Today was Owl Day at preschool and I decided that sister definitely needed an owl dress because I had some cute owl fabric in the stash. Sister found the fabric a few weeks ago at Joann’s and decided it was a must have! The picture isn’t that great (the print is tiny owls and leaves) as it is hard to get a preschooler to hold still!!! The best part to sister about the dress is that the back (it was hard enough to get a front view picture of the dress so I have no pictures of the back) button has an owl on it. She really likes owls! Stay tuned because later in the week they are having farmer day and you never know what the sewing machine will turn out!

We broke away from suburbia this morning and headed out to the country for a bit to a place that time has not touched. A place where log cabins stand and animals run wild. We all had a wonderful time exploring, chasing peacocks, finding the perfect leaves, sneaking up on sheep and just being out in the fresh fall air. There is nothing like breathing in that fall air that is cold in your lungs but yet so refreshing and life giving to your heart.

So, here it is! What do you think? Nice huh! Wish you had one for your front yard huh! Come on, it is hours of entertainment for the kiddos! I can send it over when we are done with it here! Yes, well, it is not exactly what I wanted parked in the front yard for the next few days but I am trying to be thankful for it all the same. Turns out that the water guys got some new video gadget camera to stick in the pipes to check them out and while checking out the pipes they found that we have almost no pipe because of some drastic deterioration or something along those lines. I have to admit that I did not really hear much of what they said past the, “we need to dig up your front yard!” I am thankful that they found it (if left alone it could lead to some really nasty problems), I am super thankful that they are paying for it and I am glad that the kiddos can have some excitement as it is cheaper than buying a playground! It is just kind of wild to have that parked out in the front yard!

I did finish those invitations that I was working on finally! It was a little time consuming with making all the little diapers but in the end I think that it was worth it as I am excited with the way they turned out. Now on to the next ones!

Hey Friends! Here are better pictures of the dress that some of you asked for.

I have been tagged by Daisyeyes to share some more random and weird facts about myself so here we go. . .

1.) A favorite snack of mine is Fritos dipped in cottage cheese! Don’t knock it until you have tried! Once you try it you are welcome to knock it, but I am pretty sure that you will like it!

2.) I really really do not like wearing socks or shoes.

3.) I am very particular about my chocolate milk! I have to buy the chocolate to make it myself because I don’t like a lot of chocolate in my milk and if there is not enough chocolate well that is no fun. There is definitely a perfect amount!

4.) I don’t like to wake up! Not in the morning, not after a nap. . .never! I don’t like waking up to an alarm, people or music. My poor husband!!!

5.) I want to have a Princess Birthday Party next year! I want to be able to have it in a garden with dear friends and us all to be dressed up (picture Emma). Sister thinks this is so cool as well because she wants to have a Princess birthday party also! I am okay with the fact that I want the same birthday as a preschooler!

6.) I can’t handle it when things touch my nose! I sleep on very little of my pillow so that it does not touch my nose. Weird!!!

7.) I love to sing along with songs but rarely get the words correct! Our daughter has this same gift!!!

Okay, looking back over that list those are pretty weird and random! I am tagging whoever wants to play along!!!

Mondays are grocery store day at our house. I am not sure why I do that to myself on Monday morning but alas it just works. Sister was singing and dancing her way through the store today as normal. I was not paying a lot of attention to what she was singing just trying to keep her moving and away from stacking things as she loves to do with the yogurt, butter, etc. while also trying to keep brother entertained (poor guy always stuck shopping with the women). We finally finished and payed and I came out of survival mode to listen in to the words that sister was actually singing. She was singing over and over again, “I am constant and I am HOLY!” She has my problem of remembering words to songs and their order in the song but I knew exactly what she was singing. I played a song during my workshop on Sabbath a few weeks ago which embodies a great picture of Sabbath REST to me and while I was away Brad played this song for her in the midst of her asking repetitively where I was that weekend and it stuck. Here are the words. . .

I Am by Jill Phillips

Oh gently lay your head
Upon my chest
And I will comfort you
Like a mother while you rest
The tide can change so fast,
But I will stay
The same through the past,
The same in future, same today

CHORUS:
I am constant; I am near
I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy; I am wise
I’m the only one who knows your heart’s desires
Your heart’s desires

Oh weary, tired and worn,
Let out your sighs
And drop that heavy load you hold
Cause Mine is light

I know you through and through;
There’s no need to hide
I want to show you love
That is deep and high and wide

CHORUS(2x)

Oh gently lay your head
Upon my chest
And I will comfort you
Like a mother while you rest

I do feel that this is at the heart of Sabbath REST. I feel that God sings this over us! Come rest! Come let out your sighs! He is constant, near, peace, HOLY, wise and He knows our hearts! He knows what we long for even better than we know. When we rest in His presence, when we rest in His word He meets us!

So back to the story. . . Sister is singing this song and it just hits me that I am SO focused on survival (of the grocery store even) that I am missing “ordinary moments of God’s GRACE all around me-moments that He would like to use to replenish and refuel me” (taken from GRACE an invitation to a way of life by Ortberg, Penderson and Pling). I am not being present! I am not hearing the song of praise that my little one is lifting up. I am missing smiles that brother is giving strangers. I am missing the warmth of the sun as I walk into the store. I am missing the smiles of strangers to my children. Why am I missing all these things. . .because I am so intent on getting in and out and moving on. I don’t want to miss God’s grace in the midst of my day. I want to be present and breath it in deeply. There is a HOLY God who is constant in my every moment! I don’t want to miss that!!!

We are still walking through this intense baby boom with our group of friends. We have 3 showers behind us (2 adorable baby girls whom we have welcomed and we are still waiting on the very stubborn 3rd baby) and two showers left for this year. So much FUN!!! I am working on the invites for the next shower it is another cloth diaper shower. I will show pics when they are finished but I keep procrastinating so it could be a little bit.

We had to get out of the house Wednesday! Both of the kiddos have colds which brings on the grumps plus it was a rainy day which made the house feel confined so we headed to the mall! We parked in the parking garage which we never do but alas it was raining and not worth being drenched getting the kids in and out. Well, since we parked in the parking garage we walked past the escalator to get to the elevator (we generally take the elevator since brother is usually in the stroller). Sister kept staring at it and we watched some people ride it and she still seemed very confused. I told her that it was kind of like steps that move so that you can go up or down without walking. She looked at me like I was off my rocker and said, “why don’t you just walk up the steps?”. Ahhh, we tend to be a pretty lazy culture as pointed out by a preschooler!

So, I am super sad because I forgot to take my camera last night to get actual pictures of the bride (again) in the dress. The renewal ceremony was truly a sweet sweet time. It was wonderful to be able to have a time of worship and thanksgiving to God for all that He has brought them through and all that He continues to do in their lives and their marriage. Hopefully when they return from their second honeymoon I will be able to snag some pictures that are much much better than these but for now here is what I have.

This is a close up of the front of the dress. The sleeves ended up being one of my favorite parts of the dress even though I had never made sleeves before.

The dress is very Emma-esque! The overlay on the back hangs down a little farther than the front and it also gathers.