Sweetie pie in a smocked bonnet

This is a beautiful handmade smocked bonnet that my baby girl is currently wearing. It has pink bullion roses and pearls on a white geometric design- the results are stunning! There is an awesome website where you can order your own smocked bonnets (almost like my daughter's, but there are added pintucks in the back-pretty) or even order a kit and smock your own. Click here to see...
Happy Wednesday!
Much love, Jennifer

Heirloom Sewing- French Hand Sewing

Sarah Howard Stone's book, at left, is the "bible" of French Hand Sewing. Many of her patterns for french hand sewing can be found at her website www.sarahhowardstone.com . My baby daughter is currently wearing one of her designs, Babette (modified). I wore "Melissa" as a girl, my sister wore "Bijoux" and the next project for my little one will be "Tyler". Such beautiful, classic, timeless pieces. One of the many things I love about heirloom sewing. Happy looking at her website !

Heirloom sewing - Smocking

I trust everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! We had a great time... headed up to my sis's house (about 2 1/2 hours north) and enjoyed some good family time with everyone! Our little son was especially fond of the pool... and the food was fabulous!
I will be posting this week about heirloom sewing- different types and examples. Featured here today is a smocked bib that I made for my daughter (under the guidance of my mama!) and it is my very first smocking project... was alot a fun to do, too! The Smocking Arts Guild of America has great info for beginners and pros alike. Click here for more info.... Have a great Tuesday!
Much Love,
Jennifer

Cutie Pies

My two precious angels.... who bring us so much JOY!

Word Cloud

So cool! Create your own- www.snapshirts.com. Happy weekend ! Love, Jennifer

Aprons show and tell

This is my favorite apron ever! I only recently purchased it, and it is a vintage 1950's serving apron. It has the cutest pattern- black and white background with pink roses scattered across it and pink binding (hard to see in the pic). Tammy, at Tammy's Times , is hostessing an apron show and tell this week on her blog- How Fun!
Have a super weekend!
Much Love, Jennifer

Blessed Assurance

I love music. I love hymns. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of singing hymns in the Baptist church where I was raised, or at home with my mama playing the piano. I am also fascinated with the life of one hymn writer in particular- a very famous one- Mrs. Fanny J. Crosby. She was one of the most prolific writers of hymns in our history- In her lifetime, she penned over 8,000 hymns! Born in 1820, she became blind as an infant as a result of a doctor's incompetence, however; she viewed her blindness as a blessing saying had she not been blind, she mayn't have written as she did because of being distracted by "the many beautiful and interesting things around me". An amazing life, an amazing testimony.
For more on her bio - cyberhymnal
My favorite hymn of Mrs. Crosby's...

BLESSED ASSURANCE
v1
Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine,
O, what a foretaste of glory divine,
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

Refrain
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long

v3
Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blessed
Watching and waiting, looking above
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love

Refrain

Words: Fanny Jane Crosby
Music: Phoebe Knapp
Photo courtesy cyberhymnal.org

Happy Thursday!
Much love, Jennifer

Signs

Our sweet baby girl did her first "baby sign" today.... She looked up at the light in the living room, then looked up me, then looked back up at the light and slowly and carefully signed "light" by opening and closing her little fist. She looked at me, squealed in glee and proceeded to do it over and over again - Each time squealing and kicking her little fat legs. So precious. We have been signing to her for about a month now, and while she watches intently, has not signed anything until today. This, hopefully, will be the first of many signs that she will do! Our little son, who is now 2 1/2 did over 35 baby signs, and greatly reduced his (and our!) frustration levels because he was able to "sign" for what he wanted before he could say it..... When he began talking, he dropped the sign. Simple as that. I will be eternally grateful to Andy's oldest sis for giving us this book when our son was a baby....!! Another bonus is, this time our little man is signing to his baby sister as well- so now she has 3 people signing to her... She's one lucky little girl to have 3 people who give her so much adoration every day!
On another note, I will be doing some posts next week about heirloom sewing and smocking and giving links to some great sites on this fun subject.
Happy Wednesday!
Much Love- Jennifer
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths" Proverbs 3:5-6

Remembrance

Traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminshed over the years... In many people's minds it is seen simply as a "3 day weekend", or a time to grill out with friends, or an escape to the beach. While none of those are "bad activites", I should hope that this Memorial Day, each of use would at least pause to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and the families left behind that still pay the price of freedom. For freedom, as we all know, isn't free.
We cherish, too the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
The blood of heros never dies (Moina Michael, 1915)
Memorial Day is, by definition, a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. It was made official May 5, 1868 to honor the Civil War dead, and New York was the first state to celebrate in in 1873. By the year 1890, all of the northern states observed the holiday, but the Southerners refused to acknowledge it -- instead honoring their dead on separate days until after WW I. In the year 2000, the National Moment of Remembrance Resolution was passed.... At 3 p.m. on Memorial Day, all Americans are asked to observe a moment of remembrance for those who sacrificed their all. Please join in this moment, just a small minute, out of your day on Monday- wherever you may be- to give this honor to our war dead, and to give thanks for living in the BEST country in the world. Support our troops, they appreciate it more than you will ever know. God bless the USA.
"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time" -Thomas Jefferson

Peace

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee" Isaiah 26:3. I love this verse. I really love this verse! What a awesome promise... "perfect peace"... especially in our fast paced society where peace seems to be unattainable... yet so many are searching for it. Books, magazine articles, TV talk shows -all document many American's quest for peace in this crazy and hectic world. Yet here it is, the truth about finding peace, hidden away in the book of Isaiah. So simple. So easily missed. "Because he trusteth in thee" -Even in the middle of raising kids, stressful moments, dark times, loneliness, all the heartaches that are suffered in our world today... even in the midst of all this, he still promises perfect peace, if we trust in him... Simple little words. So hard to do. Beautiful promise. Everyone wants to be in control of their own destiny. We fight so hard to "take the wheel" when if we could just let go, sit back and TRUST, perfect peace would be ours. I urge you today to meditate upon this truth, keep your mind stayed on HIM, and experience beautiful, wonderful peace and rest. Happy Monday!
Much love,
Jennifer

Drama... in the ER

Yes, Oh, Yes... I spent the better part of last night in the ER with my little 2 year old son who is "all boy" as my dad likes to say. My little man found a cup of water, poured it on the floor (as he has a penchant for doing these days) and then proceeded to run through it...and... you guessed it, fell down and smacked his little head so hard on the ceramic tile floor that you could hear it all over the house. After his face returned to a normal pink (after the blue from holding his breath), he screamed for a good 10 minutes (and rightfully so, if I do say so myself). Wellll, then we loaded up to go to the ER... He got a "picture of my head tooken wif the cram-ra" (translation- he had a CT scan of his head), he charmed all of the nurses - they were even bringing other nurses in to meet him (what a little flirt), amazed everyone, even the doc, with his coloring skills and ability to "stay in the lines", recited his ABC's, days of the week, numbers, his weight, full name.... well you get the picture... and was, in general, a little darling the whole time we were there. Mommy said lots of prayers, and tried not to think of "worst case scenario", which I am so prone to doing (hey, hard not to when you're an NP)! But in the end, my little man was pronounced to be safe and sound with his head intact. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, put him in the car, and went in search of a "Get Well Soon" balloon... which I found today. Of course now, my precious boy is curled up in his bed, clutching his "boom", and hopefully dreaming sweet dreams- A beautiful sight. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Much love,
Jennifer

On the road again..

No time to post today, I will be on the road with the kiddos for about 4 hours (by myself- yikes)!! Here's to a wonderful, restful weekend... and a final thought....

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4-5

Much love- Jennifer

Antiques and Drive-Ins

What a fun afternoon yesterday.... while the little ones were sleeping, I went to a local antique store- ( one that I've had my eye on for quite some time).. but one that I did not dare go in with the babes... ! Andy got off early yesterday and so was here with the children and I had TWO HOURS all to myself!!! What freedom! What bliss! I found such a gorgeous antique print from WWI era (1910's) that had a soldier in uniform walking out his front gate with his wife holding onto his arm in a goodbye embrace- the caption read "Duty Calls"... Gorgeous mahogany frame with convex glass.... sooooo.. I bought it... Just seemed so fittingly proper for us at this point in our lives, with Andy leaving for Iraq in the not so distant future... think I shall hang it it our bedroom.... the print and frame really are stunning... I also found a beautiful, quaint little antique platter with a pink rose border- so dainty.. One can't help but wonder at the history of such pieces... how many Sundays was fried chicken served on it, or how many times had a pair of hands lovingly cleaned it... well you get the idea! Did I mention that I loved antiques?? ha!
Last night was a blast! We opted for some good old fashioned fun, sooooooo... we bathed the kiddos, put them in the vehicle, grabbed some blankets, got some cash from the ATM, and headed to the local drive in. We got there, turned off our headlights, got a HUGE bag of popcorn, (and a good ol "Co-cola") and snuggled down for the feature. What a treat- My sweet 2 year old snuggled in my lap, the baby slept, Andy and I held hands like silly teenagers and we enjoyed what familes have loved for decades.... The good ol' drive in- so, find one near you (www.drive-ins.com) and join in on the fun!

My verse for meditation today "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. " Proverbs 31:30
Much Love, Jennifer

Sunny Days

What a perfect day! "Clear blue and 22" .... an aviation term that my dear husband (a pilot) loves to use to describe one of those perfect days..... The kiddos and I spent the morning at the park.... on the playground, in the swings, walking in the stroller (baby girl slept most of the time) and then on to the nature trail where we discussed all the whys and wherefores of magnolias, oaks and mimosa trees...and of course now have a beautiful magnolia blossom adding its' sweet scent to our kitchen...
Little boys just amaze me sometimes with their innate "roughness"... (wanting to demolish things, leap off the backs of couches and beat poor flowers to death with plastic swords).... but they also amaze in how quickly they can change from the roaring lion ("look mama, I Simba") to the sweetest angel, planting sticky dirty kisses all over me, and with "Mama do you love me bigger than the sky?" and " Mama I you fweet boy", and with "Mama you so beyoo-full".... such is the nature of the 2 1/2 year old. Wanting to be a "big boy", but still so much my baby. Such sweet days. Nothing terrible about the "2s"... just days of sticky kisses, fat hands, silly smiles, big blue eyes, thousands of questions, with a few measures of stubbornness and independence sprinkled in... and a precious little boy that we are training up to be a Godly man...... I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him" Psalm 127:3
"And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them" Matthew 10:16
Blessings to you and yours today... go outside, soak up some sunshine and enjoy the beauty of God's creation ....
Much love, Jennifer

Another manic monday....

And so it is..... just another manic monday after a beautiful Sunday and Mother's Day.... Yesterday was a wonderful Mother's Day! We dedicated our beautiful baby girl during baby dedication service at church yesterday (along with 11 others babies born in the last year in our congregation) and it was such a blessing! ( I'll post pics soon!) and.... my wonderful, sweet, thoughtful, creative husband got me... a brand new bike and bike trailer to carry the babies in-- it is too cute! The kiddos loved it and laughed and laughed when we took it for a "test drive" around the neighborhood - what a surprise ! Today is a crazy one and not much "computer time", so I'll and post more (with pics!) tomorrow or Wed... AND give you a great new "quick and easy" casserole recipe that is sure to be a crowd pleaser! A final thought....

" May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" Psalm 19:14 . May this be our prayer today, in all we say, do and think, even in the midst of a "manic Monday" !
Love to all- Jennifer

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day ! Here are my two sweet little mother's day presents!
Have a wonderful weekend.

Stop and smell... the combine??

We were driving home on a beautiful little 2 lane road today (clipping along a a nice speed, no traffic to speak of)... when we got behind..... a huge combine tractor going about 15 mph. Yeah. Not hard to imagine that in the rural south. My usual reaction to this (yes, has happened to me alot over the years) is to get aggravated, begin tapping my fingers on the steering wheel and start muttering under my breath until I pass the thing. My mind started in that direction, but I quickly froze when this thought came into my mind... remember little eyes are watching you. every move you make. every bad attitude... EVERYTHING... Just then, my precious little son piped up from the back " O mommy look at that really big tractor, is it a John Deere?" and then started asked a thousand questions about it, what it did, where it was going... which led into a conversation about corn, feeding cows in the winter, where the farmer lives, when do chickens sleep, do the horsies take naps like me, and various other topics - which I am sure you can imagine... We began talking about the scenery we were passing (driving through farmland) and I found myself laughing answering my little man's questions and my precious inquisitive son learned so much (he's still talking about it) all because of a tiny attitude adjustment. I was actually kind of dissappointed when I finally got a chance to pass the big ol' combine. Thank you Lord, for the wonderful reminder, and may we all be able to ... Stop and smell the combines

Photo of me and our baby girl a few months ago... she really looks like her daddy in this picture, but looks even different now!

And... a photo of hubby with our little son last fall on vacation...

What do you say?

"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who hold his tongue is wise" Prov 10:19.... How many times have we all been guilty of this.. How many times have we said (after the fact) If only I hadn't said _________.... If only I could take those words back... If only....... "But he who holds his tongue is wise." Such seemingly simple instruction, but so hard to do... at least for me. In so many situations -- Talking with my husband, with the neighbors, with people at church. So many times, if I had simply held my tongue, arguments could have been avoided, hurt feelings mended, spreading of harmful gossip stopped,.. "A man who lacks judgement derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue" Prov. 11:12. Let us heed the words in the Proverbs today and remember to ask the Lord for wisdom, who will give it freely if only we ask and remember "He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin" Prov. 13:3.
Have a great one!

On scheduling and routines.......

Soooooo... I said I would post my daily schedule, and, here it is!
7:00- 9:00
-Get up, kids up, bottle and breakfast for baby, breakfast for me and 2 year old,
-Get self dressed, kiddos dressed
-Beds made
-Dishwasher unloaded, reloaded, kitchen cleaned
-Load of clothes on to wash (Monday- Bedding, Tues. Towels/washcloths
Wed.- Kid's laundry, Thursday- mine and hubby's laundry)
9:00-10:00
-Playtime with baby girl
-Educational show/video for 2 year old
-daily cleaning (Mon.- bathrooms, Tues. dust furniture, clean mirrors and pictures, Wed.
appliances, Thurs. floors, Fri. cleaning project such as cabinets, polish silver, baseboards, etc.,
I have a different project for every Fri.)
10:00-11:00
-Naptime for baby girl
- One on One learning time for 2 1/2 year old with mommy. (Read books, do a craft, puzzles,
coloring, drawing, numbers, letters, bible verses CD, etc.)
-Finish Laundry
11:00- 2:00
- Lunch, lunch clean up, music time, play outside time and storytime
2:00-4:00
-Naptime for kiddos
-Me- daily bible reading/devotional
-Work on my daily "to do" list
-Return phone calls, computer time
-"special project" time -I have a list of projects I am trying to work through, such as catching up
on scrapbooking, photo albums, smocking, cross-stitching, etc....
4:00-5:00
-Supper prep (menus planned out weekly)
-kids playing in kitchen/ dining area while I do this, 2 year old loves to help, and I let him!
5:00-6:00
-Supper and clean up
6:00-7:30
-Baths and playtime with Daddy (Daddy does baths, too), Storytime, color time
7:30-8:00
-Brush teeth, prayers, singing, then LIGHTS OUT
8:00-11:00
-Free time and of course.......
-Mommy/Daddy time!!

This is not a RIGID schedule-- Of course, there are days when I am out doing errands, going to the grocery, shopping, etc...you know the routine.. but whenever we get back home, we just pick up where we left off, and if I miss cleaning, etc.. I just fit it in the next day... This schedule really works for us and is great for the kids. So if you don't have a schedule...... get busy and get yourself one.... and expect your stress level to plummet!

Stormy weather, schedules, screamers and supper

Stormy weather (as the old song says) has been our visitor this week, and looks like he's decided to stay another day.... Talk about an unwelcome guest...! Rain, rain and more rain... Don't get me wrong, I love a good thunderstorm every once in a while, but after a few days, I'm ready to see the SUN! We were planning to go to the park this afternoon with the kiddos, but we'll have to wait and see... the forecast says more.. Stormy weather.... owell.
The park here is a-w-e-s-o-m-e, by the way.... A huge lake with a one mile walking track, pier for fishing, gorgeous fountain, ducks to feed, big swings scattered all over and several picnic areas, and benches galore.... and.... three separate state of the art playgrounds for the children- divided by ages.... There is even an area for the baby! Unbelievable... Nature trail, as well... Just as much fun for us as for the children... (Please cooperate today weather! )
Several people have asked me about my daily routine/schedule... from other stay at home moms (how do you get everything done?) to others who have no clue ("isn't it great to stay home all day and have nothing to do??" ... like I said they have no clue..) to husbands of friends (could you please help my wife out and give her some tips?"- obviously NOT said in front of the wife! ) I will post my daily routine sometime in the near future... (maybe later today if I have the time- you know since I have nothing to do, maybe on commercial breaks during my afternoon of soap operas... What a joke!)
Our 10 month old baby girl has turned out to be *sigh* a screamer! She absolutely loves to hear herself squeal and scream... ALL DAY LONG..... high pitched, shrill.. the works. My son NEVER did this.. but many, many people have told me that it is a "girl thing" She doesn't do it because she is unhappy- they are happy screams.. and really quite comical (for about 2 minutes). Just another little baby quirk that I'm sure I look back on with fondness (there's your favorite word, Mama!) in the days to come. She is a little sweetheart though and is currently curled up taking a nap, sucking her thumb. She looks angelic with her little sweet dark curls and rosy cheeks. Like those Bessie Pease Guttman paintings, which, by the way, I have hanging in her nursery and am in the process of buying 2 more... If you have little ones, you should check them out- so old fashioned and sweet sweet sweet.
Supper tonight will be... Boneless Pork Roast, Seasoned green beans (with bacon, bullion and Italian dressing) caesear pasta salad and garlic bread. Yummy..... We may be eating early if it RAINS AGAIN!
...... Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.
Have a great one.

Favorite Quotes.....

..... From a certain 2 1/2 year old boy

"I too busy right now"
"Mama you so beyoo-full"
"I not feeling too good" (when asked to do something he didn't want to)
"This is MY baby" (in reference to baby sister)
"I very handsome and smart like my daddy"
"Is Daddy a king?"
"What does that spider eat?"
"That makes my tummy so happy!" (After eating cookies)
Oh, to be little again!

Potty talk

Potty training is *so far* going exceptionally well with my little son.... and I haven't even read any books or "how to" manuals on it!! This time, I've just gone with good, old-fashioned common sense. It seems so many times in today's world that things that are so simple and have been done for generations (such as potty training) have suddenly become complicated matters that we have to purchase manuals in order to navigate through sucessfully. Seriously, have you ever seen the massive amount of "how to" books available on the subject of potty training in bookstores and online? It's unbelievable.. everything from potty training in a day, to potty training in a year, to potty training infants. What did our parents and grandparents do without these resources...??!! Somehow they muddled through and we all turned out okay, and not scarred for life from not being "correctly" potty trained by the current "en vogue" method. My "method" has been to ask those who have been there (such as my mom and other friends) what worked and what didn't for them and implement this, as well as use common sense, and VIOLA! we have an (almost) potty trained 2 1/2 year old... ! O what fun !

Be still

Be still and know that I am God.... Be STILL and know that I am GOD.. BE STILL... Why is this so hard for me?? Why does my mind race at the speed of light and wander to my "to do" list whenever I try to be still?? How many times has God whispered this in my ear only for me to say "later Lord, I'm too busy right now" and rattle off to Him all I have to do as if he doesn't already know, and then watch my day fall to pieces around me... All because I could not BE STILL.... "and know that I am GOD" and know that he is sovereign, that I don't have to worry, that it's not all about me, that the Creator of the universe wants to have a relationship with me, that I can rejoice in his love everyday, that there is PERFECT PEACE when my mind is stayed on him, in knowing that he is GOD, he has it under control even when I am a mess, that his hands are on the wheel... There is such peace in being STILL and KNOWING...

Yay! I did it!

Okay, so I finally did it! I "created" a blog.... Not much "creating" to it, if you ask me- but I can change that later... But for now, here it is!! I am excited about keeping a web journal. I've kept journals all of my life, but I think this one will be a great way to chronicle the life of our little family. Yay for my first post!