to me, that right here in this little scene I can see a creative process at work. That is so fun to me! That natural, organic, inspired, creative process that happens when kids play. Let me show you around... first in the top right hand corner we have a handmade skate board turned scooter... 

Last week my kids decided to take apart an old store bought skate board and make a cooler one from some scrap wood. Later they decided that it might make a better scooter than skate board so they added the other board to it. Now they have decided to go another route, I don't have a name for the contraption that they are planning to build next yet- I'll keep ya posted. :)

Next we have the beans that are popping up all over my beloved brick path and flower garden. That started a week or so ago when I sent the kids out (Lily, Iris, and Abe were here too) to play kitchen with dry rice and dry beans. They had a big time and had it all over the place by the time they were done! When it was all said and done I said "Just sweep it into the yard!" not thinking anything about it. I thought the critters would eat it up the first night! Nope, a few days later we started to see tiny sprouts in the garden and around my bricks. Molly said "I just learned about that in school yesterday Mom!" so I said "Well just let it grow then, y'all can study it."

Who knows what this porch will look like next week! Last week it was full of muddy trucks with spatulas duck-taped to the top. They called the first one the "Slingshot 4000" and they had contests seeing who could shoot (catapult) wooden blocks the furthest. How could a mama not be inspired in an environment like this? When allowed to flourish, creativity just runs wild in these little minds! What are your kids up to this week? xo, Sam

In 11 more weeks...

It felt like I said "In 11 more weeks." for two months, when people would ask "How much longer before y'all get married?" We couldn't wait! Now it has been 11 YEARS! 12 years ago today is when it really began though. That's when he asked my dad if he could date me. Mom and I hid behind the couch on the floor and listened! That night we talked on the phone until we were falling asleep. It was very serious from the beginning. That was the night he told me that he wanted a house full of kids, and he wanted them to be homeschooled. I told him that we could never go to bed angry, and "I have always had a feeling that having kids won't be easy for me". We decided that if that was true we would just adopt. Six weeks later Mom and I hid behind the couch again and stifled giggles as we listened to Ben ask my Dad if he could just have me for always. Dad said that that would be fine, but there was one condition, Ben had to promise to provide enough for me to be a stay-at-home mama. We set the date to be married a year from the day that we started dating, on a Friday night in late September, I went from being my Daddy's to being Ben's.

(married 6 months, I was graduating from nursing school, Molly was on the way but we didn't know it yet)

It feels like a lifetime ago now! Those things that we talked about that first night seemed like such BIG decisions then, and now they just seem like "life", like the most ordinary little details of our everyday. In some ways a lot has changed since then, but our basic foundation was built that night and has never changed. I love that this story is written in my Life Book. There is another very important story coming soon, one that I'm sure will be written in big bold letters in my whole family's Life Book. I can't wait to share that one with you too. xo, Sam

Homeschool Art Lesson :: Henna

We had a blast with our henna art lesson! The kids loved it! I saved it for the end of the school day that way they would have something to look forward to -a very sneaky way of motivating my children to get their school done in a timely fashion. :) It was so much fun! They weren't very patient with the drying process, so theirs turned out a little lighter than mine. 

While it was drying it looked dark like this.

We sort of looked at the suggested designs as we went, but it was way more fun to doodle. I think we may do henna art on T-shirts next using paint or a bleach pen....maybe we need to take a trip to the thrift store for shirts today! I'm always down with any excuse to get to the thrift store! Reason number 4568 that homeschool rocks. What kind of projects are you guys working on? Share a link, or your blog post, we could always use fresh ideas! xo, Sam

Where did the week go?

Has it really been a week since I've checked in here? Wow! I just pulled our weeks pictures off of my phone, so let me fill you in. My Maddie learned to crochet, and she is now making mile long chains into bracelets, necklaces, headbands, and belts. :)

I cast on this headband that I have been wanting to try for a while. I call it my buttonhole headband. If anyone is interested in the pattern I could jot it down for ya.

We let Claire play in mashed taters for the first time...

She really really liked it!!

We had a lock-in at the church where we got no sleep and had a rockin' shaving cream fight the next morning...

...it got messier and messier as it went on...

...see what I mean. There were no children harmed in the making of this lock-in -Thank God in Heaven! We all survived, but just barely for the adults present.

This is the after-lock-in-crash.....

(No worries, daddy was right there)

..that took down the whole family...

...not one was left standing...

....even daddy, he just happened to wake-up first, that's how it was documented. :)

Tonight I was doing a little practice design for our homeschool henna-art lesson coming up. I bought a kid-safe kit that we will be using this week, I can't wait! I've never done henna before, but I have always wanted to! I'll let you know how it goes. xo, Sam

PS. Claire and I were honored to be on The Old Fashioned Baby Blog, Jeannie let Claire model her beautiful bonnet at market! We love her. :)

Claire Went to Market :)

She did a lot of socializing cause she had to meet all of my super cool friends! And she worked hard modeling and helping daddy sell patterns. We had several offers for her too (she just does her job so well you know) but we decided that we would keep her. Here she is with my (amazingly artistic) friend Hayley, from The Button Company. I got to hold Hayley's little angel at the last market! I remember smelling his little head and thinking "Is it really possible that I'm going to get to do this again?"

Jeannie, from The Old Fashioned Baby, put her to work in her booth. I LOVE Jeannie! She is such a beautiful person!

She hung out with the awesome Maja of Maja's Heirlooms. Claire liked her, she's a nut!

She hob knobbed with Wendy of Wendy Schoen Designs. 

This is Wendy's sweet sister Penny.

She talked fabric and cut-up with Mike at Fabric Finders. This guy is always laughing! 

She snuggled with Sally from Farmhouse Fabrics.

She loved our good buddy Trisha, from Patterns by Trisha's Treasures. She is such a sweet friend! And probably the most organised person I know (seriously, it's crazy!)

Claire was such a sweet girl at market! She worked very hard and was the most precious little model! The first day, while we were super busy, my Aunt Wendy came and for a couple of hours to keep her entertained. I thought that working a wholesale market with a six month old was going to be soooo challenging, but God worked it out perfectly! She even started sitting-up (YES! How did that happen?) last week so she was loving playing in the floor on a blanket (in cute mama made outfits of course). To sum it all up, it was the best market yet! I can't wait till January! I hope you enjoyed our little tour. :) xo, Sam

Being Mama

(I took this picture the other night when I was working hard to get those patterns finished. My two babies had fallen asleep on me and I was working one handed at my desk.)

  I heard someone say once, when I was a very new mama, "Do you know what your kids think when they get up in the morning? They think that mama is the one that got up and turned the sunshine on for them." That makes me smile every time I think about it. I have the best job in the world! I get to be mama to these four little souls that God has blessed me with! I'm the one they want when they are tired, hurt, hungry, or sick. They think that I turn the sunshine on for them. This is the most important thing that I will do in my lifetime. Mama is who I was meant to be. I guess I'm just sharing this tonight because lately when I am in public people talk to me like being a mother of four (and adopting) sounds like such a burden. I think that more than anything they say these things out of habit, like it's common belief that children are a burden and if you have more than two the others are seen as accidents. Maybe if enough mamas would talk about how much they enjoy motherhood we could change the common belief...it's just a thought. What if people talked about children like they are blessings whether you have 1 or 14? What if that belief trickled down the generations of our families and children grew up feeling like they were blessings? This has just been a nagging question in my mind lately. Thanks for letting me share friends. :) xo, Sam

~ A Beautiful Day ~

The last couple of weeks have been so incredibly busy here, getting the new patterns in print and getting all packed up for market. This morning we loaded the trailer for market and the stress just started melting off of me. by mid-afternoon I was sitting quietly at the park, in the most perfect weather imaginable, knitting away as my children played. It was AMAZING. It was one of those days that you wish for when you have had one of those weeks....so perfect. Then tonight I got to spend time laughing until I cried with the amazing women that make up my family. We call ourselves "Myrt's Chicks". Myrtle was my great grandmother, and we are all descendants of that one beautiful, motherly, Godly soul. I feel like I have been recharged. Like no matter what may come my way this next week, I can handle it, all because I had this one beautiful day. Do you ever feel like that? xo, Sam

The Gypsy Skirt Recipe is in the Shop!

This morning I went wandering around my own neighborhood to find the perfect spot for these pictures, and look what we found! It looks like an old gypsy cabin to me! It really did turn into a great little adventure, we met a new neighbor too. Did you notice my little man in the background? I asked him this morning if he would go with us and be in the picture (I wanted once have all of my kids on one cover) and he said YES! I was so excited because he's usually not fond of picture taking. He is so good to his mama. :)

That was the last piece to the puzzle, all I needed was a cover picture. The pattern (for all ages, baby to mama) is now in the shop. (The PDF version is HERE, and the printed version HERE.)

Claire even got a little gypsy skirt! I made her's a little short so that she can still crawl around in it. Doesn't it look like a little yo-yo on her? Too cute.

Molly wanted a mid-length skirt, and I like the way it turned out too. Very cute with her boots.

My Madeline dressed herself, of course! I love my little gypsy girl.

Now go make your very own family of gypsy skirts and set off on a grand adventure, even if it is just around your own neighborhood! xo, Sam

Hand Embroidered Alphabet...

This is the last of my offerings to reveal before we head off to market this weekend. I FINALLY finished the "Embroidered Alphabets" pattern that I started last summer (just a few days before morning sickness kicked in- you get the delay..). This is a hand embroidered alphabet designs booklet, including four different sets of designs, using three different types of embroidery. I have always loved embroidery for its quiet, relaxing rhythm. Embroidery is so beautiful, portable, and the perfect way to leave your creative mark on ready-made items or your own sewing creations. Grab a cup of coffee and curl up in your favorite chair and stitch away!

This set is in the Shop in PDF or printed version!

 

I should have the Gypsy skirt ready for purchase by Friday. Ahhh it feels good to have all of these overdue projects wrapping up! Happy stitching friends! xo, Sam

 



Gypsy Skirt Sewing Recipe

Over the years since I have been making my own "Gypsy" or hippie skirts, I have had so many mamas ask for the pattern. The problem was the size of the pattern pieces! Then I got the idea for a "Sewing Recipe".  It's the kind of pattern that doesn't come with actual pieces but come with a formula/recipe (illustrations and instructions included) that you could use for any age, baby or mamas. There are no curves to fuss with, just straight lines.

 

(Tim and I in the fort they built showing off our Temporaries.)

This is the kind of skirt that you can just live in! I've hiked, camped, rode bikes, wiped noses, went to church, and had great adventures in my gypsy skirts. I always like to wear aprons over these skirts when I cook, because they look so cute under them!

Today I made my little Madeline one, but she is away for the night so she couldn't model for me. Maybe tomorrow. The pattern isn't quite finished yet, but it shouldn't be long. So what do you think? Any comments before I finish the pattern up? xo, Sam

Honeycomb Smocking Tutorial

But first let me announce that the Miss Violet pattern is in the SHOP!!!

(Lily wearing the Miss Violet dress)

(The real life Violet, andClaire, wearing Miss Violet dresses)

For those of you who thought that the honeycomb smocking may be too tricky, let me show you just how easy it really is. Watch this little video, ignore the thick southern accent (I really do hate to hear myself on video), and smock on friends! xo, Sam