Engineering Marvel

My friend, Laura, came over today to hang out with me and the kids.  We spent a few hours this afternoon putting together the kid's new marble racetrack.

The last of the gifts have officially been put together. Let the organization of all of the new and old toys begin... or continue.

Merry Christmas

The Past Three Months

For the past three months I've been sewing, sewing and more sewing.  I've also been a wife and mother, but my regular cooking and cleaning schedules have been greatly disrupted.  Thankfully, my husband has been very understanding and taken on quite a bit extra to give me time to sew.

God has truly blessed with Fab Finishes.  I've been able to almost completely turn over my stock, which gives me the opportunity to make some changes to my Etsy store.  This next year instead of stocking bags in my closet, I can offer made to order items.  I would much rather do this than stock items that may or may not sell.  Fab will continue to be open after the first of the year.  I don't know if remaining a part of the store after the new year is the answer for me.  I am still prayerfully considering the decision. Whatever the decision, though, I am thankful God led me there in the first place.

On that note I leave you with some photos of what I've been making.

Massive amounts of cross-body bags.

Crib bedding:

 Tape measure bags:

 Pleated purses:

Flour sack towels:

Which left me with just enough time to whip up these backpacks for the kids:

 Now I'm going to enjoy some time with my family and maybe work on Aric's quilt.

Snow Day

Yesterday it snowed.  The kids were excited when they discovered the world outside was covered in white.  They wanted to go outside immediately to sled and build a snowman.  Being a mommy who wasn't feeling well and wasn't excited by the sound of the wind howling, I put them off as long as possible.  Thankfully after nap time daddy returned home early from work and helped me take the kids out to play.  I have no pictures of sledding, but they went down our hill several times.  Last year Kellyn was too scared to go on her own.  This year she was more than happy to go solo or ride along with someone.  Unfortunately it was too cold for snowmen or snowballs, but the kids still had fun anyway.

The Walk

Now that I've figured out the secret to downloading photos and videos from my phone with ease, be prepared to see them more often. 

I took this series while recovering from knee surgery.  I was sitting in the driveway watching the kids play when they asked if we could go on a walk.  Since I was still hobbling around on crutches I wasn't able to honor their request.  I improvised and told them they could go on a walk to the white mailbox three houses down. 

This is what I saw:

I cherish these moments when they are actually getting along rather than fighting.

Future Flower Girl

On Saturday Kellyn and I had the opportunity to go wedding dress shopping with a friend and her mother.  We had a wonderful time watching Laura try on dresses.  Kellyn was in her element with a stage and a wall of mirrors.  Anytime the stage was free of brides, Kellyn was up on it prancing, running and watching herself in the mirrors.  Eventually Kellyn asked if she could try on dresses, too.

If we would have let her she would have tried on every single flower girl dress in the store.  She wasn't deprived, though, we let her try on a total of five dresses. She loved every moment of it.

Things Heard Around Here

Kellyn: Can we open presents now?  I really want to see what's inside.

Me: No, it's not Christmas yet.

Kellyn: But the tree is up.

I remember when I was little and how long it seemed to take Christmas to come.  The presents under the tree and the anticipation of what was inside only added to the length of time.  Now, as a parent, I am witnessing this anticipation daily.  We have four advent calendars.  Yes, four, and still I am asked almost daily if it's time to open presents.

Since they are old enough this year to realize they will receive presents, we have been intentional in our talks with them about the reason for Christmas.  We want them to grow up knowing that Christmas isn't about what we unwrap, but it's about the birth of our savior and giving to others.

This weekend we are going to sort through all of their toys.  We have explained to the kids that they are blessed and have been given so much, but that there are other kids out there who don't have much.  They say they understand, but I'm sure there will be some problems when the time comes to part with their toys.  I'm willing to go through that, because I want to raise children with character.  I want them to look out for others and give where there is a need.

This Year's Ornaments

How appropriate that after writing yesterday's post I spent two hours sitting on the playroom floor putting Aric's Lego Star Wars ships back together.  They were in a million pieces, it was fun, especially with two kids trying to sit on the Legos or help me.

He really likes his Star Wars Legos, but like any other four year old with little Legos he has a hard time keeping them together.  

This year when picking out ornaments I knew what I wanted for Aric: a Star Wars ornament, maybe R2D2 or something similar, and for Kellyn I wanted a horse.  She really likes horses and if you haven't heard her horse impression you are missing out.  I need to capture it on video one of these days.  I quickly found out when you procrastinate on buying ornaments your selection gets kind of limited.  After traipsing all over town I finally found these:

As you can see I did not find a horse and R2D2.  Apparently this is not the year for horse ornaments.  All I could find was a creepy horse head with feathers flowing out of its neck where a body should be; not quite what I had in mind.  I quickly had to switch to my second choice which was Barbie.  Kellyn likes horses and Barbie.  Barbie has been a recent discovery, but one that she is wholeheartedly latching on to.  Kellyn was quite happy when I came home with her new Barbie ballerina ornament.

For Aric I found General Grievous, because nothing says Merry Christmas like putting a creepy Star Wars character on your Christmas tree.  He thinks it's pretty awesome and is showing anyone who enters our house through the door or Skype.

Lesson Learned:  next year don't wait until December to search for the kid's Christmas ornaments.

Dear Ryan

Dear Ryan,

I have wanted to write this for the past two months, but it's hard to make myself sit down and get it all out.  Sometimes, though, there reaches a point where I just need to sit down and do it, and today is the day.

I've wanted to tell you how much you and Aric would have been best buddies.  This year he discovered Star Wars and Legos.  Not Duplo Legos, but the Legos that do damage when you accidentally step on them.  Not saying it wouldn't hurt if you stepped on a Duplo, but if you did you probably need to go to the eye doctor and get your prescription adjusted.  But I digress.

Aric has watched all of the Star Wars movies.  It took awhile for him to get past them not being in cartoon format, but after that he was captivated.  I would've loved to have told you about when Aric discovered Anakin turns into Darth Vader.  If we were able to call you I would've put him on the phone just to have him tell you.  He spent a week spreading this news to anyone and everyone who would listen to him.  He told random people in the grocery store.  That bit of information was just too much for him to wrap his little brain around.

Papa and Nana gave him Star Wars Fighter Pods (otherwise referred to as Squinkies) when they came to visit us this past September.  Those have gone to bed with him, to the gym, everywhere.  He sometimes makes me reenact all of the movies with them before I've had my first cup of coffee. That never works out too well.

We bought him Season 1 of The Clone Wars cartoon for him to watch on our trip to Ohio.  That is all he watched for the entire 12 hour trip.  He likes to play Star Wars Legos video games, he constantly pretends he is a character from the movie, and his new favorite phone app is Star Wars Angry Birds.  Sometimes Kellyn plays, too:

I bet you didn't know Cinderella was a Star Wars character.  She, of course, has to ditch the bulky dress before climbing into the cockpit.

It's bittersweet seeing all of this happen in my home, and knowing how much you would've enjoyed it, or how much Aric would've loved to play and talk with you about all things Star Wars.

I hope you can see a glimpse of this and smile.  We miss you.

Love,
Regan

Life Imitating Art

On our Ohio trip we took several pictures of Aric with statues or wood cutouts.  After taking the photos we realized Aric was doing his best to mimic whatever he was photographed with.

Animals on a trip to the Columbus Zoo:

The snowman at the COSI:

On a return trip to the Columbus Zoo to see the Christmas lights Aric was absolutely insistent that we take his photo with the penguin again.

He also wanted to make sure we photographed him holding hands with the penguin.

Silly kid!