Full Circle Mother

Trick or Treats '09

Here's the whole "Wizard of Oz" gang dressed up for Halloween! Clockwise from the tallest we have, Glenda the Good Witch, Dorothy, The Wicked Witch of the West (she wouldn't let me put green make up on her but she made one cute wicked witch!),  the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow.

Miss Abbey didn't have a candy bag so I made one for her and she received so many compliments about it. I didn't get a good picture of it, but if you look closely you can see it above. I used a sweet owl fabric and the same ribbon from the scarecrow costume. At every house she came away declaring, "I got candy!". This was her first year to really "get" the whole trick or treating and it was so cute how surprised she was by the candy. Now if I can just keep her out of it.....

Then there was the Wicked Witch of the East - the one Dorothy dropped a house on. Remember her? Abbey thought it was great fun that I dressed up in the same costume as she did. She declared me the little witches' mom...I like that much better. We were able to piece most of the costumes together from our dress up box at home, a few pieces came from the thrift store (scored Dorothy's costume for $1) and the lion costume was made by me.  I love the way the mane turned out!

~Lisa

Two cuties in two new outfits

After our anniversary Saturday, Jeff graciously took over Sunday by helping in the kitchen, cooking dinner and keeping the peace with the girls. I love it when that happens! He's a fantastic cook and brings me food - what girl wouldn't love that? With all his help, I was finally able to spend some time at my sewing desk making a few outfits which have been lined up for a while now. Allie really loved the mermaid fabric by Heather Ross and wanted a skirt made with it. 

So this is what came out of the sewing room Sunday:

This is the Little Bo Peep skirt from the Seams to Me book by Anna Maria Horner. Lots of fun projects in that book - and I hear she has another one in the works - yay!

Of course we needed a shirt to go with the skirt! I was thrilled to try out the embroidery feature of my sewing machine for the first time. I used Jona's (Stop Starting and Start Sewing) cute trick with the sleeves and they were super easy. Allie loved the whole outfit - especially the ruffles. 

I had a little extra fabric so I quickly made up a little halter dress for Miss Abbey to match her sister's new mermaid outfit. I love sewing without a pattern - it reminds me of my Great Aunt Elizabeth and the sundresses she used to make me when I was a little girl. She could whip out a dress in the blink of an eye and never used a pattern. There's something about just letting go and being creative when the project is patternless - so much fun! 

I had to do a little bribing with the lollipop so I could take her picture. This girl is serious about her lollipops.

How cute are they?

17

That's how old I was when I met him, today it's how many years of marriage we are celebrating. We were just kids when we started dating in high school - he was a senior while I was a junior. Growing up together has given us more perspective on our life together I think. We are able to remember back to the carefree days of running about on the river in his boat then heading back to get ready to go out to dinner. Just the two of us, spending time talking all day and playing in the sun. He told me once while we sat together on the bow of his dad's boat watching two porpoise play just off the front of the boat that he wanted to marry me someday. 

He did.

Today he took me on another boat ride down the beautiful Riverwalk in San Antonio. Six years ago we moved here to build our lives together in a new place and to create new memories. As I sat next to him today while our tour guide rattled off the history of the buildings and architecture, I thought how we are so much more than two people in love. We are a family - a big wonderful family! 

The giggling voices coming from the corners of our home carry love to my ears. These girls of ours mean the world to both of us and we treasure them more than precious gems. This man of mine, my love, my best friend, has my heart and my dreams. 

Happy Anniversary Jeff!

TV free weekend

We are trying something new with the girls over the weekends - no tv or computers. Too many times I went looking for one of them, only to find that they had been sitting behind the computer playing games for hours. Then there's the tv (which if I had my way, the cable would be out-of-here!) which is a major distraction, source of sound (like we need more with five chatty girls) and general couch magnet. 

I really want the girls to be able to play, ride bikes, or explore outside but it is the hottest summer ever here in south Texas which makes sending them outside to play an unavailable option right now. So taking away the tv and computer time was a challenge at first (read all morning and afternoon long) but once the girls embraced the idea - this is what I turned around to find and it made my heart leap. 

Happy Weekend!

Silliness

Last week while my oldest daughter enjoyed dance camp (declaring it THE BEST WEEK of her life) and my three middle girls had fun at VBS, I had the pleasure of spending some one-on-one time with this little chick. Miss Abbey and I had nothing else to do but to just be silly. (The bed was made, then unmade, then made, then unmade - it's how 2 year olds work you know)

Oh, how I love this girl! She holds my heart like no one else. 

Right now

Right now:

I am - in the kitchen ready to start breakfast for everyone - blueberry oatmeal pancakes with fresh fruit.

I hear - birds outside the door and the girls talking in the back bedroom while doing each other's hair or dressing their dolls.

I see - the dishwasher needs to be emptied and the "cleaning out of the fridge" I did last night is still sitting in the sink waiting for me. 

I feel - really good! Yoga this week didn't leave me feeling as sore as it does sometimes so that's a good thing - maybe I'm getting stronger.

I think - today we'll stay at home as much as possible and try to sew a little. The "Little Bo Peep" skirt from Seams to Me is still on my to-do list. Today might be the perfect day for it.

I hope - for a peaceful day.

I love - my husband & all the blessings God has given to me. 

Loving my life

I love my life - I really, truly, positively do! I live on the edge of the Texas Hill Country with my amazing husband (whom I sometimes refer to as Manly Man when he does something to deserve the title- like building me stuff), my five daughters, one not-so-smart labrador, one too-smart-for-her-own-good but uncoordinated cat and one goldfish (although it's really black, not gold).

I'm busy all the time and I'm never bored - my work is never done. We home educate our girls, love to travel & camp, learn, seek, play and laugh a lot. Sometimes we are lucky and food grows here in our very own backyard, sometimes my black thumb kills every house plant that enters our door. 

I don't have a nanny or housekeeper, but I'd looove one! There's usually a naked bottomed child sitting in my lap while I work behind the computer but sometimes they wear panties. I'm keeping it real here.... Thank goodness for the panties when that child decides to "toot" on my leg like she just did. Like I said, there's lots of laughs!  

My hope is that this site will be a place for me to think, write and share the busy times, the fun times and the inspirational times.

~Lisa