Music, Art, and Dance

So this Christmas season I discovered that when it comes to gifts, I work really well with themes. For Eden this year, her theme was "Music, Art, and Dance".

For the dance section of her gift I made a tulle princess skirt. I found this tutorial on a blog called Grosgrain and it was super easy! My only concern is that when Eden wears "princessey" things she often gets a spoiled rotten princess attitude to go with it (thank you Disney). So for this gift I wrote a short story to go along with it. In short, after a magical day of exploring, Eden is given a special princess skirt from a gentle King who explains that whoever wears it must behave with gentlness, kindness, generosity and obedience. By accepting the gift, and because of her grattitude and love for the King, Eden promises to act like a daughter of the King and not like a princess of the world I know it's cheesy but hopefully *fingers crossed* it'll work. Here are some pics.


































For "art" I created a craft/activity box that holds everything from necklace-making materials to pipe-cleaners (Eden will flip for these!). Sorry for the sideways pics but you get the idea. I pretty much owned all the materials, save for the file box and a few organizational aids that I got at Walmart. Oh ya, and check out the beads box, if that doesn't reinforce her obsessive side, I don't know what will!

And lastly, for "music" we got her a recorder. Ya know those plastic flute-like instruments you played "Twinkle-twinkle little star" on in third grade? Ya ,I hope we don't regret that decision, but I really think she'll enjoy learning how to play.

Grace

It's 3am and I cannot sleep. It's been a busy day and my heart and mind have been distracted for so long that it is at this time that the Lord saw fit to wake me, to stir me.

Lately God has been giving me tremendous strength to endure what can sometimes seems like an endless parade of activity and endeavors. And last night He once again showed me just how good and great a God He is. Amongst the activity of getting the kiddos feed, bathed, and ready for bed, Eden threw an outright fit. It was like an all out assault against all that was good and true, and as my precious four-year old lie flailing on the ground I thought to myself that Eden often picks the most unfavorable times to freak out. Unfortunately my hands were tied as I was currently giving Adele a bath, and spanks would have to be postponed for another moment. Finally, after all had quited down, the opportune time had passed and Eden slowly quieted down on her own. Upon marching her up to bed she asked for a bedtime snack and so I gave her a granola bar and together we sat on her bed. Eden has a little orange Gideon Bible that she often likes to carry around and tonight she asked me to read something from it. I thought a psalm would be appropriate and so I read Psalm 84:

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca[Weeping], they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah

Look upon our shield,O God; Look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor [grace and glory]; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

"Grace, mama!" Eden exclaimed in the middle of the Psalm, I put my finger up to tell her to hold her thought and finished the psalm. "Grace, I know that name!"
"Oh, do you know what grace means Eden?" I then began to tell Eden that grace was undeserved favor, when you get something that you don't really deserve. As E sat there munching on her bar I told her it's like when mama gives you a treat, even though you had a bad attitude...that's grace. At this point Eden looked at me smiled a sweet, sensitive, dare I say convicted smile, and laid down in my lap. "Mama I just want you to hold me." And so I did. A few moments later as I was putting her to bed I explained that God granted us grace when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. "It was a sin to get mad at mama."
"Yes, Eden it was. But I will always love you and so I grant you grace." And with that Eden sat in my lap and we snuggled for a bit before bed. Grace.

Amazing grace. And now I sit here at 3 in the morning. God woke me up. I have been angry and bitter. Insecure and distracted. And for that I apologize and humbly ask for forgiveness and grace. Grace as I figure out how to walk with God, grace as I (well both Pete and I) try to move our family in a good direction, a Godly direction. It has not been easy with us both being in school and now with the last few weeks of the semester upon us, both Pete and I are feeling the pressure and the weight of our decision. But I would not change a thing. Lord this is all a living sacrifice for You. My thoughts, my day, my life, my intelligence, my hopes, my desires, my heart! School and work and money and degrees, it's all going to burn I see that now! Please help me to live according to Your will. The meat in life is what I experience last night with Eden, that's joy!

Honestly I am tremendously insecure. I hate doing things differently from those around me. I feel most at home safe and secure in the middle of the herd, just doing what everyone else is doing and not making a fuss. But now that I am in school full time, I have found that my life looks a lot different from my friends. My kids go to "school", childcare really, most mornings of the week as Pete and I head off to school ourselves. I have had a hard time with this, but I think my distress is not from God. Let me just say that I know this is what God has for our family right now. This is what God wants. And yes, I love school, I love that I'm finally going to be getting my nursing degree and may one day become a midwife! But really Pete and I are just trying to be responsible for our family and at this point, this is what needs to happen. If I could go back ten years I would have done things a little differently but this is how it is. And yet I feel I must hang my head when I talk about school and the kids and their school. I can't look people in the eye and I fumble...it's like I'm trying to explain or excuse or defend our situation. I don't know why I feel ashamed. I feel different. I'm having a hard time at just being different. I'm afraid people are judging Pete and I and my sinful preoccupation with what others may or, most likely, may not be thinking, is a burden. But this is something that we must walk through we can not go around. "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca [Weeping] , they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. " Our school, our house, our family is just as God wants it. So I guess are hearts are set on this adventure and for me it's mostly good really! Just a little different....and so again I just ask for grace.

Upcycled Creations Part Deux: A Heat Pack for an Achy Back

Got some old pieces of scrap fabric you don't know what to do with? Don't throw them away, make this sweet rice heat therapy bag! I found this great tutorial from Sew Mama Sew the other day and I thought it would make a great gift for a friend of mine who just had a baby. I was going to make an entire "wellness package" but um ya...I ran out of time. After going through the instructions I was confused, so I simplified the project a bit and things turned out swell!


Basically I just cut a long rectangular piece of cotton I had left over from another project. At one end I sewed three cotton scraps and then fashioned the entire piece into a slip cover. This was the outside of the bag. For the interior sack I sewed a rectangular muslin bag that matched the dimensions of the exterior piece leaving one end open. I filled the muslin bag with rice mixed with fresh scented oils and sewed the bag shut. After stuffing the cover I was done. Voila a super chic heat therapy!

Favorite Fall Photos

These are some of my favorite pictures from this fall. Many of these were taken last week when we tried ("tried" being the operative word here) to take family pics. As you will notice there is only one of Del (who was unusually sullen) and Pete and ZERO of me : )

Noah

This photo exemplifies our little man perfectly. He's a little naughty, but mostly just seriously adorable. Noah, in his prime at the age of two.

Upcycled Creations Part Une: Girl's Sweater Dress

So what's upcycling you say? Well I would define it as using a well-loved item, for example a lush little sweater-set from Christopher and Banks, and re-inventing it for a greater purpose.

For over a year I've been on the hunt for the perfect sweater dress for Eden, but alas the cute little dresses I often find are often out of my price range. So what's a girl to do? Improvise!! Here's how I made a sweater dress for E out of an old sweater I got at Goodwill. And as a testament to how simple this project is (as opposed to my sewing skills), it only took about 15 minutes to complete!!! Alright folks brace yourselves for inspiration : ) *Sorry about the quality
of the pics, the lighting wasn't the best*

Start with an adult sizes sweater and fold in half. (I would have showed you the sweater as a whole but I got too excited and started cutting before I got out the camera).

Using a girl's dress as a template, mark and cut a diagonal line that will represent the sides of the dress.

Unfold the dress and make sure the lines are even.

Now turn the dress inside out and sew the sides together.

Once you've finished sewing the edges, turn the dress so that the right sides face out. You'll notice that the sleeves have some raw edges, so we can make cuffs to make the dress look complete. This step isn't always necessary, especially if your working with a stretchy fabric such as jersey knits.

Cut the cuffs off of the ends of the sleeves to the original sweater.

Here is the sleeve to the sweater dress and the cuff.

Place the cuff so that is slips over the end of the sleeve. The raw edges should line up together. Make sure that the right side of the cuff and the sleeve are facing each other. This way when you turn the cuff the right side shows. Clear as mud huh?!

Head back to the sewing machine to complete the sleeve cuffs.

fin.

Eat that Meat!

The Grimes' household possesses a scientific mystery in that somehow our two older children can maintain enough energy to meet their metabolic needs without consuming any food. OK perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit, they eat at the most three bites each before stubbornly pushing their plates aside in protest. Well after a particularly frustrating evening, battle lines were drawn as Pete and I tried to stare down our opponents in a last ditch attempt to get them to eat some food! Then brilliance struck as we came up with a fantastic idea; perhaps a rousing chant will spur them on to good deeds. And with that "Eat that Meat!" was born, and ya know what? It worked!Now the kids eat at least six bites after a few inspiring shouts of "Eat that Meat".

I'm back!

Did you miss me? Well here are some pics of the family during the month of October. This month was particularly challenging as Pete and I were in the thick of school and both of us were sick for what seemed like a month! Was it the dreaded H1N1? We'll never know but I'm glad it's over. No worries though, God is good and he is mighty to save. Enjoy the pics!

The Boy

The Girls

Our first snow arrived with a bang on October 10th!

*Witty Title Here*

Well my brain is fried after my first month of being a full time nursing student and I have no smart or witty title for this post, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still here! I think for now I'm just going to keep my posts to pictures of the fam unless I have something super inspiring or smart to say. So with that being said here are some recent pictures from when my brother came to visit back in August.