PlayDough

Hey mom, make me a dinosaur PLLLEEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEE!!


What's that? You made a lady?


Dinosaur's got to eat! Chomp Chomp Chomp


I love playing with him:)

FEBRUARY

Yeah, I'm aware it's March, and like WAY into March. But this is what you get:)

In February we were busy!! One weekend my sister, Traci, flew down and we went to a Scrapbooking retreat in a beautiful home in Escondido. We scrapped day and night for four days with about 10 other ladies. I ran out of pictures, then out of paper, I was totally unprepared, but we had a really great time.




The day after Traci flew back, my parents flew in and stayed here for a week. We visited family FAR and near, people we hadn't seen in years. Then I drove them up to Vegas to spend the rest of their time with our friends there.



My mom with her Dad's cousin, Goerge and his wife.

My mom with her cousin, Carol.

My dad with his Uncle Henry.


Before we left for Vegas there were lots of storms that passed through, leaving snow in the not so distant mountains so Damen and I headed up for the day to play, and play we did!!






The most exciting thing by far that came out of the month of February is that on the third of the month, we discovered that I'm pregnant!! YAY for us:) Our new addition won't be here until October, sometime around the 17th.

So, onto the next big thing for us, siblings!!

Stumped

So, I'm working on this dress:




(I'm not supposed to say who the model is, but let's just say he's a size 4)
It started out as a dust ruffle, cut into a long strip, sewed to make a circle. Then I put elastic in at the top based on the "model's" measurements to avoid a zipper/button closure in the back. The straps I thought were BRILLIANT until I realized that once I sew them in the elastic won't be effective.
WHAT TO DO??
Seriously, I'm totally stumped. Now I don't know if anyone of you that reads this sews, but if you do and have an idea, please comment! It's just too cute to not finish! AND if you help me and have a daughter that's roughly a size 4, maybe I'll gift it to you, because I'm pretty sure the model is done wearing it anyway.
THANKS!!

Five years old

This morning my sister and I were discussing the sad story of a young woman. This YW had been so severely abused in the first five years of her life (that's how old she was when she was removed from her home) that she may never recover emotionally. Her actions are constantly reinforcing the way she was taught by her abusers.

Her story really disturbed me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I guess because Damen will be five this year and it got me thinking. If the rest of his life is based on things he's learned in these first five years, what will he take from them? Both positive and negative things I'm sure, and things that will be almost impossible to change. We are such a force for good and for bad in our children, do we see that every day? Do we think about the impact we're having? We have loved and nurtured Damen, but it's probably the things we didn't intend to teach him that we'll wonder about.

Miss ya!

Oh how we will miss Allison's sweet smile and this fun laughter in our home. Allison's daddy got transfered to northern California, we'll miss you guys!

Can't complain

I met a woman at the store today that taught me something about blessings. She was sitting with her two boys crying, so I asked if there was something I could do. She told me she didn't have any money and she was hoping someone could help her out with buying some groceries and diapers. She'd been walking around the store for two hours looking for someone to help her. I helped her with her things and as we stood in line she told me how her boys hadn't eaten yet today and they still had to wait to take the bus home so I offered her a ride. She told me about the last few years of her life and how she'd gotten here. She'd had a good job, but after having her first son she was able to quit and stay home, her boyfriend worked. Her boyfriend also drank and one day tried to kill her, now he's in jail and she's penniless. She told me how much money she gets from the state, it's barely enough for groceries, let alone diapers and wipes. She told me how she's been putting in applications and trying to find work along a bus line since she doesn't have a car. She kept crying and talking, she told me how humiliated she felt asking for food from strangers. All I could think of was my home, my husbands job, my family, our two cars, our pantry full of food, and wondering what else I could do for her. I may never see her again, but I know I'll never forget her.
Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Our lives often seem hard, or complicated. We cry about our money woes and the times when things are tight, but I've never really NEEDED or wanted for anything, ever. My life is full, after meeting her, I have nothing to complain about.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!