Anticipation

I've been eagerly anticipating the UPS man. Not for any special trinket or new book, but for two rather large boxes. What might be in these boxes do you ask? Well, more boxes, packing tape and packing materials :-) Yes, I've been waiting for the arrival of moving stuff! And today they finally arrived!

My hubby and I don't really enjoy moving, but this move is one I am very excited about! In less than 20 days we will be loading up all of our possessions and heading to our new home. What joy...what bliss!

Despite the fact that there are a few things needed to repair and maintenance on this house, there has been nothing glaringly bad. Just to be expected of a home that is almost 50 years old. The closing process seems to be moving a long smoothly and we are awaiting the day we can get our keys.

I must say, the home buying experience has not been easy for us and really not very fun. I've had to feed off my 3 year old's enthusiasm to keep mine going ;-) But the Lord has blessed us mightily and has made things work out JUST RIGHT! Really, we couldn't have come up with anything better :-) I may share more about this once we are moved in, but suffice it to say...God knew what we needed and though we had other ideas, I can see the rightness in what we have now.

So....the packing begins! Prayers will be appreciated as we de-clutter, simplify and pare down. It feels a tad overwhelming to see all we have to pack up.

Lots of love,

Sommer

Considering the Future

As a mother of three girls, my mind often settles on thoughts of preparing hope chests for their future households. I believe it is a good thing to have these essentials(and not so essential) items ready for that day that they walk down the isle a "Mrs." and no longer bearing our last name. I've read a book here or there about what is good to put in the hope chest and have much to think on.

Now of course my daughters are all young...though Fiona is fast approaching young womanhood and I must truly begin preparing her. Her sisters will swiftly be at the same stage...much as I hate to admit that they grow up quickly. The material(linens, dishes, etc.) things are good for certain, but I am also realizing that there are non-material things(skills, knowledge, etc.) that are also important for them to know, to aide them in their vocation of wife/helpmate and mother.

I came across this lovely post by Breezy over at a bowl of moss and pebbles on just this subject and it really got me thinking again about what I would like to encourage my daughters in learning. There are many things I wish I'd taken the time to learn when I was young, but now I have the opportunity to help my daughters in their focus. I pray the Lord gives me the wisdom to guide them and gives them the motivation and desire to learn useful skills!

I do hope you enjoy the post and are given some ideas for your daughters' futures!

Blessings,

Sommer

Just a Quick Hello!

Today is a bustly sort of day. I've been finding bursts of energy the last couple of days to shuffle, toss and reorganize my children's room in preparation for a new bunk bed and new occupant in our little apartment. I do believe the prayers of my friends and family have helped me get some motivation..thank you dears:-)

The room is slowly coming together, little by little, with bits of junk being found and tossed...lost items being gotten rid of after brief thoughts of "oh, so that is where you went!", realizing that we just can't keep it all and a sigh of relief from mama as the room has less.

Today, we go get the bunk bed from some dears that are giving it to us free of charge. What a blessing:-) My honey will pick it up and hopefully we will be able to put it up today or tomorrow. So right now I am taking a break and then I will continue to organize and revamp the room so we will have space for said bunk. The girls are very excited!

Once this room is in order, there are other less pressing spots to get to and sewing that really must get done if I want some mama-made items for my wee girlie.

Well, I must rush...do have a lovely day! And thank you all again for your sweet thoughts and prayers:-)

Blessings,
Sommer

Busy Week, Quiet Thursday

Some weeks are just busy. This has been one of them...at least in the beginning. Monday, I needed to run to Costco. It is always a bit hectic there, but my sweet hubby kept the kids with him and I was able to just run there and get what I needed and then head home. Unfortunately by the end of that day I had a whopper of a headache!

Tuesday we had a field trip planned, so the books were shelved and we hopped in the car. We headed to a local pizza shop called Pizza My Heart(the girls and Liam are gleefully modeling their t-shirts). We were with a few other homeschool moms and kids for a lovely tour of the shop. They were able to see the freezer(and go in..brrrr), watch a pizza get thrown(Fiona had the benefit of wearing one as a hat..no pic though:-( ), and then they got to make their own pizzas. What fun! This was definitely one of the most hands-on trips we've been on.

After that we headed to Safeway for a few items we can't get at Costco and then picked Dad up from work.

Wednesday was another busy day. We had a time at the park scheduled to celebrate a friend's birthday, but I had a headache and really wasn't looking forward to that:-( It went well enough and then off to Beverly's for some Christmas and sewing needs, then Trader Joe's for the last few things I can't get else where!

But today...I am home! Both because I planned it this way(I really need the break) and my husband's schedule was so crammed today. With one car, I sometimes am forced to stay at home and I am so happy for that! When you have just one car, it is so much easier to plan around that and I love having no choice but to say no to things sometimes:-)

To keep the day productive and enjoyable we have done a few things. We had our first full day of school this week and I got some laundry washed that was greatly needed. I continued to declutter my kitchen table which seems to get the worst the quickest! I also did dishes. But the thing I enjoyed the most was watching Brenna complete a pillow she made:-)




She started this pretty, pink pillow a couple of months ago and has been waiting for me to pick up some stuffing to fill it(yesterdays trip to Beverly's). She picked out the fabric herself and just stitched it up using straight stitches all the way around until about 3 inches from the final corner. We turned it right side out and she stuffed away, then closed the opening with simple little whip stitching. She is still learning so her stitches are sometimes uneven, but I am thrilled with her progress and her desire to learn! Now she plans on making her little Liam one for Christmas:-)

Tonight, I will throw together some dresses for the girls(hopefully) and iron the fabric that is newly washed for the stockings. Maybe I'll even be able to cut some of them out. Hopefully my headache will stay at bay, but I've been suffering from them a bit lately.

Well, now I'm off to make some Chocolate Chip Cookies and enjoy the rest of my quiet Thursday!

Blessings,
Sommer

Colonial Re-furbish

Three years ago my eldest daughter attended kindergarten at a small Christian school. At the end of the year they held a program in which the children were to be dressed in colonial type costumes. We didn't have one of those laying about;-) so it gave me the perfect opportunity to pull out my sewing machine and refresh my clothes making skills.

I used Simplicity 5042 view D. My daughter picked out the fabric(red sprays of flowers over a cream background) and we went to it. I also made a mob cap and bloomers from a different pattern. When I was done it was a bit big in the bodice for her, but I was able to take up a very deep hem allowing for her growth.

Well, my has she grown! I realized a few weeks ago while mending some holes where the seams came apart at waste and bodice, that she was too tall for the current length of dress. So I unhemmed the dress and let it all out...I found that I could only take it back up about an inch and a half for it to fit her. There was a good 8 inches of fabric left to use!

You can't even see the bloomers now that the length is out, but the dress should fit her for sometime to come:-) I did have some eyelet trim at the hem originally...but it came up too short when the new length was hemmed..urgh!

She has always loved this dress, so I am glad that I could salvage it a little longer. She now fills the bodice out fairly well and she looks so big in it now! When I originally made it, I made a couple of little mistakes, but thankfully only I notice or those who are snoopy enough to analyze my work;-)

Now that I have this project out of the way, I plan to dive in and make some t-shirt dresses for the girls. Fabric is bought, washed and some ironed...just got to get started:-)

Blessings,

Sommer

An Unexpected Break

Apparently, I took a blogging break. I really hadn't intended to, it just kind of happened. As the summer went along, I found myself busy with basic tasks and joys of being a Mom. Then as the summer came to a close I needed to prepare for the new school year and get my lesson plans and school schedule together. That was rather time consuming. I also found that I just didn't have alot to say and thought you'd all be terribly bored by my days, so I just didn't post. I apologize for the few posts and I hope that you wont hold it against me too much;-)

Now that school has been going along for the last two weeks, we are getting into the swing of things. This is our third year homeschooling and now I have two students...Fiona is 3rd grade and Brenna is Kindergarten. I find that it isn't as hard as I thought it would be and I am enjoying watching each of their progress. Perhaps soon I will share a picture of the girls hard at work:-)

Liam of course adds a twist now and then, but he is rather good and I don't have to do much to keep him busy. He likes to color and he has some big wood beads that he strings(or more often strews about the living room). So he is happy and so am I.

Well, that is just a brief update on us and I hope to be at this a little more regularly now. I have some sewing in the works and hope to share soon. Also, as the holidays fast approach...I think it will be fun to share what we do to make life festive and focused in the right place. So, hopefully I will return to you this week with more to chat about!

Blessings,

Sommer

My Easter Flowers

Procrastinator that I am, I didn't finish my girls' Easter dresses until that morning. Well, it wasn't all me...a little boy was not cooperating over several nights, and my available sewing time disappeared.

So, I brought my sewing on our brief little getaway and worked on Brenna's dress hem while enjoying uninterrupted time alone(while hubby went on a walk). However, Fiona's had to wait until Saturday night while Liam slept and then an hour before church...eeek! But they are done, and I liked them quite well...so did the girls:-)


As I said in an earlier post, I used pre-smocked material. I liked it...easy to deal with. All I did was sew up the back seam and hem the bottom, then I used matching ribbon for the straps. The bodice is a touch long on Brenna, but that just means longer wear, right?

I didn't get any real Easter Lilies...but these are much lovelier Easter flowers, don't you think?!

Blessings,

Sommer

Awesome Post on Submission...

I just finished reading a wonderful post on submissive wives by Stacy MacDonald. Just great and very convicting! I highly reccomend reading it. If you go here, you will be treated to a heart touching and convicting post.

I plan on taking this challenge...I have a feeling I have not been as submissive as I'd like to think...

Blessings,

Sommer

My Goal:

Make my desk usable....

As you can see, it was a useless mess. I couldn't find anything and, like my kitchen table, it had become a catch-all! My desk is in the midst of our living room. Everyone can see it as they enter the home. Let me just say that it was an eye-sore!

Friday night, I popped in Ben Hur and began cleaning off the mess! It was a long bit of work, but well worth it in the end. I went through papers and threw much out. Some things finally got back to their rightful places and others, just got into a nicer area on the desk. In the end, I was pleased..I still am:-) I now can sit at my desk and actually....write at it! So, here it is in all its glory.....

I have to now come up with my next job to tackle...but stay tuned for the next installment of declutter goals. I am very encouraged right now. I can see my home finally coming together and feeling like I want it to. I CAN do this...the Lord has truly given me motivation and energy! I just pray that it keeps up:-)

Blessings,

Sommer

My Goal:

Find Kitchen Table!

Well, I set a goal to get my kitchen table decluttered. And as you can see, it was in desperate need of some TLC! Over the last couple of days, I've been working on it in little bursts whenever I could get a minute to do so. But, in spite of a very sore throat, and just an over all sense of stress...it has been accomplished!

So without any further delay, here it is:

I'm rather pleased with how it turned out. The majority of things that were there could be thrown out. Some had other places to be, but just never made it back there :-/ And there is a small bag of things, I'm not quite sure what to do with. But, the table is clear and my goal is to keep it that way. I'd like to feel that it can actually be used as a table for having coffee...perhaps a place for my devotions in the morning.

I also was able to decorate the table with my fall decorations. As you'll see there is a lovely red turkey full of fall flowers and a nice candle/lamp for those nights the power goes out. I have my pretty red table cloth on it and I just love the festiveness of it all!

I'm so excited that I got this done! Now for the desk! Hopefully, by Saturday, I will have this done:-)

Blessings,

Sommer