Story to come...

There is a story behind this fantastical dress! But Nells is awake nd sitting on my lap staring at the keyboard like a fat kid at a twinkie. :)

Pray.

Please pray for Sharon.

Pray for her battle with cancer. For her daughters Jaime, Jackie and Lindsay. For her husband Jerry. For their whole family. Her walk with the Lord is strong. Pray for strength for everyone. For His peace. For His timing. For His understanding.

"Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24

Food In Her Jeans/Genes

Sorry for the craptacular header. I just wanted something Christmas-y and that was the closest photo in the closest folder. It will be remedied soon. :)

Meanwhile...

This little lady:

...has many special talents. One being the amazing ability to be wearing jeans, that are by no means loose fitting, and somehow find a way to amass so much food in the pockets and down the pant legs, that a small third world country could feed for an entire decade! I mean really, how does this happen Mommas?! I'm sitting right there the entire time she's shoving peas and corn into her mouth and making those fabulous little yummy noises. NOT ONCE did I even see her tiny, Magician hands creep under the tray. And yet, she's feeding Ethiopia.

Very happily feeding Ethiopia I might add.

I guess eating and sharing are in her genes - what else could we have expected!

Grammy Dress, Daddy Leggins & Windows.

Me: "Husband, will you put Nells in something more comfy when she wakes up from her nap."

Husband: "Sure."

Sesame wakens. Husband goes upstairs. Sesame comes down in her Sunday dress, bootless, tightless and sockless. She does, however, have striped leggins on that slightly match said dress.

Me: "Um...I thought you were going to change her?"

Husband: "I took her out of those boot things and those constricting tights. The pants were stripey and so was the dress. Do they not match? She looks fine. Why dirty something else? She's fine."

Me: "..."

Husband: "Okay. Fine. I'll change her."

I told him never mind. She was too cute in her kind of matchy leggins and dress. Love.

Besides, with a face like this watching the dog play outside, how could you possibly interrupt her just to change her clothes!?

Ikea.

So...we went to Ikea. :) A day trip with some lovely women - a day trip to blue and gold heaven on earth. [sigh] I found beds and lamps and frames and toys and rugs and fabric and toys and pillows and couches and kitchens and toys and storage and foot stools and toys. I mean, really, what can't you find at Ikea. They even have cinnamon rolls the size of your head. Not a sweet eater?? Just order a side of Swedish meatballs - good Swedish meatballs - the kind the Swedes don't want you to know they have in their country because everyone would flock there for their meatballs - not their super secret banks.

We made a pit stop at Starbucks on the way out because, hello, it was early and their holiday drinks had just returned from the coffee vault. Sadly, one bit the dust on entering the car. :( There were tears. There were no baby wipes to clean it up. There was, however, an awesome-tastic Starbucks barista who re-made the fabulous Venti drink - no charge. They do have faulty lids there. Very drippy. Moving on...

Then we saw the sign. It would disappear behind some signs and cars and then reappear out of nowhere. Like the bat signal shining in all it's Gotham glory, drawing us in. I could have sworn I hear the West Wing theme song announcing the sign. [sigh] I thought of you Katie!

We found AWESOME items (hello 1/2 yard of home decor fabric for FIFTY CENTS!). Tried to discern how some of the items worked (hence Mindy standing on the bed looking on top of the shelves...I PROMISE the lights were magically operated...wireless...and battery-less). Pined away for some items (Casey found a double lofted bed...for $299...and was totally jonesin' for one!). Played with some items (Suzy and Nancy are the BEST photo frame layout people EVER!). After all of the Ikea goodness, we even ate good food...not Swedish...but Asian at PF Changs. Could you ask for a better day!? I think not. :)

Photos. :)

I think the dog walked into the room.

And she did this.

And tensed up and started shaking.

And squealed a squeal that shook the glass in the windows.

And mad her Momma's ears bleed.

And then she giggled and carried on with playtime

aka

banging on the coffee table with a wooden block.

Good thing we have distressed furniture. :)

Here she's triumphant.

Over what?

Maybe she saw succeeded in throwing her num-num at the dog.

Maybe she stole the remote control.

Maybe she ate a magazine while I was taking photos of her and just thought it was cute so I kept taking photos and didn't take the magazine.

Or

she was just happy

because the dog came into the room.

You might not be able to tell

but this is a smile

under the guise of a twisted, scrunchy nosed, teeth-baring, contorted, open mouthed expression.

she's happy I tell you.

I bet Homer walked into the room.

I heart her. :)

Hope this helped Grammy and Grandpa!

We miss you!

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The other day Sesame kept trying to put her num-num in her mouth but started gagging every time she sucked on it. I checked her mouth and didn't see anything. I handed her the num-num. She gagged. She spit. I thought I was going to be vomited on. I tried to sweep out her mouth again. More gagging. No vomit (praise the lord!). I them turned her upside down (You gotta do what you gotta do!) only to find a HAZARD/WARNING sticker on the ROOF OF HER MOUTH! That's right. Sesame successfully peeled the Hazard label off her super coop and put it in her mouth. Dude. She's 10 months. Not to mention the IRONY of her choking on a "warning parts might cause harm to child if played with improperly" label. Only in our house.

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Please be praying for Olive. I've donated a photo shoot to the auction raising money for her family. If you have any kind of service, they could use the help. But mostly, pray for this baby born to missionaries at 28.5 weeks.

It Would Be Awesome...

So I decided to test my mad sewing skills. I successfully made a Christmas present for $1.00 -- and it looks FABULOUS! :) I would totally put photos up...but I'm pretty sure the recipient reads this blog. :) So that will have to wait until after Christmas. This morning I thought it was time to practice sewing on knit fabrics before I made my first Sienna Dress. I don't know why, but I don't want to mess it up...EVEN THOUGH the dress is made from T-shirts I was going to send to Goodwill. ANYWHO - this was my practice run -- a Long-sleeved T for Nells

I traced one of her shirts and used the neckline from the original shirt.

Because I'm a TOTAL sewing novice - I accidentally cut through the sleeve ends. whoops! BUT out of that mistake - these ADORABLE ribboned sleeve cuffs were born! :)

I was so stoked. It was looking really cute. Better than I had envisioned. So I thought I'd try it on Nells.

And then her arms wouldn't go through the sleeves.

I thought she was being difficult so I tried harder.

And then...

I realized I sewed the arm holes shut. Nice.

This shirt would be awesome if it had sleeves an arm could go into.

Score

Sewing machine: 1 Emily: 0