Crawl Buddy

When Katelyn started crawling yesterday I immediately started thinking of toys that would help her develop her new-found skill.  So I started sewing...

"The Call" by Os Guinness

In the opening chapter (all I've read thus far) of The Call, Os Guinness says, "...transition challenges our sense of personal meaning."  I understand this statement full well at this time of my life.  Following closely on the heels of a major life shift, I had a major health crisis and ended up in surgery and an 8 week recovery process... followed immediately by a 3-month treatment for said health issues... followed immediately by 9 months of trying to conceive... followed (seriously, thank God) by 9 months of pregnancy.  Well, really only about 8 months because the baby was 3 weeks early.  Not exactly what we planned for, but luckily she was perfectly healthy... for the next 8 weeks at least.  That's when she got RSV, a long and drawn out 4 week battle that included 5 trips to the ER and a 3-night stay in the Pediatric Wing of the hospital.  My life has been one giant transition the last 3 years or so, and now that my beautiful daughter is here with us, growing and (finally) healthy (again, thank God)... I feel like the transition has just begun.

For Kristen & Nathan

We were recently asked, separately by two different friends for good books to read.  So, just for Kristen and Nathan, here is our list of "must-read" Christian books:

Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton
Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence
The Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster
Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Can Man Live Without God?, Ravi Zacharias
The Unshakable Kingdom & The
Unchanging Person, E. Stanley Jones
Humility, Andrew Murray
True Spirituality, Francis Schaeffer

I Can Make This

Saw this really cute pull-toy at WalMart today with Mimi and Poppy... and I thought, "I could definitely make that!"  Checked at Hobby Lobby and they totally have the wheels for like $3.  As long as I can find a pattern for an animal head... it's on!  Thank you, Garanimals, for a bit of inspiration!

Soothie Paci Clips/Keepers

My sis-in-law has a little boy 4 months younger than Katelyn and he uses Soothie paci's.  If you've ever used them, you know there are no paci clips/keepers sold in the stores, unless you really want your child's face to look like a giant sunflower!  So I decided to make her a couple as a surprise.  :)  Hope they work for her!

Ivy Shoes

Katelyn's in an in-between size of shoes and, since new shoes are so expensive, I decided to make her another pair of shoes. I went with white so they will match everything but then they looked too plain. So I decided to try my hand at some embroidery. Hopefully they will stay clean enough to last her a while!

My Child Will Have This!

I get several emails about crafting/sewing/etc each week, and this was featured in one... Katelyn has to have this when she gets a little older!  Can't you just see it???