delicious silence

Today has been one of those days where I desperately wish I could have called my mom and said, “come get your grandson or else I’m sending him to the zoo.”

… but we live far away from her.

Today has been one of those days that baby Did.NOT.take.a.SINGLE.nap.

…. that is never ever a good idea.

Today has been one of those days that was filled with lots and lots and lots and lots of whimpering and whining and more whining--- directly due to that whole nap refusal issue.

But…

Now, delicious silence fills the room.  It  almost smells good, if you can smell silence.  It’s that kind of silence that you want to drink in and hug and say thank you, thank you thank you.

… baby boy is sleeping.

Thank you God that babies go to sleep.

Thank you God that babies go to sleep.

Thank you God that babies go to sleep.

Thank you for my baby.

…even when he’s crazy face all day.

he’s still the cutest ever.

Are We There Yet?

Just doing a little reading before bed, been feeling the length of this season of trusting and waiting lately.  God is good. 

He is so good. 

This excerpt is brilliant and my words couldn’t do any better than what Donald Miller writes here. 

Because our lives are all incredible stories and we are characters…

|from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years|

…

 

I think this is when most people give up on their stories.  They come out of college, wanting to change the world, wanting to get married, wanting to have kids and change the way people buy office supplies.  But they get into the middle and discover it was harder than they thought.  They can’t see the distant shore anymore, and they wonder if their paddling is moving them forward.  None of the trees are getting bigger.  They take it out on their spouses and they go look for an easier story.

…

Writing a story isn’t about making your peaceful fantasies come true.  The whole point of a story is the character arc.  You didn’t think joy could change a person, did you?  Joy is what you feel when the conflict is over.  But it’s the conflict that changes a person.

…

It’s like this with every crossing, and with nearly every story too.  You paddle until you no longer believe you can go any farther.  And then suddenly, well after you thought it would happen, the other shore starts to grow, and it grows fast.  The trees get taller and you can make out the crags in the cliffs, and then the shore reaches out to you, to welcome you home, almost pulling your boat onto the sand.

…

We’re looking forward to seeing that other shore starting to grow…

Really.  Any day now.

PS.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to go looking for an easier story, and I’m keeping my husband.  We’re in this together.

Holiday weekend a.k.a Project weekend…

If you are wanting some cute projects to work on this wonderful holiday weekend… here are a couple that I found.

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#1

Plush Alphabet from Chez Beeper Bebe

|Photo property of Chez Beeper Bebe|

What a great way to use fabric scraps or put those old clothes to good use.  I love this.  I feel like I have to make this, I have to.  The whole tutorial can be found here.

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#2

Skinny Jeans for Toddler or Baby from Freshly Picked

I know what you’re thinking, how awesome is that?  Go ahead, admit it.  I know a little boy who needs these in his closet, mine.

Find tutorial here.

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bonus

Ok, and finally, I just found this brilliant, lovely, and magical holiday tradition that you may want to start with your children.

Think 25 days of stories.

Find it here.

have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving…

hang a shining star…

I don’t know how the baby went a whole Christmas without having a stocking hanging above the fireplace in between mommy and daddy’s, but he did.  It’s sad, but he was two months old and he’ll never know what he missed.

But, do not fret, he will never have to go another Christmas season without his very own stocking.  I waged a mental battle between purchasing one and making my own.  Guess which idea won.

I had recently cut up a brown wool sweater that was getting a little small, which makes sense because I bought it like five years ago.  I kept the bodice of the sweater as a fun little vest, still looking for the perfect thing to wear it with… but the sleeves… well, they seemed to make the perfect stocking.

I cut the sleeves down one seam, shaped them like a stocking,  then hand stitched the two pieces together.

 

Cut two odd shaped circles and for the toe and heal and did a little hot glue gun magic, then applied brown yard for the trim.

My hot glue gun and I are good friends.

The H is from a pair of old argyle knee high stockings applied with the hot glue gun and trimmed with more yarn.  The buttons are two vintage buttons from my mother-in-law, from her mother.

I love it more than any stocking I could ever buy in a store.

Christmas is coming!!!

Cute stocking for my cute baby.

Cute. Cute. Cute.

Monday morning felicity

felicity is a lovely word.

Main Entry:
felicity

Part of Speech:
noun

Definition:
happiness

Synonyms:

bliss, cheerfulness, contentment, delight,ecstasy, elation, enjoyment, euphoria,exhilaration, exuberance, glee, good spirits, joviality, joy, jubilation, merriment, mirth,pleasure, rapture, well-being

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Yesterday, the husband told me as he was changing this guy’s diaper, “You know, it’s not fair, I had to work hard for you to fall in love with me, but Hudson didn’t have to do a thing.

**For the record, he didn’t have to work that hard…

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Anyways, I’m blessed that I get to stay home and hang out with my smaller, best friend all day.  So many people dread that whole going back to work on Monday morning thing, but I don’t have to return to work, maybe because my job is full-time, plus nights and weekends… but there are perks.

…like little cute face sharing goldfish crackers with you, of course, after sharing most of them with the floor.

… and we determine the dress code.  If we think it’s cute Christmas PJ day, then it’s cute Christmas pj day.  No questions asked.
… and most days include a photo shoot.

… with lots of cute face’s smiles.

… And games like knock over the rain boots.

Sometimes, we have to put away the laundry that is taking over the bedroom floor and clean the kitchen, if there is still a kitchen in there, under the mountain of dishes, but we try not to do that too often, because we’d rather play with the soccer ball and carry around little tug boats all… day… long.

And all day long I teach him the importance of speaking proper English, which means I’m putting my degree to use.  For example, when I say, “No, you can’t climb over the back of the couch.”

So, that’s my job… I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon.

speaking of knitting

As you may remember, I decided to learn how to knit, you can read about it here.  Well, I’m sort of gone crazy, because I learn best by actually making things. I also have a great love of scarves. So that’s what I’ve been doing, knitting, thinking about possible Christmas gifts, and making scarves (that’s all I know how to do so far… I mean, the coffee cup cozy is basically a mini scarf.)

Take a look…

This is the first one that I made, it started with about 30 stitches and ended up being nearly 100 by the end.  Oops.  Now, I know why that happened, but I kind of like how it turned out.  I call it accidental success.

   

This one is loosely knit (with larger needles), so it’s soft and light, a classic accessory… for someone not looking to make a huge statement.

Speaking of making a statement, I love the buttons on this one, two elegant black buttons with one sweet little white rosette in the middle.  I love this wrap design, it’s a little something more than your average scarf and you never have to worry what to do with the loose ends.

This is my favorite.  I love it.  It’s over-sized compared to the pink wrap and in one of my favorite colors, plus I love that the buttons do not match but compliment each other in a non-matching way (just the way I like it.)  I originally made this as a gift, but pretty much feel in love and so she’s mine.  Sorry person who never even knew that you might be getting it.

So that’s what I’ve been doing… maybe you’ll be getting one of these, I can’t possibly keep them all… maybe in the near future you might find some in my etsy shop… just maybe.

I always thought that knitting would be too hard… but I’m so happy that I gave it a try… you should try something new and tell me about it.  I’d love to hear your stories.

everyone needs a little more cozy…

Even my favorite coffee mugs.  I can’t help but do that silly little giggle that I do when I find something irresistibly cute, you know, high pitched voice, scrunched shoulders and nose…

I’ve become crazy about knitting since I learned how and it may appear that I’m having way too much fun doing it.

Meet my coffee cup cozy, and some have some alliteration.

Cute, yes?  You know you want one.  And those are the Chocolate covered Espresso Shortbread Cookies that I wrote about here…

I added some of my new/old buttons for easy application and a bit of extra cuteness… Never again will you be unable to hold your favorite mug full of warm drink goodness because the mug is too hot… never again. Thanks to the super cute coffee cup cozy you are safe!

P.S.  The husband thinks it’s silly, but I think his t-shirts are silly, so we’re even.

my husband, the sandwich genius.

This is the husband.  He’s cute.  My favorite husband, I only have one and plan on keeping him, but still he’s my favorite.

In addition to being the kindest and most patient person I know, he makes the very best sandwiches.  He spent some quality time working at a deli in his younger years.  And, when I say younger, yes, he just turned thirty this month.

He knows all about the fine details of spreading the condiments and placing the meat, cheese, and toppings just so to create what he calls, “flavor pockets.”

I call it delicious.

Today, we had grilled turkey, bacon, onion, with pepper jack cheese sandwiches. 

It won’t be the last time, of that I’m certain.

He even makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches better than I do.  He has a  top secret scientific method of the right amount of peanut butter and jelly…  I think.

He’s a keeper.

Oh, and he lets me sleep an extra hour in the mornings while he gets up with the little boy…. and actually knows how to clean the bathroom, and humors me when I need someone to talk to about Grey’s Anatomy.

Jackpot.

so if I’m telling my story…

A story is based on what people think is important, so when we live a story, we are telling people what we think is important.

-Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Since it’s my story, I’m not going to be frustrated over the fact that our only car isn’t working, or about how long this season of waiting and looking feels today… nope… this is the story that I’m going to tell.

my story is about…

how much I love this little fall baby…

and how cool his new wagon is….

and how radiant the colors of fall seem to be…

 

and how great being a mommy is…

and about how maybe we didn’t really think the whole giving a red frosted cookie to a one year old, on a walk, with no wipes on hand…

and about how no matter how much they fight it, the nap will win…

that’s the story I’m going to tell today. What is yours?

encouragement

my encouragement for this moment…

The story made us different characters than if we’d showed up at the ending an easier way.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller, page 143.

 

yeah, I needed that.

morsels of thought, lost in

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something stirring, a good feeling

There is something stirring within me.  Something new and inspiring.  A sense of expectancy, anticipation.  It feels like something is coming, something refreshing and good, but also very necessary.

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anticipation, the monster of

I stopped anticipating a few months ago, because it was exhausting me, frustrating me, and irritating me.  I didn’t know what I was anticipating, but I couldn’t handle it, so I stopped.  But, I couldn’t do that forever, that’s boring and not me.  Maybe, I’m just feeling a renewed sense of anticipation or perhaps, it could be that we are actually getting closer to “what is next.”

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what is next, stupid phrase

Ugh, what a phrase, “what is next.”  It’s gross, exciting, new, frustrating, and good all at the same time.  Mostly, it’s gross and frustrating because I’d like to know what it is and I don’t quite yet know.  It’s exciting, new, and good because I know it’s going to be good for us.  Again, it’s gross and frustrating because I don’t know when it’s going to happen.  So I remain in this state of attached detachment.  Because if I anticipate too much, it will drive me crazy and if I don’t anticipate enough, I will go crazy.

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getting away, is nice, but home is better

Perhaps, it took two weeks of crazy traveling, two weeks spent in worlds that are not my own, to feel it again.  I’m happy to be home in my creative world, my simple life that is peaceful, functional, and requires both faith and dreams, which sometimes feels like the right balance of contentment and discontentment.

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my point is, I only sort of know

While all these ideas are not completely unraveled and seem to be in a tangled mess, I’m ok with that.  I’m sharing these random thoughts as a declaration that good things are coming, that we are stronger for going through this year of complete dependence on God, and that I refuse to be discouraged by the present state of circumstances-- as they would appear to be.  Greater things are coming, they really are.

… welcome back anticipation, I missed you.

p.s. what is next?

something old

While in Kansas, my mother in law decided to bless me with a gift, something that has been in her family for a very long time.

It also happens to be something that I love. love. love.

inside this very old tin are hundreds…

of buttons, fantastic buttons, lovely buttons.

Her mother collected these buttons for most of her life and passed them on to her and she wanted me to have them.  So they are old, which makes them authentically antique and incredibly beautiful.

She told me that many of them were collected during Great Depression.   People never threw away anything and if a garment of clothing was too worn to wear, they would remove and save the buttons for future use.

Just think, out of necessity these buttons were collected and saved for the sake of practicality and even pleasure…

and now they will be used for design,  inspiration, and creativity.

Oh, what fun this will be.

What are some of your favorite treasures that have been passed down to you?

in thanks #2

For this I am thankful:

• clean drinking water
• my baby boy who is unfortunately sick, but fast asleep on my chest, so I can kiss the top of his head approx. 1,002 times.
• the brilliant fall colors outside my window
• a re-arranged living room, I like change.
• renewed creativity

Operation: Thankful Living

Now that Halloween is over and the red cups are back at Starbucks, that means it's officially the most wonderful time of the year... and I adore these holidays and I am very serious about celebrating them.  I'm also very serious about celebrating life even when it's not Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Around blog world, I've seen lots of thankfulness project things, so I'm jumping on board, because it never ever hurts to be thankful. It's one trend that can never go out of style.  I mean, we have so much, so many blessings, so very much, even when we might not have everything.  So, for the month of November, I'm going to attempt to share a few things that I'm thankful for each day.  Afterwards, I'll collect them and then share on a regular basis.  I want to live a life of gratefulness.  How are you going live with more gratitude?  I'd love to hear your ideas.

Today I'm thankful for...

• Spending a calm day at home after two weeks of traveling, six flights, two ten hour drives, and four (1st) birthday parties.
• Grilled sausage, eggplant, onion, pepper sandwiches.
• Thursday is homemade pizza night, Hawaiian tonight's pizza of choice.
•  An amazing husband who turned thirty today.
• Playing a racing game on the Xbox, that I instead made into a game where you crash into anything and everything as fast as you can.  You have no idea how excited I get about that!!
• Our apartment, that isn't exactly my dream house, but it's cozy, clean,  comfortable, and it's where I spend my life with my delightful little family.
• Watching Hudson jump and climb all over his daddy as they play on the floor.
• Cheesecake pie for the birthday dessert.
• And of course, The Office.

Your turn.

the most wonderful time of the year

Yes, I’m alive and have many stories to share, many stories from the last two weeks of traveling to Alaska and back and Kansas and back (tomorrow).  But, I can’t wait another moment to express my delight in what happened today. 

Here’s a little, tiny list for you:

3. New hat from Urban Outfitters. $5.  seriously.

2. Where the Wild Things Are. brilliant. moving. incredible.

I’m not sure which of those things I’m most excited about, but maybe this one, maybe, probably, most likely…

1. It’s here. It’s here. I purchased my first bag of Christmas Blend 2009.  It’s my most favorite coffee in the whole entire world, ever, ever, ever.  Oh such loveliness, such goodness.  

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.