Happy birthday, Jade!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JADE! Welcome to the double digits! What a big birthday! 

This day should have been shared with Lael who will be 2 next week, but poor little one came down with the flu.  Rachel assured us she was the happiest, sweetest little sick baby!  (vomit) "Oh, sorry mama!" (vomit) "Can I have some crackers?" So chipper! 

So her gift will have to wait... 

I just love the center picture of Tori snuggling her baby while she snuggles babies!  

And this little man! He has just stolen my heart! He knows me and greats me with "Hi Tatie!" as soon as I walk into the room.


Jade had the brilliant idea to request a sweet cereal birthday! No cake for this girl: she got right to the good stuff! We were all shaking our heads that we never thought of this! It was amazing!  Sometimes having every eye in the room on you, every voice celebrating your birth is a bit overwhelming!



These kids are so distinct in their personalities, and so fun! Gwenna was being a little mother, then we face timed with the happy, sick birthday girl! And these two... I don't know what they were so excited about, but you better believe I had to capture it!!!


And now I will leave you with a bit more gratuitous cuteness.

Gabbie moments

Sometimes I have Gabbie moments.  Quite unexpectedly something will remind me of her and open a flood of memories.  The sting of her death is gone as I know she's been in heaven these many years! Still it's fun to remember her and share those memories!

The most recent instance? PUSSYWILLOWS! We used to always bring them to her in bouquets as the very first sign of spring!

Birthdays and Babies!

Spoiler alert: There are gifts yet to be given pictured below. Don't look if you want to be surprised! 

I've been busy knitting, sewing, and crocheting, which is why I haven't been blogging.  Now it's time to share some of the things I've been working on so far.  I still have a couple of works in progress, but I'm almost there with those, too!  (I apologize a few of the pictures are a bit dark. I was in a rush and didn't set up proper lighting or edit them after...bad Katie!) 

Jade has an American Girl doll and she's been wanting more clothes.  Well that's right up my alley! I've been wanting to hone my crocheting skills a bit, so I set to work. I love the plethora of free patterns to be found online and the fact that I can keep them all organized on pinterest.  

Next I found the cuuuuutest little play house pattern online here and after making a few adjustments, I got to work.

Anywho, using fabric that I had on hand, I created some pretty wild little soft houses for some pretty special toddlers. Matching for Lael and Gwenna, boy-themed for Caleb. 

After knocking these out (and not without a few tears and ripped stitches), I moved on to making a quilt for a very special little boy who should be making his arrival very soon!  As a little brother, Gideon doesn't get much that's special to him.  In fact, mom-to-be Morgan said this was the first thing that she'd received that was just for Gideon.  (Complete with initial so it never gets confused). 

Next up was a set of dolly clothes for the babies' babies.  Auntie Lorna said she bought three new babies for her grands to play with, and of course I was thrilled to dig into my fabrics and create!  If you have seen things I've made for my niece and nephew, Ava and Noah, you'll recognize these prints.  As often happens, I got carried away and decided that they needed not only outfits, but jammies and diapers.  One thing I learned from Ava is that babies need spare diapers. You can't just take off a dirty diaper and then pretend it's clean again to put it back on (scoffs). 

Catching up...

I assure you all that we are alive, if not entirely well. Isaac has a cold that he just can’t kick, which is very unusual for him!  I am thankful that so far it seems to be the same cold I already had (from him) so I am not getting sick. Of the two of us, he’s by far the more stoic sick spouse.  I tend to be rather dramatic and pitiful. I know you’re less than shocked by that revelation.

Anyway, we’ve been living life, and things are happening, but nothing to write about just yet. (Disclaimer: NO, WE ARE NOT PREGNANT!!!) I promise that when that time comes, I’ll announce it in a more personal way than just blogging.

I’ve been hard at work sewing for birthday gifts and special orders, which is why I haven’t had the attention span to blog lately. I’m keeping the gifts a surprise (and it’s killing me!!) at least until the first baby receives hers.  I’ve also started trying to increase my special orders!

I knit, crochet, and sew, and I enjoy always having something going. What better way to do this than take orders?!  I don’t want to go crazy and open an etsy store or anything that daunting, but I DO enjoy creating for those around me. 

Anyway, I’ll be posting some of my projects on here that I’d be willing to tackle again if you want to contact me about pricing! J

In other news, our Charlie dog is starting to look rather rascally! He’s taken a good sized notch out of his left ear and has a small bald spot on in the middle of his forehead.  While I’m concerned that our handsome boy is getting raggedy, Isaac loves it. He’s proud of how hard Charlie plays. He loves to run off the trail near our house and jump and tunnel through the brambles. Charlie doesn’t seem to mind the alterations to his appearance.

Last on the Charlie front, we clipped his nails for the first time this weekend. Any advice there is highly welcome! Some of the nails he let me do without much fuss, others he really reacted badly about. Is there a difference in sensitivity between clear and dark nails? I was very conservative as it always makes me nervous to get too near the quick (sp?). 

Though my blogging is sparse at times (I'm very guilty of mentally blogging and never actually sitting down to put fingers to keys and post), Isaac's blog is consistently posting once or twice a week, so go check it out: The Kingdom of God and the Modern Mind

Feeling thankful!

Today I feel an overwhelming spirit of thankfulness for the little and big blessings in my life!

To name a few, in no particular order:

1. My husband who faithfully walks Charlie each morning and then makes me coffee!
2. Starting the day with Top Pot Donuts! Yum!
3. Charlie dog putting himself to bed so I don't have to wrangle him into the spare bathroom!
4. Train commuting!
5. Thinking my hair was an out of control mess and having a friend tell me it looked like a hair volume commercial!
6. Bathroom stall doors that actually lock and stay shut!
7. Isaac for praying over me each morning
8. Isaac for trusting me enough to edit his blogs, and sharing his thoughts with me first!
9. Seriously -- a Top Pot Donut for breakfast! It's so delicious!
10. NOT being gluten-free!
11. Drinkable vitamins!
12. Walking to work to the sounds of Josh Groban
13. Our amazing new over-the-stove microwave! I'm thrilled! My man knows how to spoil me!
14. Time in the Word each morning
15. Feeling sore after a new workout
16. My incredible view from my desk
17. Just how much I love my husband! It just fills me with joy to love him
18. Wearing jeans to work
19. Awesome co-workers who randomly bring donuts to work (they're awesome regardless of donuts, but that makes them that much more amazing!)
20. My sweet Charlie dog!

Working in Seattle: Lunchtime Walk

There are times I thoroughly enjoy working in downtown!  I'm just a couple of blocks away from the waterfront, so on sunny days I find my way out there to soak up some vitamin D!  

I kind of love seagulls!!

  The ferris wheel is pretty awesome!

Inadequate.

I struggle often times with feeling inadequate. It brings me to tears more often than not and brings my husband running to embrace me.  I am ever more thankful for him.  He knows me so well, even knowing each other such a short time.  God has truly orchestrated our romance and is guiding, protecting, and flourishing our marriage.  It is so much more than either of us could have expected or asked for it to be.  All glory to God.  We both readily admit we are fallen creatures in need of saving. 

The great thing about God is that we (I!) can come to him with my inadequacies and with His perfect love He, too, comes running and puts His perfect arms around me.  He calms my fears and assures me that I am perfected IN HIM.  He urges me to rest in Him and reassures me that in Him I am being glorified day by day.  “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Rm. 8:20).  In fact, in Christ the work is already complete.

I may be an imperfect, sometimes unloving, easily overwhelmed, selfish, and so many other things that make me feel inadequate as a wife and a child of God, but He is more than adequate. He is perfectly everything we need in abundance.  He is rich in the sense that He has so much He cannot help but give.

And so today I am clinging to the peace that comes from knowing that He loves me in my imperfect state. And that I have a husband that lovingly emulates Christ in his selfless love of me.  I am doubly blessed.