Ordinary Time

Incredibly, I still know where my machine is and also how to make it work. Life has seemed so busy around here that relaxing and sewing hasn't really happened much. (And it's not that I lack for projects!) One of the ways I made myself crazy last month was to want to make a pair of matching tops for G. and L. for their birthday. The trouble was, we were celebrating their birthday immediately after returning from our camping trip which meant I had to have everything done before we left. I got them done. Barely. Here are the completed tops: These are made from a curtain valance that I found at the thrift store for a dollar. I used the bottom of the valance for the bottom of the shirts (and I didn't have to hem them!) Then for the other parts I used some leftover lavender fabric from an Easter dress I made for P. and the top part of the valance for the yoke and sleeves. The whole thing took much longer than it should have because there wasn't quite enough fab...

We are laying low for the rest of the day because it is just HOT outside. (My parents are visiting from Arizona and it is currently cooler in AZ than it is here.) We did enjoy a lovely lunch cookout with friends this afternoon. Some pictures from the afternoon. L. H. You know, having a bunch of older children is a lot of fun. And entertaining. Especially when they are all present and relaxed and enjoying themselves. First there was the little episode when B. accidentally ripped the soda can in half when he was trying to crush it. Then there was the kerfuffle when B. was pitching cedar (?) berries into M.'s ear and the resulting retaliation. And then there was the scene when A. decided to make a single pony tail with the front of M.'s hair. It began here. But soon ended up here. You'll notice everyone is smiling through the whole thing. Ah, yes, my decorous daughters... G. (that's a balloon she's holding) P. is missing, I kn...

My parents are in town all week which means 1) to not expect any posts of deep insight, I'm on vacation 2) we'll be having lots and lots of fun and 3) there will probably be lots of creating going on because my mom kind of inspires that sort of activity. So, why try to interfere with a force of nature? It's much easier just to go along with it. For day one of Creative Week, then, I'm going to share M.'s latest creations. These are what she has been working on pretty much non-stop for the past two weeks. Through a contact in the Chicago theater world, she was asked to create life size dinosaur puppets/costumes for a small stage production of Jurassic Park. It being the theater world, she did it out of the goodness of her heart (and for the contacts and 'intern' line on her resume). I'm really impressed with what she created merely out of foam core, duct tape, milk jugs, cardboard, and one lone sock. Here are a few of the many dinos she created. (B. is...

I have a sneaking suspicion that I may hold a minority opinion on this, but you know what? My children, even my older ones, are not my best friends, and I don't have the expectation that they will be . I am also not best friends with my mother or father. At face value all of this sounds rather dreadful, especially given the friend culture we live in. To be friends, especially best friends, bff's,  is the ultimate goal in any relationship, it seems. But I want more than this in my relationship with my parents and with my children. Ideally, the parent/child relationship is deeper and stronger than mere friends. This is not belittle close friendships; I am blessed with many of those and I know that those friends would literally give me the shirts off their backs if I needed them, and vice versa. But a parent/child relationship is a deep, deep part of who we are. It is our first relationship as an infant and that infant is what transforms an adult into a parent. It comes with a l...

If this rambles more than usual, I apologize.  H. had an EEG this morning which required her to be sleep deprived because she had to sleep during the test. Well, we all know that a sleep deprived child equals a sleep deprived parent, don't we? So, when the masses ask to watch a Leap Frog video, I happily said yes! Please. There's probably rules about blogging when fatigued, but I'm going to write anyway. In the past few years it has seemed as though God is working on small areas of my life at a time. Before the little girls were born, the message was definitely waiting. Waiting on God's timing. Daring to be idle and letting God work. Learning that there is nothing that God needs me to do for Him. He is sufficient without my help. What I do is out of my great love for Him and not because He needs me in any way. Then, it seemed I moved on to working on serenity and fearlessness . I may never live up to my mental image of what it means to be serene, but God has really...

My mother has reminded me that I have neglected to share pictures of D.'s birthday celebration. I will now remedy that. D. had pie (of course!) We missed the blowing out the candles picture, but he blew out all three candles that a sister was holding without incident. And there were presents. (G. and L. have figured out the whole present-thing and always are game to 'help'.) What else does a 9 year old boy want but Lego? And more Lego? My handsome boy. He is the most big-hearted and caring child I know. And how this child loves Jesus. It has been a while now that he insists that he plans on being a missionary when he is older. I love you my dear boy. Happy Birthday! And now for something unrelated, but rather funny. This is what we discovered when we walked through the front hall yesterday. Yes, K. is sound asleep. On his back. In the car seat that was removed because D. no longer needed it. We are unsure of how this actually happened. Did h...

I realize I have never written about this before, but it has been on my mind recently. Actually, it's always on my mind, but just not in a very coherent way. Adoption has been a part of our family's life for 6 years now. M. was 13 when TM came home, B. was 11, A. was 8, P. was 5, and D. was 3.  For many of them, this has been their reality for a good chunk of their lives. And there are times when I wonder how my children are different because of it. Because, frankly, life isn't always easy. There are some days we have bigger issues than just your average annoying little brother or sister moments. There have been moments where I have felt I wasn't raising my children in a home, but a war zone. And I worried a bit that I was creating trauma in some children while helping to heal trauma in another. These days I'm feeling a bit better about the whole thing. I would like to say it's because our lives are pretty peaceful compared to those early days, but this would ...