The Handmade Dress

Dawn again... I just got off the phone with Samantha and help has arrived!!! The National Guard, Samaritan's Purse, Convoy of Hope and The Red Cross are all there. Sam sounded so relieved and she was happy to announce that supplies are arriving and donations are starting to come in. As a matter of fact the church has set up a little shop and Sam is the shopkeeper, for the next few weeks or even months she is going to be handing out much needed supplies to anyone who needs them...food, water, clothing, diapers, personal items, etc.etc and she sounded so happy to be able to be helping those in need. She said one lady came in today and asked if they had any feminine products and when Sam handed her a box she burst into tears she was so happy. I can't even imagine .... For those of you who wanted to know about Sam's house, it's fine. They just have no power right now which is why they are staying with her sister, Rachel. But their house is fine. She said the...

Photos Sam sent me from her iPhone of Ben in the rubble after the storm Hi everyone, this is Dawn (from Olabelhe) filling in for Samantha... Sam managed to get a call through to me this morning which was a miracle in itself, as most of the cell towers are down and most people have no electricity. She wanted me to update all of you on what's happening so she asked me to fill in for her for a while until they get internet back which could be weeks. So as long as she can get through to me, I will be filling in for her to keep you all updated on what's happening. First of all they are all safe and okay. Sam is currently staying with her sister Rachel because Rachel has electricity so they are camping out there until further notice. Yesterday amidst all of the chaos Christina gave birth to a beautiful little girl and they named her Zoe, and mama and baby are doing just fine. Although now they have a new baby and no home to bring her back to, until they are able to find ...

I can't post much from my phone, but we are safe. Ben's brother and his family lost almost everything, including their cars, but they are safe. Praise God! I'm keeping our Facebook updated if you want to check in there. Ben is still out helping and I got a message a couple of hours ago (after hours of worry) that he is fine but he doesn't know when he will be home. Please keep praying that they find more people alive, the death toll is in the 80's right now. xo, Sam

Last week I was sewing to finish Easter dresses or nursing a baby every waking minute! Saturday, Tim cut his arm playing outside and he had to get stitches. Sunday went well, we had a wonderful Easter with family! All I could think about Sunday night was waking up (late) on Monday morning and spending the day holding my baby and NOT sewing. That's NOT how it went. Ben woke me up saying "Get up! We've got to go to the hospital, Tim has cut his foot really bad!" I'm not going to go into detail because it can really make your skin crawl, but he had a pretty bad cut. Poor little guy! He has had a hard week! This morning we woke up to tornado sirens and nasty weather. We have no power and it looks like it could be a few days before we get it back on. This tree was down in my sister's back yard. We are so blessed that it didn't hit the house!   We found this little guy, alive, under the limbs. He was lucky too! There is a whole othe...

They are the best aren't they? Especially when there are little rolly polly legs next to you, and tiny toes, and weensy lips, all in a little cloud of soft batiste...so perfect...

I originally wrote this post on Saturday, November 8, 2008 and I somehow stumbled upon it last night. Oh these words couldn't have come back to me at a better time! With the added resposibilities of having a new baby, and the lack of sleep, I've had to work on this extra hard lately with my older kids. I'm sure most mamas can relate! It's good for me to have a little reminder from time to time.... On my heart.... "Yes, I am in earnest. I want to see little children adorning every home as flowers adorn every meadow and every wayside. I want to see them welcomed to the homes they enter, to see their parents grow less and less selfish and more and more loving because they have come. I want to see God's precious gifts accepted, not frowned upon and refused." This is just one little paragraph from one of my favorite books "Stepping Heavenward" by Mrs. Elizabeth Prentiss. This one paragraph has had me reflecting for days. Reflecting on my own l...

We have made some new discoveries around the farm this week! First we discovered that one of our chickens laid a giant egg. Here it is next to our normal eggs. As a homeschooling mama I saw this as a good and exciting "science project". We got out the measuring tape and compared the huge egg to our normal ones. Our big egg was about 1" bigger than the others in length and width. Then we researched (AKA googled) what this could mean, and found some pretty amazing things! Who knew that THIS could happen? Wild! THIS was a pretty fun read too if you like that sort of thing. We couldn't wait to see what was in our egg! And as you can see, it was a nice big double yolker. :) When all of the research was done Molly cooked it up and they ate it. They said that it tasted extra good. They may be a little prideful when it comes to their chicken's eggs. So cute. The next discovery was made by Maddie and I on our way up the driveway tod...

Today I got to get a couple of hours of Easter sewing done! Molly and Adam (her uncle that's the same age as her) watched Claire while I got Maddie's dress ready for the handwork. I'm doing my crocheted insertion dress again, but this time for three girls! They each have their own color; Molly is blue, Maddie picked purple, and my little Claire will be pink. :) This is the purple in silk thread, but I'm thinking that I may use a cotton thread with a darker purple. This just looks so pale and I want the crochet to stand out more. It almost looks like a grayish white when it's on the dress. Not very Eastery, huh? I'll work on that tonight.I can't wait to see them finished, three little girls dressed in Easter dresses! OH! This was the first crocheted insertion dress, it was Molly's Easter dress one year. I have had so many questions about this dress over the years so....I have finally decided to make up a pattern for it! This was a pretty har...

DISCLAIMER: This is a long and detailed birth story where I tell about my experience giving birth naturally to my fourth little miracle. Please read at your own discretion . I’m sitting here right now holding my sweet little angel, Claire. In a way it seems like she has always been here, but if I think back just a bit I can still easily remember the first day I met her just five weeks ago…..her Birthday, February 28th. The day before she was born was Ben’s birthday. I woke up that morning at 36 weeks and 5 days and I knew immediately that I was in the early stage of labor. I had that instinctive feeling that something big was about to happen, and I was in a sort of daze where I felt like I was going through the motions of normal life, but all of my thoughts and emotions were focused inward on the task at hand. We had a good day celebrating Ben’s birthday and by that night I was worn out. I tried to sleep but I couldn't. The contractions were pretty regular but not very s...

"Bed head" has a whole new meaning these days! This babe of mine wakes up every morning rockin' the bed head! Claire's hair is our morning entertainment around here. I try to take a picture of it every morning. These pictures aren't great because they were taken with my phone, but they are just too cute not to share!   How sweet is that sleepy little yawn? Those little lips are one of our favorite things! I know this picture doesn't have bed head, but I love it! Look at those squishy little cheeks! And this was right after bath time so she smelled heavenly...you know how I love me some baby smells. This week I'm going to be starting my Easter sewing. I can't wait! I get to sew for three girls! THREE! God is so good! xo, Sam