I'm 2 T-Shirt

Our ancient camera just me load pictures to our computer, unfortunately the quality isn't that great, but at least I can add pictures. Here is a preview of the "2" shirts I've been working on, the boy version of course. Girls version to come, but I need more shirts.

Oh and I was so bummed to see a very similar idea on another blog, because it was original folks, came straight from my brain to paper. Oh well I guess great minds think alike.

Where did the time go???

Oh my goodness I have less than a month before my 1st craft show and I'm not as far along as I'd hoped to be on my sewing projects. I'm excited for the things I'll have at my booth, unfortunately many of them are not yet made, yikes. I had hoped to get all my aprons done this weekend, but I've been distracted, the good kind, by my family and wiped out by allergies, boo, both have slowed production. I have a stack of about 8 aprons I'd like to finish today. I don't know if it's possible but I'll work till midnight and then we'll see how much I've accomplished. In case you're dying to know what my little 10x10 booth will have here's my list:

• 4-Snuggly Clippy Blankets (can attach to your stroller, carseat, baby carrier (baby bjorn, ergos, etc.) I love these and wish I had one when Calvin was little. I love that they work for a variety of things so you don't have to buy different muffs for various strollers, baby carriers and car seats.
• Fabric flower hair accessories, hair clips & headbands. These turned out very cute. I have about 15 made and I'm hoping to make a few more.
  
• Diaper Bag Tags/Luggage Tags (yet to start)
  
• More Baby Booties. I'm hoping to make about 15 more in a medium size, 6 more in a size small and 10 in size large.
  
• Aprons, children's, women's & nursing (need to make about 15 more)
  
• A few t-shirts. So far I've done a "2" shirt and hope to do a "3" shirt and "1" shirt. They are pretty darn cute, I can't wait for Calvin to wear his on his birthday. I love how he can wear this after his birthday too, unlike the "It's my birthday today" shirts out there.
• Hot Pads (haven't started)
  
• Maybe some Christmas Ornaments with a place for a picture, we shall see how much Christmas fabric I have leftover after my aprons are done.
• I spy fish (thankfully I already have these made)
  

Some days, like today, this is a little overwhelming, I'm only slightly behind schedule but feel a little overwhelmed. I just hope I finish my sewing machine projects before my dad has his surgery. I guess I better get working.

We are still having computer issues and can't load any photos which stinks because I can't add anymore things to my Etsy shop until it's figured out. Anyone know of a good computer guy in Wichita for a decent price? I think it's time we take our little computer in for a check up.

Well dinner's ready so I better go feed the family!

P.S. If you know of anyone with a 10x10 foot tent I'd be very grateful if I could use it on October 3rd.

I can't wait

I'm so excited I can hardly wait. Tip Junkie is doing a swap where you send someone a few things and then they send you a few things and I've already signed up. I'm still debating about the three items I'm going to swap, but I think I'm more excited to get a package. I love surprises.

Other news we finally finished the TV show Jericho. A guy that Marvin works with let us borrow them. It has consumed our evenings and I'm very thankful to have them back again. We're not big TV watchers during the week. Most nights the TV only comes on for the news, so this show has made us a little obsessed. It was a little 24ish but not as intense, and a little more cheesy, but we liked it. Thank goodness it was only 2 seasons.

Also I officially have a business tax number/legal paper thingy. How fun is that, can you tell how clueless I am about all this. It took me a few weeks to piece all the info I was reading together I was glad to finally figure out what I officially needed. Now I need to start getting busy looking for more craft shows this fall and making more products. I have one already scheduled, but would like to do a few more.

Well I better get back to my sewing machine. I need to finish a couple more Cozy Clippy Blankets (they have clips that you can use to attach to your stroller and car seat, they can even be used for nursing cover). Once I ever figure out what is wrong with our computer I'll post some pictures.

Have a Great Weekend.

Oh the Places We Go

It's been an interesting week at our place. Marvin's dad went in for a heart Cath last Wednesday and found out he needed quadruple bypass surgery and a valve replaced. So the next day he went in for surgery. It's amazing what doctors are able to do, I'm so thankful for the skills of surgeons. All went well and his dad is recovering at home. Marvin made the drive for the surgery and then came back home to work on Friday. We all drove up to Lincoln on Saturday, stayed the night and then stopped in BR for a while before we headed home. It was a great time with family and was good to see Marvin's dad laughing and enjoying his family. I'm so thankful for the family I married into, I couldn't have asked for a better family. Calvin had a blast playing with his cousins and seeing grandpa and grandma. It's pretty fun to see how much he loves them and remembers them. Yesterday we were looking at a picture of his cousins taken last summer (before his new cousin was born) and he said "Baby, Go?" When translated he means, "where's my baby cousin?" Even though he hasn't really paid much attention to her, she's made an impression on him.

On Saturday we were able to go to Yoder, an Amish community near Wichita. They were having a festival and it is certainly a place we would like to go back to. I was drooling over the fabric in the fabric store, unfortunately most of them were out of my price range. Marvin and I are both intrigued by Amish life. I however could never do it, but there is something to be said about living a simple life. Seeing this little community made me ponder this question a lot more recently: How do we live in the world but not a part of the world?

I had to add this picture in here because it was Calvin's first pudding pop. He loved it and ate every last bit of it. He's been into using a napkin recently and as you can tell he's very good at smearing everything across his face as oppose to cleaning his face with it. He's a pro at using a cup now, but still begs for his sippy cup. It's hard to believe he's going to be 2 in a month and a half. He's not my baby any longer, I'm enjoying him as he grows even if it is faster than I want him to.

Updates on Life

I made it through the "I'm so sore I can barely move" phase of this 30 day shred. It's a great workout and I can already tell it is working. My dilemma now is that I don't know how much to keep running. I didn't run at all last week, but I really don't want to get out of shape. Any tips?


Other exciting news is that my dad has been approved for a transplant!!! His doctors expect him to receive a call any day now. They told him two weeks ago that most patients receive a call within a month once they are on high priority. It's very exciting and scary at the same time. So we'll be heading to KC when we get the magic call. I should probably prepare a few bags. However we're very seasoned when it comes to packing in a hurry.


I also signed up to do my first craft show October 3rd. I'm very excited, now I need to get busy sewing. I have some fun things in store. Speaking of sewing I am so excited to have my own craft space now!! Sure it's in the laundry room but I now have a desk so I don't have to keep taking my machine and everything off the dining room table. You have no idea how excited I am. The really cool thing is I picked this up for $2.00 at a garage sale this weekend.


I really hit the jackpot this at a city wide garage sale. It was unreal, there were people everywhere and garage sales everywhere, it was like garage sale heaven! I walked away with a few things I was looking for and a few steals too. Marvin wasn't too excited when he saw my loot when I returned. He's just thinking of everything we'll have to sell, but nothing I purchased will go unused these next few months.

Lastly my little bro just landed his first real job! Way to go Mr. Architectural Engineer! We can't wait to visit him in Houston.

That's it for the updates. I hope you have a great day.

I don't know what I'm in for?

But I think I'm going to be pretty sore this August. I'm pumped to tone up though! Bring it on Jillian!

Something to get excited about

FABRIC!

I found the sweetest fabric yesterday. I've been planning on making Calvin a duvet cover for his big boy bead whenever we move overseas. I have loved the brown, teal, green color combo and finally found my inspiration piece, the pear print. This is the pattern I'm making. It looks easy enough. I've got a good start but I still need 5 more different fabrics. I think I am going to have fun browsing on etsy.

This weekend was really good for my heart. We headed to OK for our annual family reunion at the lake. I was able to get out and enjoy the water while Calvin took a nap. I had some fun on the jet ski with my cousin, just like old times, although we aren't nearly as daring now. It was nice to get away, not cook anything all weekend and spend it with family.

Calvin loved the water, although he's a bit intimidated by it at first. Thankfully there was nice little pool on the shore he had a blast stomping and splashing, throwing rocks. Today I asked him if he wanted to go outside and play in the water and he went to the door and grabbed his life jacket hanging on the coat rack. As we left we barely made it 10 feet before this is what we saw, out for the count. It made the 4 1/2 hour trip much more pleasant when he slept for almost half of it.

Want to Win an Apron?

I'm giving away an apron this week at my blog Effortless Savings. Visit here to enter my giveaway. It's pretty simple to enter, all you have to do is comment on my giveaway post.





I also posted a few aprons I've made in my Etsy Shop, mostly children's aprons. They are ready to be purchased and sent. These are by far one of my favorite things I have made. I have some other fun ideas for little boy aprons floating through my head, a few of them have made it to paper and a few are still in my head. I can't wait to get started on them. This week I must finish the projects I've already started though. I can't wait to show you the fabric flower hair accessories I've been busy making for the last several weeks! As always if you have an idea for something you would like made, I'd be glad to help you out.



Also I'm so excited to do some craft shows this fall. I just got an email today with info for one the beginning of October here in Wichita. It looks like my evenings will be busy sewing away!


I have seriously considered getting a part time job. We didn't plan being here these extra months and Marvin wasn't able to get very many hours last winter and since half of the people Marvin works with were laid off last week we are thinking it would be a good time to build up that savings account. We haven't quite decided how to go about this. If I find a job during the day then we'll need childcare and that plays a big factor in our decision. If I find a job working at night then I'll won't hardly see Marvin. AGHHHH, this isn't fun. Our best option is doing childcare, so if you know of anyone in Wichita looking for childcare! I'm your girl. I can watch no more than 2 kids, since we don't have transportation that can take more than 2. I seriously think I'm going to be exhausted come March.

Anyway keep praying for us. We've had some great family time recently and keep clinging to Jesus during this time of unknowns. I guess we are really being stretched in how much we trust Father for our provision right now.

Learning to Find Joy in Him!

Romans 5:5

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Well I feel like I've just been walloped again. Waiting is never easy and we've been waiting a while to go back to Nineveh. We were so pumped and excited about the thought of getting back this year. Our timeline had been pushed back a couple of months due to the lack of funds for us to go but we were okay with November, but yesterday we found out it will be even later, March. WOW was this news hard to hear.

Marvin broke the news to me over dinner last night and I pretty much just cried the entire time we were at the table. I was thankful that Calvin was in the mood to give lots of hugs because I really needed it. I was able to go for a long jog last night and gave me some good time in prayer. I was really faced with an issue of contentment, and learning to be content in the circumstances God has placed me in for the moment. Honestly I haven't really been content, I've been looking forward to returning to Nineveh and it seems that is what I have been living for. But that isn't what God has asked of me, instead rather to live for him daily and to die to myself daily. OUCH.

There are so many unknowns right now, housing??? jobs??? I know Father has provided for us in amazing ways before but we might have to make some hard decisions and the thought of going back to work kills me. So we'd love it if you could take a moment and lift up our situation to the One who already knows what's in store for us the next few months.

Thanks you guys are awesome!

An EVENTFUL weekend

This past weekend was just one of those weekends we'll remember forever. We spend the entire weekend with Marvin's folks. It was such a blessing to meet our newest niece and she certainly is a cutie. She has such feminine features and just melts your heart. Calvin was so sweet with the baby and even wanted to hold her. Of course he had to give her plenty of kisses.



We had a good time seeing 2 of Marvin's brothers and their families. Calvin always has such a fun time playing with his cousins. I've been so thankful for this time of being close, it's things like seeing Calvin play with his cousins and grandparents that make it tough to leave. It's hard to believe Calvin will be 5 during our next stateside time.

The weather was so beautiful this weekend we spent lots of time outside. The fair was in town and Marvin's mom was busy with Parents as Teachers. We took Calvin to the fair on Sunday before we headed home and he was so excited. He loved the animals and had a blast in the little kids play area. He loved the petting zoo and was beaming from ear to ear when he got to ride a pony.


Marvin and I both ran in a race this weekend, the Barnyard Boogie (isn't that a clever name). Marvin ran the 10K and I ran the 2 mile with Calvin. The 2 mile was half on pavement and half on gravel and the gravel killed me pushing Calvin. Part of it was up a small hill and I thought I was going to die. I finished in 21 minutes, so not too bad. I had hoped to finish in less than 20 minutes but that stroller added a few minutes to my time. Since it has been hot I haven't been running with Calvin, so I had forgotten how much more of a work out it adds. Marvin finished the 10K in 47 minutes, it would have been faster but he ran with me the 1st mile!!! He did great and Calvin was cheering him on at the finish line. He was so excited to see him and kept yelling YEAH GO DADDY! It was so sweet. Since it was a part of the fair we got ribbons I finished 1st for my age group and recieved my first blue ribbon since field day in grade school, Marvin finished second in his age group, he had more competiton than I did. It's also my first fair ribbon ever. I really want to run a 10K before we go back, but I need to step up my training before I'm going to be able to do that.




To end the weekend Calvin had his first Happy Meal, which Marvin ate most of. It's only the second time we've been to McDonalads since we've been back and usually when we go out to eat Calvin just shares something we get. He was more intrigued with the happy meal box. I wonder if they will just give you one of those if you don't order the kids meal. He's not very good at eating fast food and I'm okay with that.

Sorry about the sideways video, not sure how to fix it.

Mommy Mental Health Days

Can I just tell how great Marvin is!!! The week before last really took a toll on me, by the end of the week I was about to cry every time I had to discipline Calvin because it was constant, he was relentless. It just breaks my heart to see him disobey. He's certainly testing his limits right now and Marvin and I have had some great discussion due to it, but it's hard and I can see how easy it can be to just give up.


So when Saturday arrived I was desperate for some help. (Marvin's worked a lot of long hours recently and usually gets home in time for dinner then we put Calvin down for bed.) What a sweetie to give me a whole day to do as I pleased. He took Calvin out to run errands in the morning then put him down for nap, after nap he took him outside to play in the sprinkler. It was such a joy to relax, take a shower without a little boy knocking on the door. Read my bible without feeling rushed. Beautiful.

This week I hired a neighbor girl to come watch Calvin for a couple of hours while I cleaned our carpets. It was such a productive time and worth the money out of our tight budget. It was nice to get some things done so that I can be a part of family time when we do have time together, instead of cleaning.


After having a couple mommy mental health days I highly recommend one for everyone else. I've decided moms need one. So don't hesitate to ask, sometimes we aren't so great at that.


I've learned I have more to give my family because Marvin gave me some time to myself. Being a mom is something that I will always treasure, but don't forget to pamper yourself every now and then.


And just for kicks here's a video of Calvin that I took during our lunch time prayer last week. His "amen" is getting much better, but I just love how eager he is to grab his fork the second he hears that word.

Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Birthday Dad. I hope you had a great day. Sorry for our lack of posting this earlier, it's VBS week so we've been busy. I promise to make you a homemade cherry pie the next time we see you. I hope you enjoy your gift: that your grandson said grandpa before he said grandma, shhh it will be our little secret, don't tell mom.

We love you so much. Thanks for all the support over the years. Praying for you today!

oh the joys of parenting a toddler

Calvin doesn't really make a great shopping buddy these days. I headed out to Kohl's this week and was constantly taking clothes out of his mouth. Seriously I don't know why he enjoys it so much. He also loved grabbing every shirt sleeve he could reach. I should have known better than to push the stroller through the jewelry section. Mr. Grabby caught this one and sure enough broke it. I was so bummed because I had to buy this ugly necklace. At least it wasn't completely destroyed, he only ripped off two rows of beading. I think it will make a nice dress up necklace for a certain cousin. What do you think?

We've been having a rough week around here, Calvin is testing us big time. Today I was exhausted. We had a great morning he was quite obedient, but due to the sweet little guy only taking a 30 minute nap today we had a rough afternoon. I was working on my VBS room and needed to get some things done, he wanted my attention and I couldn't give it to him and thus major lashing out which occurred the entire time I was working on my room: turning over chairs marking on toys, throwing toys on the ground and the one that makes me really mad: hitting me. Seriously what do you do when a child hits you? At home we just march him to timeout, which is his crib or pack and play, but in public what do you do? We haven't gone the spanking route, and it also seems a little backwards to spank when he's hitting. It's frustrating and hard to see such sin at a young age and we desperately want to train him up by the truths of scripture. But it's so hard, please be praying for me that I would be given the knowledge to know what to do. I also wanted to seek our your opinions, what have you done that has worked? I'd be happy to take any suggestions.

Oh and this evening Marvin mentioned possibly going golfing tomorrow at which I promptly said "No, not this weekend please". Calvin needs some daddy time this weekend, and this mama needs a little break. My sweet husband then said, maybe I can take Calvin to the play place at the mall. I'm looking forward to spending some time digging into the Word in a quiet house. Beautiful!

Fun on the Farm

This year was the first year in a long time that all my family has been able to make it to the farm for the 4th. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family and to be a part of such deep traditions. My grandpa lives in the same house he was born in and loves to tell everyone about it. He's very proud of his family and the work that it took to keep the farm running and in the family.

We had a lot of fun laughing and Calvin enjoyed being out on the farm. He's truly an outdoor kid. Give him sticks, rocks and dirt (or soil as Marvin would say) and he's a content kiddo, add in a few dogs, toads and tractors and the boy's on cloud nine. Last year Calvin was asleep during all the festivities but this year he got to stay up and do his own fireworks, snappers. He gave those snappers a whole 2 minutes before he was on to something else.

He wasn't afraid of the fireworks but it took him a while to figure out to look up instead of looking at the tube. The thing that captured his attention was a glow stick bracelet his Uncle Greg brought. It's really such a brilliant idea, give kids something that glows so that you know where they are. That thing entertained him for a good hour.

Here are so of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

I have a picture of my mom and Calvin near this flag last year. It's fun to get a picture of my dad and him this year. (Yes most of my family dresses for the occasion, I used to think it was really cheesy but now I kinda like it.)

We attempted a little photo shoot, mainly to try and get a good family picture. Calvin isn't an easy one to photograph, one of these days we will manage to get a family shot we are pleased with.

This is the outfit Calvin wore last year. It's hard to believe that he was about this stage last year, only less chubby. Time sure does fly by.

Poor thing was up way past his bedtime, it was 11:00 when we finally got in our car to head out, he was out in no time once we finally got moving. He decided to tackle me when we were finished with fireworks. It was like he knew it was time for something else.

Calvin got to help with one sparkler.

Finished Projects

It's been a while since I've posted some of my finished projects. I've been creating off and on since the last time I posted pictures. I took a little break, but I'm eager to get back to some more productive sewing.


I think I posted one picture of my "just like Daddy" apron, but here it is up close. I think it would fit a 3-5 year old. It's a little big on Calvin.


Here's my first applique that involved curved lines. I love how it turned out. This is the best picture I have of Calvin wearing it. He carried this play strawberry around the whole afternoon. Whenever I would try to get a picture of him he'd pop it in his mouth. I finally gave up.

I'm so pumped about my new pool/beach bag. I fell in love with the print on this tea towel and I've finally got around to making my bag. I lined it in waterproof material, PUL, so it's a perfect summer bag. I have one more towel and plan on making another one this week. I think I'll add a couple of pockets on the inside next time around.

This is Marvin's Father's Day present. I've been wanting to do a sillouette of Calvin for a while. Father's Day was the pefect excuse, and of course the phrase is Uppercase Living!
Finally this is my wet bag for wet clothes & eventually cloth diapers. I'm waiting my diaper covers to be delivered. The ones I bought with the cloth diapers are the snap kind and I have an extremely busy guy who doesn't sit well for diaper changes, so I ordered some with velcro. I know they don't last as long but for our sanity they were necessary. These and these are what I ordered, I choose these because they are adjustable and can be used as your child grows. Now I can't wait till Marvin installs my diaper sprayer. I found this tutorial on how to make your own.

Let the cloth diaper wearing begin.

28 is Great

Friday was my birthday and I'm one year closer to 30. Now I really don't mind getting older and hope I handle getting gray hair well. Marvin and I have had this conversation plenty of times about dying my hair when I start to go gray. He's against it, but I told him that where we are going it's cultural so why not! I hope we don't have to cross that bridge for a while, but if I do I'll keep you posted.

I had a great birthday. Calvin and I did our usual Friday things but we stopped for lunch at Braum's. It's always a nice treat eating out for lunch. We've done it twice in the last month and I'm almost positive that those are the only 2 times we have done that this year.

Marvin took me to a nice restaurant downtown called Bel Ami for dinner, while Calvin got to hang with his buddy. It was nice sitting down in a relaxing restaurant without having to entertain Calvin. Our dinner was amazing I had a salmon dish and Marvin had a veal dish, both things we never buy or order. It was quite a treat for sure.

No presents this year, we're saving up for some big purchases in our near future. I have my eye on a 220 volt Kitchenaid mixer, (big sigh). The bad news is they are twice as expensive as the ones for America. So anyone want to buy any of my Etsy creations? I'm really going to start stepping up my sewing in hopes it can bring in some extra income to help with some of these purchases. So if you have always wanted something made just let me know I'd be glad to help. Of course I'm very reasonable in my pricing.

We ended the evening enjoying some soft cookies and watching Second Chance Harvey. It was very good and very tasteful in my opinion. It's so nice to watch a movie without having to fast forward through unnecessary scenes. It did have some language but no cover your eyes moments.

I'm so thankful for all the wonderful friends and family in my life. It's so fun to think back over the past 28 years and see the abundance of blessings He has brought in my life. You guys rock!

Update

We had a great time at our interviews, although I now think I need to lose 10 lb. instead of 5. (They fed us well, and who can turn down cheesecake? I guess I need to work on self control.) We were given another green light and it's not a matter if we will go overseas, it's a matter of when. Like everyone else they've had a loss of giving and right now they are trying to determine when we can go. We hope to know more in July.

Initially this news was hard to take, although it wasn't surprising. It's hard being in a holding place. But I was reminded today that it doesn't matter where we are at my purpose is the same. So whether we leave in October, November or next March I'm asking for peace that passes all understanding.

We are so thankful we are home and can sleep in our own beds. It was great to see Calvin again and I was pleased to see he was happy to see us too. He's been a little more clingy but I think I needed extra time holding him. Yesterday we had a great time loving up on Marvin. Biscuits and Gravy for breakfast (yes even though we got home at 2:15 a.m.), Papa Johns for lunch, naps in the afternoon and we ended the day with a round of mini golf. It required some effort playing with Calvin. He enjoyed the first two holes, but the next 16 holes it was a game of distraction and trying to keep him out of the water features. I'm so thankful that Calvin has such a great Daddy.

His favorite part of his first golfing experience.......splashing in the water.

Just Humor Us

We are having a great time meeting lots of great people this week. But I definately miss playing these games with a sweet little boy the Lord has entrusted to us.

We love you Sweet Boy

Calvin,
Have a good time with Aunt Angie and Uncle Allen this week. We miss you and love you.

See you Saturday!
Mama & Daddy

Just like Daddy

Calvin loves to put on Marvin's bike helmet he thinks it's pretty funny. Last week I picked up a bike seat at a garage sale and this week we found a helmet! I can't wait to get my bike from my mom and take Calvin out for a spin. He loves it when Marvin lets him sit on his bike. I think he's going to love going for a bike ride.


Calvin also insisted on modeling a necklace I got today. He's such a goof. I'm already about to cry at the thought of leaving him for a whole week, even though he is going to have so much fun.

All in a Days Work

Sometimes people ask me the question "What do you do all day?" Sometimes I feel a little at a loss for what do say. Sometimes I'm a bit offended by the question but I'll borrow a line from Pride and Prejudice, "It's such a pleasure running my own home Lizzie." I love my job and I have enjoyed loving my family by taking care of them. Yesterday was one of those days where I was focused on getting as much done as possible. Here's my day in review.

I started the day working on housework. It seems like weekends I'm not very motivated to stay tidy(not that I am very tidy during the week, I just work on it more). I guess I want to spend time together rather than boring housework. So I woke up to a sink full of dishes and a dishwasher full of clean dishes. It's been a few days since I've had an empty sink. Doesn't she look pretty? Since Calvin was being mesmerized by Dora I had time to sweep and mop the floor and boy did it need it.

Once I finished cleaning up the kitchen. I moved on to the recycling. I usually toss all of it in a giant bag and then sort it later, it was time to take the plastics and newspaper and i was happy to see the bins were back at Dillons. It's been taken in and out of the car so many times the past week because the bins weren't there and we needed the trunk space.

Next I put the laundry away. All of it, which left me with empty baskets. Always a beautiful site. Calvin enjoyed helping put his socks away and as soon as the baskets were empty he was off pushing them around the house.

I took a little break and played with Calvin on our bed. Am I bad mom if I let him jump? Hope not because he loves it.

We had lunch. Leftovers from Sunday. I love leftover lunches. We read books and I put Calvin down for nap and then it was time for me to get back to work.

I took the stack of clothes winter clothes I pulled from my drawers earlier and packed them away in a suitcase. Then added another basketful of clothes to the garage sale pile. I seriously don't have very many clothes, but it's amazing at how many of them I never wear. Most I've picked up at garage sales, but still I was amazed.

Next I organized my coupons. I hadn't done it in over a week, so I had two Sundays worth of coupons plus all the ones I've gotten in the mail. It feels much better when they are all in their places.

Next I finalized my grocery list and pulled needed coupons for my grocery run.

I piddled on the computer until Calvin woke up (which was probably only 20 minutes).

I gave Calvin a snack and we were off to do our Dillons, Walgreens & Aldi run. We came back put everything away. Calvin and I did a few puzzles before Marvin got home.

Then Marvin took Calvin out for a little jog and I finished dinner and piddled on the Internet.

We ate dinner, Calvin took a bath, read his Bible then put him to bed.

I ran to Target and picked up a couple of things we needed for our trip, and finished a few sewing projects that I had yet to finish. Which included: my latest preschool apron, a pouch for the diaper bag, a taggie crinkle baby toy, hemmed a few things, added a strap to Calvin's swimming hat and some Velcro to a padding thing that goes with his car seat.

I took a long shower. Snuggled up with my Bible, read a few chapters and then it was time for bed.

Now most days are not like this and I am very thankful, but it feels good to do this every now and then.

Eight is Great

I've been tagged. This was a lot of fun and spured some fun conversations with Marvin.

Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Next week's interviews. I'm not looking forward to being away from Calvin all week, but looking forward to the time with others with the same heart and share what God has laid on our hearts for our future.
2. Going back home to Nineveh and introducing Calvin to some dear friends and hopefully going deeper in relationships.
3. Communicating in another language once again. We desperately need to get somewhere where we are surrounded by it again.
4. The arrival of our newest niece or nephew the end of this month.
5. Reunions this summer family & FOCUS!
6. 4th of July on the farm.
7. Taking Calvin swimming this summer.
8. Seeing what God is going to teach me during this time of preparation to go back overseas.



Eight Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Church
2. Made a blanket for a baby shower gift
3. Went to a Baby Shower
4. Had a cookout with our small group
5. Watched a great Kansas storm
6. Snuggled and read books with a cute little guy.
7. Took a long hot shower
8. Fell asleep in my hubby's arms



Eight Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Play the guitar. I'm trying to learn, but it's been very slow.
2. Be Tidy. Regardless of how hard I try, thing tend to get messy in a hurry. Especially when I'm cooking.
4. Paint, as in art kind not rooms.
5. Put the laundry away as soon as it is finished.
6. Play the piano, I wished I stuck with it.
7. Wake up early
8. Be more disciplined in regards to journaling and scripture memorization



Eight Shows I Watch:
1. The Office
2. Amazing Race
3. Biggest Loser
4. The News, if I'm not asleep
5. So You Think You Can Dance
6. Dora, Calvin's favorite right now
7. ? (Seriously I haven't watched TV since our shows ended in May)
8 ?

Eight Favorite Fruits:
1. Strawberries
2. Watermelon
3. Blueberries
4. Pineapple
5. Peaches
6. Plums
7. Grapes
8. Kiwi


Eight Places I've Lived:
1. Emporia, KS
2. K-State Dorms
3. Various apartments in Manhattan, Kansas
4. Virgina
5. apartment in "Nineveh"
6. "The fortress" in a village outside of "Nineveh"
7. Istanbul
8. Wichita, KS



Eight Places to Visit:
1. Italy
2. Africa: Safari & Mt. Kilimanjaro
3. Hawaii
4. Upper NW (Washington, Oregon)
5. WWII sites in Europe
6. 7 Churches tour in Turkey
7. China again
8. India

So I'm going to tag the following:
Marie, Carrie, Jamie, Janae (I'm pretty sure you have a blog), Amanda, Kim

I can't wait to see your lists!

Unstoppable

Amazing. I saw this yesterday and it's made such an impression on me. It's such a neat picture of how a movement can begin. True some may think you are crazy at first, question what you are doing, but keep dancing. Keep doing what God has asked you to do and soon others can't help to but to join in. I also love that this guy didn't dance in his house, he took a risk, put himself out there. So what are you waiting for start dancing..........(metaphorically speaking of course, you can dance if you want.)

Workin on that last 5

I feel like I've hit a wall recently. I've really been trying to get to my pre-Calvin weight but I've plateaued. Why is it that 5 pounds is so hard to lose? I'm going to call this summer operation vanish 5, we will see if I'm successfull or not. I'm working on training for a 10K, but I think I need to bring some more strength training back into my work out routine.

Some days jogging goes well and other days I think there is no way I'm going to be ready to run a 10 K in July. Right now I am able to run about 2 1/2 miles pushing Calvin in the jogging stroller before I feel like I need to walk, so I think I'd be able to run around 3 miles right now. It looks like I'm half way there. Each week I'm slowly adding another 1/2 mile to my training, so we will see how it goes.

Now if only I could get out of bed and run before Calvin wakes up. Maybe the summer heat will be my motivation.

Sweet Family Time

Thanks for the input about my new style! I'm getting it cut on Saturday, the jury is still out but it's either going to be #1 or #3, we'll see what I decide on Saturday.

We had such a wonderful weekend. It was busy but we were so blessed be near family. Marvin's parents came down for a visit and we had a great time with them.

It has been fun being close to family this past year and it is neat to see Calvin adore both sets of grandparents. I grew up very close to both of my grandparents and it was something I have really struggled with in regards to moving half way around the world. It truly has been a sweet time for Calvin to get to know his extended family. I'm learning to cherish the times we have now because in a few short months we will be relearning how to do this from afar.

He was so excited to have guests this weekend that he didn't rest much. His nights were over early because he was ready to play with grandma and grandpa and even though he was exhausted nap times were shortened. He certainly doesn't want to miss out on anything.

The following are a few pictures of our weekend:

Here's my little helper. Anytime the flour comes out he thinks he needs to help. He helped make some pita bread. It was the first time Grandma and Grandpa had gyros, they thought they were yummy.

We found this Dora book at a garage sale on Thursday and Calvin has carried it around the house ever since. He's quite smitten with Dora too and begs to watch "Dorda". I think we've found a good routine, Dora in the morning after breakfast and getting dressed but he sure tries to watch more throughout the day. Thankfully we also found several other Dora things at garage sales that appease him. He went from not caring at all about TV to wanting to watch it all the time. Yikes.

Grandma got to be a part of Calvin's first swim/splash of the year. He treats his pool as a giant puddle, but I guess it's more puddlish than poolish. Now if I could only figure out how to lure this little boy back inside. Ummm, any suggestions, anything is better than kicking and screaming.

Marvin and Harry went to the state track meet on Saturday while Kathy and I hung out with Calvin all day. We had to get one picture before they headed home. Thanks for coming down to see us. Calvin had so much fun. He's a luck little boy to have so many people who love him.