He Is Risen, Indeed!

I hope you all had some time to reflect and celebrate Easter with your family this Sunday. We had a fun day here making dyed eggs and chocoalte bird nests with malted eggs. The littlest kids were so excited to have some plastic eggs. I will never understand it, but they just love those things. From our sweeties to you, Happy Easter!

PS. I told you my pictures would get better. I know it's a small improvement, hang with me. I'll get the hang of this thing!

pillowcase dresses and yo-yo hairbows

Maiden doesn't have nearly enough dresses. Nope. I think that her 50 or so dresses are seriously deficient for a girl of her age. Yes, I would be remiss if I did not sew at least 10 or more a month. So, to that end I introduce the most recent projects I have attempted...pillowcase dresses with trim. Maleah made the yo-yos for the hairbows. That makes me laugh everytime I think it. yoyo. hairbow. Say it out loud. You know you want to. Ok, so here are the picks.

Surely, you do not need another tutorial to walk you through the pillowcase dress. There are so many fantastic ones out there and I really like Crafty Gemini's youtube channel tutorials for this project. Just do a search for Crafty Gemini and you should come up with scads and scads of examples. She's great! Way better than I am.
Ps. I know my picture taking skills are so terrible. I have a plan to address that. It's just going to take time. Hang with me!

!!!!!Pom Pom Trim!!!!! Eeeee!!!!

Ok, I know I can't be the only one who swoons over adorable trim. Let me show you something I fell in love with...

Yep, this little yellow pom pom trim.  I had a scrap of this fabric and some eyelet left from another project so I whipped up a little skirt. The great thing is that it matches with the little crochet shrug I made for Maiden this fall. It was a little too big then but it finally fits nicely and matches so sweetly with this skirt and her little peasant blouse.  I will post some pictures of that whole ensemble as soon as I get the time to do something other than run shuttle to baseball practice for the boys. That might be in, oh, August?

Ps. How do you like that custom baby scribble mousepad? Tres chic!

Resolution run off course

Sigh...I hope I'm not the only one who has lost momentum on their New Year's Resolution. I made a pact with myself to become more aware of my time, spending, and eating. I wan't going to say diet or budget or schedule. I know myself well enought to know that those words would deflate my enthusiasm right away. It just sounds too regimented for my style. My pact was just to carefully think ahead about what I was going to buy or eat or how i needed to spend my time the next few days. I was doing really well until about 3 weeks ago. I let myself get lazy. I am, however, making attempts to get back in gear. I have started writing a menu plan that I can pick and choose meals from a list. I have started making a few meals ahead twice a week. This saves me time in the morning and a few nights a week when we have one of those ready to heat meals.

The time thing is really what is tough for me. As a stay-at-home mom, I have a little more freedom to reschedule what I want. I have taken that opportunity a bit too often lately, making the expectations for the children more uncertain. That results in idle hands and you know what they say about that. I am trying to work back into our old schedule of 8 AM breakfast, 9 AM homeschool, noon lunch and 12:30 nap for baby and quietwork. It's tough to keep things on schedule for me in the mornings. I am not a morning person. I am cranky. And puffy. And I squint a lot. A good morning for me would start at 10:30 if I could choose, but then I miss half the day because you normal people all get up at a decent hour and do stuff and leave me behind. Humph.

What do you find helpful when you are planning your meals? your budget? your schedule? Are you a calendar person? Do you use your checkbook register? Cash envelopes? spreadsheets? what about menu planning? Do you shop the ads?  I plan to take the best of the tips I find and make a post for each to share with you in the coming weeks. So, gimme what you got! Let's band together and get back on track!

Blogging is so crazy

Am I the only one who reads their stats and is just blown away that someone in Australia or Germany or some other far away country would have any interest in what they have to say? 

I mean, no one really wants to listen to me in my own house.

 Can you blame me for being surprised that I have an audience in a foreign country?

It's very flattering. And awesome. And so surreal.

What about you? Do you check your stats?

Isn't it crazy that we  can just click a few keys and find ourselves looking into the lives of people seemingly so different and foreign? I can't believe how close I feel to some of the bloggers I follow. It's like I know them and we're buds. I see them grow their families and I get so excited for them.

 I see them show off their creativity and get inspired by them. I read about their struggles and feel compelled to pray for many of them. It's just so wild what the Internet has allowed us to do. We hear a lot about the dangers and the negative things the Internet has brought into our lives. I don't want to discount that at all, but there is this great supportive community that has sprung up, too. So, to all of my fellow bloggers and those readers and followers who may stumble across my humble blog home, I welcome you and invite you to come back often! Let's be blog buds!  

My Fabulous Birthday Present

I have a wonderful husband. Let's just get that out there first. Ok, now that we have established that fact, I want to show you what he bought me for my birthday!

I have been searching for something tall to occupy a wall in my dining room. I painted the walls red (Glidden's Red Delicious, to be exact) this fall. I had been looking at antiques and ran across this beauty. As soon as I saw her, I knew she had to be the one. Funky, bright, unconventional yet folksy and old fashioned. Ah, it was love. I texted a pic to the hubs thinking he would balk at her cartoonish paint and shabby style. Instead, he said, if you love it, I will come get it with my truck. I think those were the most romantic words I have heard him say in years. I'm not sure if you understand how much I love this weird piece of furniture. It makes me so happy to see her sitting there in my dining room. I've almost settled on a name. She's either a Daisy or a Maude.  For now, I'm putting my entertaining pieces in there like table linens, serving trays and platters. I'm pretty sure the roosters are going into storage when the curtains are completed. The whole room is going to be so cheery and fun.                                                    

Can you believe it's been 9 months since my last post? Me either! Life has changed so much for our family in those nine months, and no, I'm not pregnant. Not for the moment at least.
Our family moved to Alabama after living 12 years in our first home in Tennessee. It was a long awaited move to a bigger home for our family of 8 but it was still a little bittersweet. I thought I would catch you all up today about the move and our new home. Most of you know my husband travels in his career so I am flying solo with the kids pretty often. Wouldn't you know that when the contract came in for our home sale he was out of town and didn't come home until the night before closing! And when we purchased our new home, again, out of town and I had to juggle closing by myself with the children. Thank the Lord for our amazing realtor, Maggie, and her two teenage daughter and even her husband! They kept the children occupied while I signed papers. Whew! Our first home which we moved from was about 1100 square feet. Or new home is more than twice that size! You cannot imagine the cartwheels and whoops and hollers we experienced the first few weeks. We are also just a few miles from family now, so that has been such a blessing! I love having family cookouts and Sunday dinners after church with everyone playing and laughing and chatting. We also have met our neighbors and let me tell you...delightful! I've made a few friends. The kids have made friends. We've signed up for sports. We've found our church home. It's all coming together at last. And I did promise you some remodeling and DIY projects. I'll get to that soon. For now, enjoy these photos of our family and our journey over the last several months!

Closing Day at Last!

Moving Day

(you can tell I had just tons of help:)

Playing on the Lower Deck a.k.a. The Castle

Roses for the Sisters ;)

Halloween Huddle in the Foyer

School Projects in the Dining Room

My Thanksgiving Dining Table Arrangement

 Christmas Tree in the Living Room

Pretty Baby

School Shelves in the Den

 Our Lovely Oriental Inspired Red Half-bath

I am still alive. I promise.

I haven't posted in a long while. Our family listed our home for sale last year. Then we had a lovely daughter. Then we tried to regroup from the birth of said lovely daughter and the mild chaos that ensues while preparing your home for showings, homeschooling 5 children, and adjusting to life with a newborn. Then very suddenly our home sold after being on the market for a year and we closed in 2 weeks. We are now homeless, though we are being hosted by my gracious brother and his wife and daughter. We are looking for a home and trying to homeschool a little and I am continuing to take my online courses in education. Mild chaos, see? I love you for continuing to visit our blog. Sigh. I will be posting eventually and expect it to be full of home projects, so if that's your bag, keep on checking in. If it's not, check in anyway, because I never do the same thing for very long. Until next time, whenever that may be, God bless you! Keep it sweet! ;)

Big and Little Sisters Dresses!

I finally made the matching sister dresses I have been hoping to make forever. These two use black and white coordinating prints. I have a halter style for the baby and a crossover front for big sis. The bigger one also has a yoyo corsage at the waist. We also made hair clips, clipped on the big dress neckline, and a headband to match which you see hanging at the top of the little dress. Maleah sat with me and made yoyos while I sewed the dresses. Maiden sat with us and ate cookies. What can I say? She's hard to say no to with those chubby cheeks. I am including a link to the tutorial I used over at Sugar Bee Crafts as inspiration for the big sis dress. I swapped up some things but this was a great help to me in the design. Ok, Let's look at the pics! I can't wait to have the girls in these next week. As it is, these photos are just the dresses hanging right after I finished them. I have Maiden's Fancy Dress Tea Party for her first birthday coming up so I will take lots of photos then of pretty babies in dresses! For now, a teaser...

And the close up detail of the yoyo corsage on the big sis dress...

We are thinking that these will look great for cooler weather with a long sleeved white tee underneath and a pair of black leggings. When it is warmer we can go to bare arms or maybe a little tank. So pleased with how our hard work turned out!  Thanks for stopping by and please leave me a comment and let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions!

 Stay sweet, Marzipan Mommy ;)

Life with Little guys

I have a bunch of kids. I'm like that lady in the storybook with so many she forgot what to do or who they were or how they got there...isn't that how it went? Anyway, I spend a great deal of time explaining the simple mundane things of life down to a preschool level. Take, for instance, the bible story we read this week about the first family. After all of our discussion and quizzing, my four yr old still thinks one of Adam and Eve's sons was named Cable. Sigh. You have to just laugh.  Today I was trying to explain to him that you can't just jam your feet into a pair of shoes. There is a proper way to put on your shoes. I watched him smashing his foot into his sneaker and called out, "No, you can't just cram your foot in there. There's a tongue in there!" He froze and got this sick look on his face, dropping the shoe. "No, no, not a people tongue. A shoe tongue. The part of the shoe that sticks out of the top." Whew. I think he believed  there was a fat fleshy blob in there OR the shoe was going to eat his foot. Either way, it was hilarious. See, having a house full of little people can be comic relief for itself!

Painted Wooden Letter Ribbon Bow Holder

Could I have made the title of this post any longer? Geesh!

If you are like this mom of pretty girls, you have an over abundance of hairbows falling out of drawers

 and baskets in your house. These bows are far too cute to keep stashed away so we decided to make a place to display them.We have two girls, ages 11 yrs and 11 months,

 so I chose a Capital M and a Lower-case m, M & m ;)

 Here is what you need:
1 wooden letter
Craft paint in your desired colors
Hot glue
Ribbon
Command Adhesive hook

First, paint your letters to match your room decor. Next, use hot glue to attach the precut ribbon to the reverse of the painted wooden letter, making a loop at the top of the letter with ribbon. A tail of ribbon should extend down the back of the letter. Then, attach your command strip to the wall or door where you will display your ribbons and follow package directions to attach the hook. Now you are ready to hang your bow holder!

A quick project for girls

My oldest daughter wanted to try a project last week that involved some of the elastic smocked fabric popping up in stores lately. She chose a fun spring print and some eyelet and ribbon to dress it up.

Here is our finished product. It looks adorable! She's a budding little designer. ;)

She has worn it as a tunic style top over a flutter sleeve tee and skinny jeans.

We were very pleased that it came out so cute!

"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth:

for thy love is better than wine."

Song of Solomon 1:2 

I would like to tell the story of how my wonderful husband and I met and fell in love. We both feel that God placed us at the right time and place to find one another. It was my freshman year in high school. I was in a new choir program called Show Choir(yes, like Glee, only lots dorkier). Our class had a shortage of male voices and from what I hear and piece together, some of the teachers agreed to send a few students our way, although it was rather strange how it all happened. My husband was one of the boys who was told he could either take typing(a class where he'd actually have to work) or choir(a class with girls and no homework, hmm...tough choice). As our rehearsal was beginning there was a knock at the door and a messenger with a note followed by a line of unsuspecting boys. As soon as I saw that awkward young man shuffling his feet and staring at the carpet, I was smitten! I made a decision right there that he was going to be mine, although I had no idea how or why I felt so sure. I credit the Lord who had a greater plan than a little high school crush. My husband shifted his weight from side to side and glanced up now and then until he caught sight of this girl who was so familiar, though he was sure they had never met. He could not stop staring and thought of this girl until class the next day. It took a week before we finally introduced ourselves through friends.As time passed, we chatted here and there, passed notes in the hallway, gave each other long intense gazes from across the lunchroom. Ahhh, teenage love. Then the worst news ever fell on my ears. He was moving away to a school across town. Our blooming romance had been nipped in the bud. It was tragic. I wanted to die a horribly romantic death like Romeo and Juliet. Woe was me.

Alas, God had different plans. This great guy had a car and drove out to see me every weekend for months. Our first kiss was wonderful. I actually swooned. I used to feel so fainty when he was around and he was sure I didn't like him but was afraid to hurt his feelings. He'd drop me off at curfew and then drive by later after all the lights were out in the house and shout out the window of his car "I love you, Robin!" It would usually be the last thing I heard on Saturday nights before I fell asleep. He'd plan a surprise birthday party for my 15th birthday. The next year when I was so sick I couldn't get out of bed, he brought my best friend to my house and celebrated with cake and presents from my sickbed. Years later he would drive hours away to visit me out of state after my family moved. He would leave his hometown and start a new life to be nearer to us. And one day he would buy a little ring and hide it in his pocket until he could slip it on my finger during a lakeside picnic under the summer sun. By fall I would have his name. By the next fall I would have the first of his babies. Five more babies later and many years of joyful marriage passed, I would do every minute of it again. He is the most handsome, kind, funny, perfect man for me. God made us for one another. I look at our life together and marvel at the blessings that came from that one very strange day long ago when I saw the man I knew I would marry. What a beautiful life God has designed for us.

Happy Valentine's Day

to my Handsome Husband,

Father of my Precious Children,

 and King of my Heart!

While he still wants to be my shadow

I have a 4 yr old son who is my shadow. He crawls into my lap during the day and into my bed during the night. He is prone to ask " can I take a nap in your lap?" at about 3 o'clock each day. As many things as I have to accomplish in my schedule, this is one interuption I do not mind. I am well aware that the time for snuggles from little boys can be fleeting. He is our fourth and youngest boy. While I have little Maiden to keep me well supplied with cuddles, there is something slightly less selfish in Britton's hugs. Maiden is still a baby and needs constant care and feeding from mommy. She needs me probably more than she really loves me, though I don't fault her or doubt her love. She's just a baby, though. Britton is old enough to run and play and choose other diversions for his time but he chooses me now and then. I must admit that it feels so good to squish those little cheeks in my two hands and kiss his face. I know he won't want to be my shadow much longer so I treasure every chance. One day I'll look at him and see his grandfather's brow or his father's walk. For now all I see is my rowdy snugglebug in his alien pajamas dragging his blanket through my bedroom door. I hope he stays this way for awhile.

Puddles Jumpers!

My fine young men took a moment out of their stomping to pose for one quick shot for mommy.

 Love those adorable little men in their boots. So cute!

I love you, But or And?

I am one of those moms who has a list of phrases I repeat over and over. I think you know what I mean. "What did I just say to you?" "Attitude, people, attitude." "You carry your father's name." One of my common phrases really struck me as I heard myself tonight. "I love you, but..." Why would I say that. The context of the conversation dealt with a behavior I didn't want my child to continue. I think I said something similar to " I love you but I am not going to let you treat your brother that way."
Why would I say BUT ? Is love letting someone get by with bad behavior? I should love my children enough to correct them. Discipline is love! If I don't teach and discipline them, I set them up for a terrible life. I think my children sense that I hesitate to discipline them. I came from a home where the father was the primary disciplinarian. I am sometimes uncomfortable with that role. I have misplaced guilt because I know it is necessary and good yet I feel terrible that I have to do it. Sometimes I even feel like I am a poor mother because my children need discipline. How does that even make sense? The truth is that I love my children enough to correct them. When I use phrases like " I love you, but..." my children are going to interpret my meaning that discipline means I don't love them; that when I won't let them do what they want, it means I don't love them. I must stop. I will now say, " I love you AND I will not allow you to continue this behavior." Because I do love them more than any guilt or awkwardness I may feel about being the mean mommy. They are my little treasures.

What am I reading?

Just in case you were curious...

I have mentioned I have 6 children. Our oldest three are 13, 11 and 9yrs old. We are preparing for the future onslaught of teen angst. I picked up a couple of books at our Lifeway Christian Store directed to teens. These books are proving to be right in line with our goals for the children. I have often said that the benefit of homeschooling for teens is that they can try out so many adult tasks while they are still under the provision of their parents' homes. The books are written by Alex and Brett Harris. These young twins served as interns to the Alabama Supreme Court before they were 18. They have championed the cause of urging teens to cast off the culture of slackers and consumerism and to get out there and make something of themselves; to make a difference! I love it. I have both Do Hard Things and Start Here. My oldest and I are reading them together for now. When we finish, our 11 year old will start them. Love it. Check them out. And while you are there, poke around the site. You will be impressed.

 

http://www.therebelution.com/books/

Time to catch back up

I feel I have not blogged in so long. It really hasn't been all that long but there has been so much activity in our home lately. My youngest daughter has begin walking. I both love and dread this stage. It is the beginning of such an exciting time for her as she is able to engage with her siblings so much more easily. She explores the house most of the day, rarely sitting still. We all cheer for her when she manages to take several steps in a row. On the other hand, she falls and bumps herself regularly, which is not at all easy to watch. She is so lovely and I hate to see her with a bonk on her noggin. It is also the beginning of the end of her baby days. Now that breaks my heart. Can't she just stay a tiny little one just a while longer? As I type this I am so emotionally torn. She is a little person, not just my infant girl. There is a time for everything and this is the time for baby steps, as hard as it is. Atleast she is still willing to hold my fingers while she toddles along. I know the day is coming when she won't need that any longer. Oh, sob. Sometimes it is so hard to be a mommy.

We also have weathered two bouts with some sort of stomach bug, the return to college courses for myself, several serious snows and are still looking for the perfect new to us truck for my husband. For the record, I am pretty sure I have logged over 500 hours in used car lots in the last month. Oh. The. Boredom. It is very fortunate that 1) I always carry pretzels and animal crackers. 2) I have internet on my phone. 3) I brought my yarn and had plenty of projects to complete. I literally began and ended a scarf and wore it because it was too chilly to peek in locked truck windows on a Sunday afternoon when the lots were closed. I hope this truck situation resolves soon. I really want to find the right truck for my husband because he really has treated me well all of our marriage and has never had the nice car to drive. This is something I think he would really be blessed by. Plus, he has no heat in his old reliable Corolla. It's time to upgrade. And yes, we did take all 6 children with us each time we went to look. It was kinda hairy at times, but we survived.
So, that's about all I can think of at the moment. I will try to be more diligent about updating in the future.

I believe the cookie has something to say...

Some of you know that I love to bake. I mostly love to bake because I love to eat. ;) I'm able to admit it. Well, tonight we baked snicker doodles. I was a little careless in my measuring of the cream of tartar. OK, a lot careless. I thought I could get away with glancing at the computer and rushing back to make my measurements. Wrong. Oh, the cookies were delicious and we ate quite a few. The problem is that cream of tartar is a leavening agent and my cookies were rather puffy. Then I realized the cookies were trying to tell me something very profound. Let's listen to the cookies now. What's that? What I think I remember from giving the recipe a glancing read was only partially correct? But, how does that apply to anything? The cookies were still pretty good, right?

Oh, silly woman! It's not about the cookies. It's about life. And you don't get by on glancing reads in real life if you want to follow the recipe and end up with the blue ribbon prize winner. 

Now, I know you are all thinking I have gone to pieces talking to cookies. My point is that the cookie episode reminded me of something I had felt convicted about before. I am guilty of quickly reading a passage of scripture or half recalling a paraphrase of a key verse and then attempting to apply it to a situation. I might be able to get by for a time this way, but it can't take the place of real investment in God's word. I am so blessed that I haven't had a fiasco yet. God has saved me from myself. I am so grateful He chose to use my cookies to remind me to return to Him instead of something much more tragic. So, if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do. ;)

Marzipan Moments - Christmas Shopping with 6 Children

This has been a wonderful beginning to the Christmas week.  I hear so many people complaining about how much they have to do, what is left to buy and where they have to go. I'm not immune to holiday stress. With my husband on the gulf and 6 children to manage on top of the present wrapping, goodie baking, holiday crafting and so forth, well, I can get all the marzipan squeezed right out of me. This week has blessed me so much. Monday I had an opportunity to take my 6 children shopping with me and then for lunch at an actual restaraunt. You know, the kind without any climbing equipment behind glass or plastic toys in the meals? They were excellent. They remembered to pray before our meal. They were polite to the server. They acted so well behaved and quiet. Ah...I actually finished a meal without making 15 trips to the potty and no one hurt anyone or made snarky comments. It was a Christmas blessing! Our shopping trip wasn't too bad either. Just one minor preteen moment with the oldest two, nothing I couildn't difuse quickly.  Today was another one of those kind of days. Oh, we had the usual dust-ups with the kids. Some things were spilled. Some things were broken. Some kid got popped in the face with a wrapping paper tube playing Star Wars while I was on the phone, but, they were also kind toward one another. They brought me tea in bed this morning. They were generous with their time and creativity to make special projects for our family, really cool little projects they made themselves. They helped each other with chores and even cleaned up after dinner. Just when you think that your kids only believe in Christmas for the big fat sack o' gifts...they show you something about the real meaning behind it. We talk about Jesus and how much God loved us to share Jesus with us even though He knew we wouldn't take care of him and he was going to get hurt. We talk about the way Jesus spent time with people who didn't have friends and how he taught them how to be better and to know God. Just when you think all of that is overshadowed by the commercial hoopla out there...Ah, there it is. The Christmas Spirit.