my Catherine

Mom.

Even when I'm not being nice, the Easter Bunny STILL brings me treats!

You must have done something good, huh?

I was smiling in my sleep.

check it out!

Check out the finished product and how nicely my kids clean up. I just love my kids, and I love the Spring, and I REALLY love my kids in the Spring!

take a look:

Larry's Blog

because it makes me feel like a professional...

i can't even tell you how excited i am about this sleeve. who would have known... it just worked.

AND not only is it more modest for a little girl who is growing up WAY too fast, but just look at what a soft, feminine touch it adds to the stark edge that used to exist.

i used the back of the trim around the hem... it was doubled, now it's just rolled and stitched...

i've made a little girl's sleeve for a dress before...ONCE... about 6 or 7 months ago... at an enrichment activity... with a pattern, and it turned out O.K.

i guess that's my blessing and dilemma with sewing, i always forget the possibility of using a pattern. 95% of the time, i just make it.

i was just tickled to death that the hem turned out okay and the dress wasn't ruined when i got the hem back on last night around midnight after two evenings and about 5 hours of work. i thought,

"well, at least i'm back to where i started, and i have some fabric to try a sleeve... but if the sleeve doesn't work out, i'm not any worse off than where i started...nothing lost."

i completed the sleeve last night as well.... and i LOVED the way it turned out... but i wanted to wait until Catherine tried it on this morning to be sure it looked okay on her.

it did.

it does.

success.

(perma-grin)

it makes me feel like a professional!

o.k.

o.k.

i can't take all the credit.

thanks to my mother-in-law for the idea of using the back half of the hem rather than making a new hem from a different fabric. AND a big thank you to her for suggesting to line the back of the sleeve the way i did... i'm almost POSITIVE i wouldn't have thought of that myself, and that would have been disastrous!

thanks to my darling friend who kept her aching pregnant body awake into the late night hours as she tickled my not-so-creative spunk and we laughed at how absurd it all seemed as i spent hours ripping out the perfectly beautiful hem on the dress. AND definitely more THANKS for her raw honesty about how she definitely would not attempt what i was trying to do. she would have just put a little shirt under the dress and called it good. it was just enough temptation for my stubborn determination to take over with the added blessing of absolutely NO expectation for the end result. hence, my delight in the outcome.

AND

thanks to my tried and true husband who not-even-the-slightest-bit-resentfully snoozed on the couch to keep me company into the wee hours of the morning. i love you.

and, yes. i plan on making the other sleeve.

it has been way to long. what can i say. we are just loving life and loving each other, and there's not much time left to tell about it.

but i'll try...

;)

so without further adieu, this is the start of what we have been up to:

Melanie

I was just looking through our photo collection...it's late and I can't sleep. I found a bunch that I recently took of Melanie. I'm so grateful for her and don't think I give her enough credit for what she does here at home. Thank you, love, for your sacrifices. I love you. I'm sorry for the times when I'm impatient or don't understand. Thanks for putting up with me and all my craziness. Love, me.

Merry Christmas!

If you are anything like my family, you will still enjoy wishing "Merry Christmas" even though Christmas day has once again come and gone. There is something sweet about the expression; children can feel it and connect it to those two simple words long before they can ever eloquently express their feelings in other words. I can remember back to last year's Christmas time... and even months after Christmas had passed, our oldest child, Catherine, who had just turned three years old, would come up to me and say, "Merry Christmas, Mom." She said it in the most endearing way, and with the sweetest smile. It left me with a feeling as if she had just told me she loved me... After contemplating that experience for some time now, I have discovered that the love I felt was more than just the love between a mother and child.


I'd like to take this moment to reflect and share my feelings on this expression of love found in the phrase, "Merry Christmas." The phrase seems to encompass all of the love that has been or ever will be shared. I think of the reason we celebrate Christmas: the birth of Christ. I think of a perfect father giving the gift of His perfect son because He loves us. I think of the Son giving His life because of His love for our Father in Heaven and His love for us. I think of Mary and her love for Jesus, not only as her baby but also as her Savior. I think of the love of Joseph. I think of the overwhelming love I felt as I gave birth to each of my three little angels. I think of the love I share with my dear husband, my greatest friend. I think of his love for me. I think of the love I share with my earthly parents and the love I have for my Heavenly Father. Love between family... love between friends... and the list goes on and on.


And so it is with this "Merry Christmas" expression of love as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, His love and His life that we bring this message of love and friendship to you: May His love be yours and your love be His now and forever.

Pure, Victorious One

Four years ago, time stood still as I laid in my hospital bed snuggling my firstborn child. I remember so vividly the quiet reverence that abound in that very room where this miracle of birth took place... Four years ago, exactly, the machines, doctors and nurses were all gone... it was quiet and peaceful. Nothing impeded the Spirit -- my heart was forever changed -- and as I beheld my Father in Heaven's miracle in my arms, I knew I was resting on holy ground. I didn't think about what I would be doing or where my life would be 4 years from then. At that time, I couldn't possibly have fathomed it.

Catherine Victoria has brought joy, love, light, goodness, purity, peace -- an outpouring of the spirit -- into our family for the last 4 years. Her gentleness and selflessness are a constant reminder to me of who I would like to become... she reminds me very much of her two grandmothers... wonderful women who endlessly give of themselves and find their greatest joy in bringing joy to others.

Catherine is intelligent, talented, spirited, creative and imaginative (to name just a few)... I could give hundreds of examples of each of these attributes, but that would be only a meager attempt at describing this noble child of God. One of her greatest attributes, by far, is her ability to feel and show compassion far beyond her years. She is humble and grateful.

I'm grateful for the last and best four years of my life... and it just keeps getting better! I love my girl. My life is forever changed.

Four years ago today...
After 37 1/2 weeks, and 17 1/2 hours of labor...

Our 5 pound, 7 ounce miracle came into our arms and hearts,
and our lives have never been the same.

Happy Birthday, my love. I hope that our celebrations this weekend helped you feel just how treasured and loved you are. I hope that in some small way it gave back to you even a portion of the joy you have brought to others your entire life.