Sad Times

The world's worst blogger award goes to me. I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I've had a chance to blog. I wish I could say that the time has been happy and filled with fun, but it hasn't.

Previously, I asked for prayers for my ailing father-in-law (FIL for those who don't know these abbreviations). As many of you know, unfortunately, his illness was too great for him and he passed away on Monday evening, December 10, 2007. MIL was by his side and DH and his brother had spent the weekend with them. MIL says he went very peacefully just a few hours after being transferred from the hospital to a hospice in Kansas City. Basically, as the doctors were finishing up tests for the transplant, they found cancer at the last minute (Thurs., Dec. 6). They didn't know where it had started, but it was beginning to spread and that meant the transplant would not be possible. FIL refused dialysis on Friday and was gone by Monday. It's very bittersweet--we're glad he's not suffering anymore, but at age 59, he was entirely too young to die.

So followed a whirlwind couple of weeks. The weather was awful--icy, snowy, cold--and all MIL wanted was to get home. DH & her BIL got her home and we began to plan the memorial service. FIL asked to be cremated and his ashes buried in the cemetery, so that's what we did. We picked out a nice wooden box with a deer and mountain scene on it for the ashes and guest book and programs with a farm scene.

I tell ya, I've never helped plan a funeral before and it was a very odd experience. I knew DH needed me there with him and I was happy to go with them to the funeral home. In this particular funeral home, there is a whole area upstairs with urns on display, casket samples, guest book choices, etc. It wasn't too difficult to pick things out and we were pretty open as to how the service would go. Then, MIL had to pay for the memorial service and the other services being provided by the funeral right then and there! I was surprised because I figured that surely they would send you a bill later when everything is over and done with, but that's apparently not how it works. I'm not knocking how they do it--they are a business afterall--but I was just surprised that the bill had to be paid right away.

Once the memorial service was planned, we went to work finding photos to put on large boards. Since there was no body to view, we thought people would like to look at the photos. I thought I was going to have to do most of it, but FIL's sister flew in and did a much better job than I did. She was a lifesaver! We spent the rest of the week before the service visiting with family and friends, receiving TONS of food (and I'm not kidding--TONS of food!), and cleaning the house and garage. We were busy every day and one of those days our electricity was out for the entire day (that was an awful day for me, but I won't go into that)! Like I said the weather was awful and we were really lucky that our power was out only one day.

FIL's memorial service was Sunday afternoon, December 16, 2007. We had lunch at MIL's before the service. DH did pretty well during the service, but DS cried the entire time! Poor kid! I guess it wasn't very real to him until we were actually there. Afterward, we all went back to MIL's and visited with family and friends which was very nice.

We are all doing OK. DH & BIL know they can handle the farm themselves so that's a worry off of them, but it will take some time for it to really sink in that he's gone. I'm sure it's hardest on MIL who took care of him and was with him for almost 24 hours a day. We will all make it through because we have to. There are no other alternatives. And I know that we all will appreciate having MIL around more because she's the guys' right arm, my left arm, the kids' grandma, our babysitter, friend, and general good-sense-giving person!

Our Christmas was pretty subdued. We usually go to my parents' house for Christmas, but we decided to stay home and they and my sis & BIL came here. That was probably more work for me, but it was OK. We had a good time.

Once we got past Christmas, we've been bumps on a log. We haven't accomplished a darn thing really, but I suppose that's OK. We all needed some downtime. We have gotten more snow every few days and we've taken advantage of that when we can. It's been way too cold and windy to play outside the past fews days, although it's going to start warming up tomorrow and into the weekend. I don't think we've seen the ground for almost 3 weeks! The kids go back to school tomorrow and I think we're all anxious to get back to our normal routine.

I'm taking January off from bag-making and I hope to get caught up on some of my personal sewing projects. Still need to finish those gauchos, make a jacket, and I want to make a bag for myself for a change! I'll try to keep you updated.

Our family thanks all of you for your prayers, support, food, and anything else you did for us during the year FIL was ill and after his death. It really means a lot to us. BIG HUGS!!

Oh, So Busy & A Place to Eat

Sigh! I don't know where the day goes. (Oh yeah, stupid time change took some of it!) We've been so busy lately that I sometimes feel like I shouldn't sleep so I can get more stuff done. That's not gonna help, though, so I do sleep, of course. I've had 4-H, a township meeting, Mom's group, friends and hunters visiting, bags to finish, and cows to work. That's along with cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, and substitute teaching two days this week. Whew! It's times like these that I wish I didn't have so much to do. Of course, then I'd be bored, so it's a double-edged sword.

Good news is that my new dining room set arrived amidst the chaos last week! We LOVE it! It's so nice--the table is a little higher than our old one which means that Matt can sit at it more comfortably, and the chairs are very sturdy and comfortable. I no longer have to worry that someone may sit down and fall straight to the floor! The table is 42W x 50L, I think, and we got two leaves for when company comes. I love it's chubby legs! The kids still haven't figured out exactly which is "their seat." ;o) Here are a couple of pics:

Keep your fingers crossed that things are settling down now. I hope to get caught up soon on posting some photos here, too. I hope you all have a blessed week!

A Little Toothless Grin

A visit from the Tooth Fairy is imminent this evening at our house. Garrett lost his first tooth today! I was eating my lunch in the office and he came in holding his little tooth in his hand and said, "Mommy, my tooth came out." He had the weirdest look on his face like he didn't know what to do or think about the whole thing! All I can say is that it's about time that he lost one. He'll be 7 on Dec. 1 and hadn't lost a tooth yet. He looks super-cute with it missing. Such a milestone for our little man!

Long Time, No Blog

Wow! It's been a long time since I blogged. We've been so very busy and have had so little time.


First, I'd like to ask for prayers for my FIL. He has been sick, in the hospital, and needs a liver transplant. Please pray for FIL, MIL who is his primary care giver, DH & his brother, and the rest of our family. This situation is very hard for all of us in so many ways. We all really need strength and understanding in God's will.


I've been busy with 4-H, subbing, a sick kid, all of my SAHM duties, my mom's group, sewing & getting project supplies, etc. I've been planning some projects for myself--gauchos and a jacket--and have several bags to make. You know I'll post pics when I get something finished!

Gracen's 4th birthday was last Wednesday. Gosh! Wasn't it just yesterday that I gave birth to that 9 lb. 4 oz. baby girl with an inch of dark hair on her head?! Time sure does fly! Gracen was sick on Monday & Tuesday, but my parents came to visit so they could be here on her birthday. They can do that since they're both retired, you know. ;o) I think she had a nice day even if we didn't do very much. DH's uncle drove up here from Kansas City to personally deliver a Disney Princesses backpack, sleeping bag, and water bottle to the birthday girl! It was really touching that he did that. My parents gave her a tricycle with all-terrain tires that will go on the gravel. We gave her a dress-up Polly toy where you "paint" her nails and hair with water and they change color. She really likes it--she really likes everything! We'll be having a little family party for her on Sunday, October 28. My whole family will be here and hopefully MIL and her sister can come for the day along with DH's grandma. I'll share some pics when I get the chance.

I hope you all have a blessed day! I'm going to go work on those gauchos!

Pajamas 2.0

Pattern: New Look 6641

My parents were in town for the weekend, so I had some time to finish DS's pajamas. I used the same pattern as DD's pajamas. I've decided that this pattern, though unisex, is shaped rather girlish. Possibly DS could've used a smaller shirt (the skinny kid!), but I just think the shape of the top and the bottom of the pants are a little girlie. It really doesn't matter since these are just pajamas, but it's something worth commenting on.

I used a green & tan camouflage jersey knit from Fashion Fabrics Club with which, frankly, I'm disappointed. This fabric is VERY thin and I'm not very confident that it's going to hold up, particularly in the waistband of the pants. It's my fault for choosing a "jersey knit" instead of something else. Live and learn, right?!

Since these jammies were for DS, I obviously didn't do the lettuce edges and puffy sleeve details. I'm REALLY happy with how well the neck band turned out (although I think the neck opening on this pattern is too wide in general)--no pleats or tucks or anything this time! I even got the sleeves eased in without any puckers! Yay! Everything went together well using both the serger and the sewing machine.

These pajamas were great for practicing sewing with knit fabric as well as practicing with the serger. I've learned quite a bit and hope that my sewing skills continue to grow as I sew!

Pajamas!

The fabric for the kids' pajamas arrived on Saturday as well as a 10 pound box of "mystery" fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club. My sewing process normally goes like this: I find a pattern I like, then I have to search and search to find appropriate fabric. I decided to try the box of mystery fabric to see what happens if I reverse the process. I got a few hopeful yardages, but there are some that I can't imagine using. You never know though!


The magenta knit I ordered for Gracen's pants was supposed to be an interlock knit, but based on the Understanding Knits class I took in June, I think it's actually a french terry. No matter. It's nice fabric--heavier than the fabric for the top--but so nice that I want some pants made out of it, too! OK, probably not magenta pants...


The green camouflage fabric for Garrett's pajamas has some gold in it. I like it, but I wasn't sure if he would. He says he doesn't mind the gold, so I guess we're good to go.


Armed with fabric, I tackled sewing Gracen's pants on Sunday. The fabric was easy to cut out. The directions were easy to follow. I had no problems using the serger and was wondering why anyone would make knit pajama pants WITHOUT a serger! To sew the waistband, I used a small zig-zag stitch--lets it stretch without popping stitches. I ended up cutting off about 2 inches from each leg. I *should've* measured DD before I cut the pattern out, but I didn't and I thought I would sew the extra up into the hem allowance. That was just too much fabric though, so I cut off the excess. Instead of doing a one-inch seam, I decided to just fold the allowance over twice, then did a LARGE zig-zag stitch over the bulk of it. I think it gives it a fun little touch. Feast your eyes...



These pants were *super-easy* to do. I think DD probably could've used a size smaller, but she is SO HARD to fit right now! She's very much between sizes and it appears that she's going to have her daddy's long torso and short(er) legs. Of course, mommy isn't tall, but at least all my parts are in proportion! ;oP I figure that she'll continue to grow into these and if needed, we can let the hem of the legs out as she gets taller. This mission has officially been accomplished!


I'll be starting Garrett's pajamas this afternoon. I won't be able to complete them today as I need more elastic for the waistband, but we'll see what I can get done.

New Dining Set!

A while back, we had a guy who works for a logging company call us to ask if we'd be interested in selling some trees on some land that we own. They were going to be next to our land and they thought it looked like there were some trees there that they could use. We decided to let them have our trees because we figured they would come on our land and get them anyway. (Many loggers are unscrupulous like that.) We figured that we might as well get paid for what they take! We don't use that section anyway because it's all timber. For those of you concerned about the environment, they took only certain trees that were the right size. They did not cut down the entire forest or anything!

So, to make a long story longer, because of the loggers, we now have a little extra money. We have been needing new dining room chairs for YEARS now. I've seriously been worried that someone is going to get hurt when one of those chairs falls apart underneath them! I decided to go ahead and get a new dining room set--table and chairs.

We went to the Amish or Mennonite-owned (don't know which!) Country Heritage Furniture in Jamesport. The set will be custom-made in oak and what they call Seely stain--basically a light oak color, but not as "golden" as what we've got now. We're getting a 42"x50" table, two leaves, and 6 chairs. We'll be able to comfortably sit 6 people at the table without the leaves and at least 8 people with the leaves. I'm so excited! The bad part is that we won't get the set until the second week of November. I guess I can't complain too much since I'm confident that I'm getting good quality furniture custom-made for me. Check out the pics of the floor model below.

Below is our current dining room and dining set. The table and chairs are all pretty old. We will keep the table for future use. I may eventually paint or do *something* with the buffet on the right of the photo just to break up all the brown from about waist-high and down. Or maybe I'll make some cute little slipcovers for my new chairs to bring in more color. We'll see!

This is the set we are getting. Same chairs, table top, and table legs, but it will all be a different color as well as a smaller size. This set is stained a cherry color. It's beautiful, but the color doesn't go with the rest of our house.

Here is a close-up of the chairs. The flash of the camera makes the finish look lighter than it is. There are no or very few LIGHTS in Amish & Mennonite stores!

Finally, this is a close-up of the legs of the table. I LOVE these! We had to make the table a bit longer just to accommodate these legs.

Argh! I can't get things formatted correctly on here. So please excuse the fact that things are lining up.