Proud of myself!

So, I have no sewing skills.  I wish that I did, and I feel as though I should have them.  I grew up sewing.  My grandmother and I spent hours sewing clothes for me and my cabbage patch kids when I was younger (this is what happens when you have no siblings...you wear matching outfits with your cabbage patch kids).  But, none of it stuck, and I have no sewing skills today.  It might be that I don't have much confidence when it comes to a lot of that stuff and that my sewing machine (circa 1970) started smoking the last time I used it.

But I did make this shirt for emma's birthday.  Well, not the shirt, but I did put the "5" on it.  Yes, it was very easy...but I'm still pretty proud of myself.  

There are two things I would do if I had more time...sewing classes and photography classes.  Two things I wish I knew more about.  Maybe one day.  Until then...I guess I'll just be handstitching numbers on shirts!

We also had a great time celebrating Emma's birthday with a gymnastics party.  Great friends, great cake, great day!

Emma is 5!!

Emma is 5 today!  I can hardly believe it.  She is turning into such an amazing little girl.  She is so helpful, loves her brother and family and loves to be silly.  And she has taught me so much about how to be a Mom (makes me appreciate my Mom even more).

So, here's to you, Emma.  Happy Birthday!

Five things I love about Emma on her 5th birthday:

1. She is pure silliness, all of the time (as you can see)

2. She loves hugs.  

3. She is full of compassion

4. She lights up when her Daddy walks into the room.

5. She loves to help with just about anything.

Liam

This pretty much sums up Liam for the last few days...super happy one minute and super whiny the next...but I still love him.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Just a few pictures of the Christmas season, so far...

Picking out our Christmas tree.

This is the one time of year we actually get dressed up.

This is how Liam stood his entire program.

First year for both kids to actually like Santa.

Hope your Christmas season has been just as fun, so far.

Miss you, Mom

Today it has been one year since my Mom passed away.  I can hardly believe that a whole year has already passed by.  It has been a hard year, but it has also been a good year.  Although I miss my Mom every single day, the Lord is so good.  He continues to bless our family in so many ways.  And I will always be so thankful for the time we had with Mom.  That she got to know both of my kids, and they got to know her.  On days when I am sad or missing Mom a lot, Emma (who is almost 5) will say, "But Mama is in heaven, Mommy.  She's got a new body and she's dancing."  Those words are so true, and they are the best way that I can think of remembering my Mom.

She is with her Heavenly Father and she has been made whole.

I love you, Mom.  I miss you so much.  Thank you for being an amazing Mother, wife and Child of God.

Liam is 2!!

Liam turned 2 on Easter.  I can hardly believe that 2 years have already gone by.  He has grown up so much.  He talks all of the time, and it is adorable.  His favorite word right now is "nope."  You can ask him anything, and that will be his answer.  If you ask him how old he is, he will say "orange"..no matter how hard we've worked to tell him that he is 2.  He is just so darn cute.  He loves his sister and loves to climb.  He is definitely a little monkey.   
This is the jeep he got for his birthday.  I guess it's kind of a gift for Emma, too, since he can't quite drive it.  He pretty much just sits in it and presses the pedal.  But he doesn't even put his hands on the steering wheel, so it just takes off and runs into whatever is in the way.

2 things I love about Liam on his 2 birthday:

1) He still loves to rock and won't go to sleep until we do.  I know I'm really going to miss this one day.

2) He's just so darn cute.  Every little facial expression, everything new that he learns every day.

   He's just so fun to watch!

Happy Birthday, Buddy!