1 WEEK!!!!

I had a slight feeling of panic as I went to my hair appointment this morning and realized we are leaving in 1 WEEK. ONE WEEK PEOPLE we have so much to do. It seems like every day we think of something else we need to get done. Thankfully we were able to check so much off of our to do list yesterday, but also had to add several more things to it. I'm just trying to remain calm, and trying to put myself in bed at a decent hour too. Getting sick is the last thing we need right now.

We decided to eliminate two of our suitcases so this means we're back to square one and square one can't be started until Friday, since all of our bags are at Marvin's folks house. I guess black Friday will have an entirely different meaning for us. We really do want to enjoy our last days with family so let's just hope we can get everything done on Friday when we'll be back at Marvin's parents house. We already have a mental list of what we are taking out of our suitcases, but we'll see if it totals up to 100 lbs. We just don't want to be killed with baggage fees when we get to our flight to Nineveh. We'll be having an overnight pit stop, flights to our city cannot be purchased from the states and this means the airlines cannot route them to our final destination. In short it means we have to check all our bags again and pay for them again, so we're just praying we're not going to be pounded by fees (sometimes they do that). Thankfully there is storage at the airport and we won't have to luggage 12 suitcases to where we are staying for the night.

I hope to conclude my sewing projects this evening. I'll post some pictures tomorrow, I promise. I've finished two aprons, started two more, and am about to finish Calvin's duvet cover here during nap time. I still have a couple more Christmas presents to finish up today and because I'm crazy decided to make some baby legs for Calvin out of long socks. Kids must wear tights there, but I'm going to bend that rule and use baby legs instead.

So I guess I better get to work, rather than waste time blogging.

P.S. Anyone know how to get the music from your ipod to your computer? I've seen lots about how to do it the opposite way but since the little punks stole our computer we can't do it that way. Any thoughts? It would save us hours of loading Cds.

What a Rock Star

It's been so amazing to see Father's hand in all the events surrounding our return. Most recently we were granted visas. You have no idea how nervous we were about that step but once again it's all in his timing and we are privileged to be able to return at this time. PTL!

Another huge answer has been our housing. Thankfully he's opened up the door for us to live here! I can't wait. Our timeline is clicking away tomorrow we leave in 2 weeks! Awesome. Our God certainly Rocks.

Love It! (With lots of exclaimations points)

Lots to be thankful for today!!

We offically have VISAS!!! We can be officially ticketed on Monday for our December 1st flight!
We have 8 bags packed, at weight and ready to go!!!

We got our pictures back from our photographer. She did a beautiful job. If you are in the Wichita area I highly recommend her. She was professional but very laid back and with a 2 year old you have to just go with the flow. Thank you so much Pampering Beki! (She also has the sweetest jewlery for sale, she's quite a talented gal.)

For those of you who I haven't contact via facebook and want to be a part of our update team please send me your contact info including your home address. Since our computer was stolen we lost all that info. Our email is our last name@pobox.com

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

When life gets stressful....why not take a sewing break

Seriously folks I have about a million projects to finish while I still have my beloved sewing machine. Those of you who sew know how funny we seamstresses are about our sewing machines. I know the speed it will go if I press the peddle a certain way. I know all of it's unique characteristics, she's become a great part of our family. Even though I can get a new one overseas, she'll be missed.

So here are a few projects I whipped up in the moving process. They were for my trade secret swap partner. Since it's not a secret anymore I'll share them.

I experimented with scalloped edges! I love them. I have a few sketches in my mind that I'm dreaming up for the aprons left to complete. It will come as no surprise to a few of you that most of my Christmas gifts will be aprons this year. I'm also working on a few matching pot holders too. I know I'm nuts but apparently I thrive in chaos.

I'm really hoping the packing process will end today and while we're in E-town I can focus on the a few fun projects including a couple quilt tops I'm turning into duvets (I promise they are very simple quilt tops.) Among the Christmas gifts I'm working on.

May the packing end so I can do something fun for a change.

What's it worth to ya?

My my, I forgot how much I dislike packing. I can pull together a weekend bag in a snap, but when it comes to moving half way around the world with only a few suitcases that's where I start to get a little frazzled. I had a little melt down over my sugar, tea and coffee containers. They just didn't make the cut. I know we can get that kind of stuff there, but I really loved them.

We're trying to thin our bags at this point and man is that a tough thing to do. We're making the hard calls right now, today I pulled the Velveeta because what good is Velveeta without any chips. I talked to the airline and we get 6 free bags between the three of us. Every bag after that is $250 each, plus another couple hundred a piece for our second leg of our trip. Thankfully we're graciously given the funds to compensate for that. It's given a better direction to our packing. It makes us evaluate how valuable each item is in our suitcase. So what would you take? I'm curious!

The Winner is....

Green!

I finally ordered her and am so pumped about having her in my life. I also bought the slicer/shredder attachment, so watch out Central Asia here we come. We'll be whipping up all sorts of homemade goodies.

I went with green because well we move alot and and decided it would be easier to work around a green kitchen aid than a red one. I really love it and am so happy with my decision. Sorry to disappoint those of you who loved the red one. It was a close call. I can't wait for it to arrive! Oh I also ordered a 220 Volt crockpot, seriously so excited, now here comes the hard part, getting it to Central Asia in one piece.

Goodbyes Stink

You'd think we'd be used to saying goodbye. It's something we've done a ton of the past few years. It's a part of the life God has desired for us. Even though we've done it a ton it's never easy.

We were so blessed by so many people at Tyler Road who really opened their hearts to us. They loved our son and watched him grow from a baby into a little boy. They were with us and were patient with us as we adjusted back to fellowship in America (it still is hard). They've become a sweet part of our hearts and I'm thankful for the time he's give us together.

There are also sweet friends we'd love to have more time with. Some of which we hope we can even meet before we leave.

There's the special people we see on a daily basis. (don't laugh but Hobby Lobby has been a big part of our life, and "set" really is special to Calvin.)

Then there's this one goodbye which brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. Our friends, who are closer than anyone we know, they've been our family for the past four years. It's sort of ironic we moved on Halloween because we started this journey together 4 years ago exactly as we headed off to training together.

Over the past four years we've been through so much together. Gotten rolled over by the Djamilla truck our first day of language, laughed until we cried at things we said, did or by deep thoughts. Been broken hearted for friends together. We get each other, been through a ton, even lived together as we both had newborns! And still love each other like crazy.

They've been a huge blessing over the past year and a half. It was such a relief that in the midst of all the craziness surrounding our return to the states that Dan and Jamie would be in Wichita. We could laugh about flannel shirts, reminisce about the good times in Nineveh and be sad together that we weren't there. We've watched our boys grow up together become best buds. I love seeing Calvin's face light up when he sees his best buddy. I love how his loves his Aunt Jamie and Uncle Dan.

It's going to be odd traveling overseas and not having our "teammates" there. So I am thankful for them, what they have meant in our lives, but also thankful that God is one who sees our hearts also comforts us in those tough goodbyes.

We love you guys and are excited to see what God has planned in each of our lives and how he grows our friendships through the years.

Birthday Bash

Calvin had a great party a couple weeks ago. We were blessed to have some many people who have been such a huge part of Calvin's life in our home. Things were a bit tight but we made do.

We went with a Sesame Street Theme because that's Calvin's love right now. The cupcakes turned out really cute and Calvin was so excited when he woke up to find Elmo, Cookie Monster and Grover on the counter.

I didn't do a lick of decorating, just plain ran out of time. For me that was huge, I love to have everything perfect, but lately decided that it's better for me to just concede and go to bed, rather than have a grumpy momma with cute decorations. I'm working on it.

Meet Grover, Elmo & Cookie Monster

They were very simple, cuz I'm not very talented in the area of cake decorating. Although I've always wanted to give it a try. My mom made our cakes growing up and I'd love to do the same for Calvin.

Sesame Street Over took our counter! I made 40 cupcakes and all but 4 were consumed the day of the party. We had a lot of people at our house.

The Play Zone

Calvin had a blast playing with his pals and cousins. The balloons were a big hit. I have been so thankful for this huge play room right off the kitchen. It was nice for the kids to have a place to play.

Present Time

Even though we specifically said no presents. Everyone blessed Calvin by helping to replace all his DVDs that were stolen. It's amazing he had no duplicates!

It's a neat picture to see most of the people who've meant so much to Calvin all in one room. We are blessed.


I still can't believe two years went by so quickly! I'm certainly enjoying all the snuggle time and hugs I can get right now, before we know it we'll be sending him off to college.

Yet Another Reason I Love ETSY!

Calvin's hat came!!! It's too stinkin' cute! I love shopping on Etsy, but trust me once you start you'll be hooked.

Choices, Choices

Well I hope to order my Kitchen Aid this week, thanks to many of you! Now it's time for to choose a color. This is the hard part! Here's what I'm choosing between.

I love this green. It's calming and sweet. It reminds me of a good friend your always glad to see.
Here a nice sleek chrome. It looks ultra modern and would be fun to have around my kitchen. It seems sophisticated and I'd feel blessed to use it every time. (not sure how well it would clean, how to keep it nice and shiny because let's face it I'm a messy cook, anyone have one like this?)

Lastly Empire Red. Need I say more. It's sassy and a pop of color and I LOVE red, but is my kitchen ready for this princess? It would make me happy just looking at it.

I'm so torn I love all of them. They all have a different feel to them. What would you choose?

blog question

anybody know how to get the cutest blog on the block template off my blog. I tried to edit my html and it's still on here.

I'm not sure what to do next.

Thanks

25 cents

Whelp today is the last day of our garage sale and we've done quite well. It's amazing how much stuff we had accumulated in the year and a half we've been stateside. Thankfully now others get a chance to use it. I definitely couldn't have done it without my mother-in-law. She was here this week when Marvin was still working. She watched Calvin all day long, did the same puzzle about a millions times, listened to his Sesame music about a million times on top of all the garage sale stuff. She's really awesome.

I decided garage sales are just an interesting place. You'll meet all sorts of people each with their own stories. It was fun to see a mix of people. It was fun to hear some of their stories and I am glad they now have a piece of our lives. We've been so blessed by complete strangers and by some we know. They have been so giving I tear up just thinking about it. One guy asked where we were moving, once he found out he then handed me $20.00. He went to his car and came back with a $100 bill. What a blessing, and he had no idea that we had just lost several things in a home invasion. God certainly is good. I do want to be able to do that someday, bless the socks off of people.

It's weird selling everything, I'm not sad it's just odd. It's interesting how objects sometimes take on some emotional value in our lives. I was glad to see Calvin's trains go to a grandma with lots of grand kids. Stuff like that have been funny to me because it's just stuff. Overall I'm quite relieved it's out of our house. The preparation was slightly overwhelming, but now that we've gotten rid of a lot it's on to packing up stuff we're keeping and trying to cram things into 12-15 suitcases, yikes. It gives me an feeling of excited anticipation to see the road ahead.

We have one more week here in this house. It's going to be a busy one. Its been quite a journey this last year and a half. Sometimes we never thought we would get to this point, but God is faithful and had us here just the right amount of time. (Slava Boga, Praise God)

Stuff

This weekend we came back home after being away and found out our house had been broken into. Our computer, DVDs (mostly Calvin's), Marvin's shoes, my jewelry box from when I was a little girl were stolen. As we went through our house with the police officer it was an odd feeling knowing someone had gone through all of your stuff. Taken a glimpse at who you are and didn't care a lick. My heart just breaks for those who feel the need to steal. I can't imagine what life must be like for them. I hope they come to know the true hope in the world, that it's not about the stuff.

Marvin reminded me of a great quote from a book we read this summer. I don't know the quote exactly but here is what it's about "You can take anything you want (talking about working overseas), but take in in your hands and not your heart. If it gets to your heart, that's when trouble sets in.

There are some things my heart is sad about. documents we didn't back up, jewelry that carried a lot of meaning, but ultimately it's just stuff. It can be replaced. It was a good reminder now as we pack up a few suitcases and head back over to the other side of the world.

Just a side note the police think it was some punk kids because they also stole our 24 packs of coke. Seriously? They also took our remotes but left the TV. Punks.

Thankfully all of our documents are accounted for and our passports were still right where we left them. We were certainly protected. So if you don't have insurance get it, it really stinks without it. Trust us!

You all are awesome

Thank you so much for all your orders and generosity I've felt so blessed to see my Kitchen Aid Project become a reality. I finally finished adding things to my Etsy Shop this evening. I only have 3 more things to add, but forgot to get photos of those things. So check it out and see if there is something you'd like. I really want to start emptying the shop. On to new things in the shop.

I have a few preschool boys aprons available in my shop. Here's one of my favorites. I actually have two of these, it's the "Super Chef".


All of my preschool girl aprons are sold, but if you want one I'd be happy to sew one for you. I have a few school age aprons left also, so make sure you check it out. I'd be happy to custom create an apron for you but I won't finish it until later this month. I have several custom orders right now begging for some attention this week.

There are some new Slippers out too. I have smalls 0-3 months and Mediums 3-9 months in the shop but if you see something you like and want it larger I can do that too, it will just have to be a couple of weeks.

I have one new nursing apron up for grabs too.



Last of all in the shop are id tags that can also be used for diaper bag tags and backpack tags.

Thank you guys so much. I'm starting to consider colors for my kitchen aid, it's so much fun.

I hope you guys have blessed Sunday! Enjoy the Sabbath.

From Head 2 Toe

Happy Birthdays

Wow this has been a fun couple days of celebrating. Marvin's b-day was up first and Calvin was thrilled to see Daddy, even though he was so tired he was quite the trooper and enjoyed a few games of hide with dad before we had dinner. His game of the week has been hiding in his "house" a blanket drapped over a plastic toy. It seriously has been hours of entertainment. It was so fun to see how Calvin immediately wanted his daddy to play hide with him.

Calvin's special day started out awesome. He got to sleep in his favorite jammies "Bob". We invariably hear the Bob the Builder song the rest of the next day. It's just too stinkin cute. I couldn't wait to give him his present and he loved opening his gifts (most were from the dollar bins at target!). We had a fun birthday dinner of blueberry pancakes & sausage. One of Calvin's favorite meals.

Today was also my 10 year High School reunion. It was nice to see everyone, several people with kids, hear what everyone has been up to. It's fun to see that everyone really is still the same, we just grew up a bit and have jobs now. I'm not one of those people who hated high school it was fun and without high school I wouldn't be the person I am today, but glad it's all just memories and we don't have to relive that awkward stage of life. Sorry Sherry my pictures wouldn't load, maybe later.

My Favorite Birthday Boy

Unfortunately Calvin and I were away from home this week so we had to delay celebrating Marvin's birthday a day late. We can't wait to see him tomorrow. We've got some fun things in the works for his celebration. Even Calvin's getting in the spirit with learning the Happy Birthday song.But seriously I can't say enough good things about Marvin. He's been so supportive with my sewing projects lately and has endured countless evenings with my sewing machine buzzing in the background and doesn't say a word when occasionally I get a bit wrapped up in my sewing to tidy up a few parts of our house. He's a great leader of our home and an amazing example to Calvin and myself of following where the Lord leads. I'm so blessed to be your wife. Praising God for you today and can't wait to see you tomorrow!

Happy Birthday!

A Great Craft Day

Well I am so glad it's over but my 1st craft fair went really well. I was one tired girl by the end. I crashed on the couch at 4:00 p.m., slept through Calvin's symbol playing (a.k.a. banging lids together) woke up to put Calvin to bed and ate a couple pieces of pizza then off to bed again. I was so refreshed Sunday morning. After a week of some major sleep deprivation I needed a lot to catch up.

The craft fair was so much fun. I met a lot of talented ladies, many of them also fellow "etsyians". It was fun to briefly browse through what everyone created. It's neat to see how people put things together. There were two distinct trends that I saw, those who did things by the book, followed steps and those who deviated from the path and did their own thing. Both were great, it was just an interesting observation. After doing this fair I have a greater appreciation for those who do it a lot. It's a lot of work and you really have to love what you are creating. For those of you who couldn't make it here's what my booth looked like. I had a corner booth, I was very thankful once I got things set up that I had the extra corner:

The morning was a bit slow, it was cold. Things picked up around lunch time and I actually made the most sales right before we closed. I even made one more sale as I was packing things up. I definitely made a huge dent in that Project Kitchen Aid. I'm still debating about whether to do one more fair. It was definitely worth my time, and I wouldn't have to do too much more prep work, it just comes down to do we really have time?

We are seriously moving in less than a month and the only prep that has been done is throwing things to a garage sale pile in our back room. (Which seriously is a heap of mess screaming for some organization right now.) If I were in town I'd be all over it, but it will have to wait until next week. I'm at my parents chillin' with my dad for the week and a little of next week while my mom is back at work.

I couldn't resist bringing along some yummy fabric to start on Calvin's quilt for his big boy bed. I know I'm crazy, but I really want to get it done this week and it's a very simple pattern. I have taken a couple days off from my sewing machine. Today I even took a nap. It was such a blessing.

Progress...almost done

I actually went to bed at 1:00 last night. Wow did that much sleep feel great. I only have a few more things to finish today!!! It looks like things are coming together. Everything is tagged and ready to go, now it's on to create some signs.

If your in Wichita this weekend I'd love for you to join me. My booth will be at the Lord of Life Lutheran Church Craft Fair and Fall Festival this Saturday October 3rd. The fun starts at 9 a.m. and ends around 2 p.m. There will be lots of booths full of handmade crafts, including yours truly. Bring the kids for some games, bouncy fun & good ole pumpkin painting. Marvin's excited about the food and I can't wait to see all the crafts, I hope I get set up early so I can browse a bit. It's a win win for everyone in our family. My booth will be outdoors so make sure you come so hi.

The Lord of Life Lutheran Church is located at 11215 W. 13th. Street North (Between Maize Road & 119th St.)

Here's a sneak peek at what I've been working on.

How is it October Already?

I flipped the calendar today and it made me a little sad. My little guy is turning two in just 10 days! How did this happen? He's certainly growing up too fast.

He's sure full of fun recently. I hear "where'd he go" about a million times everyday. I play too many games to count of "hide" everyday (hide and seek). I just love to hear his little squeals of anticipation when he's searching for you and his laugh is contagious when he actually finds you. Sweet memories that I just want to bottle up and never forget. Thank goodness for technology!

He loves anything that needs to be put together blocks, puzzles, Mr. Potato head. He'll stack anything and everything, cans, spools of thread, markers, etc. He loves it when you take the time to play with him and if your around him when he's building you're likely to hear him say "sit" and pat the ground. He's a very persuasive little guy.

It's been neat to hear him pray for those he loves. He'll come up with a list of people every time we take time to pray. He loves spending time with his grandpas and grandmas and his aunts and uncles and cousins and talks about it for weeks.

He's doing great with a cup, and wiping up spilled milk. He loves any fruit and will devour corn. He's still not a big fan of meat, but is eating many things he used to spit out or not even touch. Our persistence is paying off. (Last night I could hardly contain my shock when he actually ate his salad and didn't just lick off the dressing.)

When he's happy he gallops everywhere. He loves to play soccer with you and "golf" using these long poles from his baby gym. He loves to read and some favorites lately include The Napping House, Goodnight Moon & Dinosaur Roar. He loves to sing and recently will just sing the theme song to Bob the Builder over and over (Bob, Bob, Bob, mumble, mumble, mumble Yes......Can). The B-I-B-L-E is also a favorite, but he just sings B, B, B, B the whole song. It's pretty cute. Every color is Blue, everything he counts is 2, and every letter is B.

Art captures his attention. He loves to cut with scissors and better yet he loves to glue (mostly his fingers). He'd happily paint everyday if I let him. When he sits down to draw he's very focused, and most pictures he draws are dinosaurs because he will point to the picture and then say "ROAR." I haven't quite seen it, but maybe I need to look at it from another angle.

He gives the best hugs these days and even add as a little "awww" in there with every hug. When I go to get him in the mornings or from nap he'll often put his finger in front of his mouth and say "SHHHH". Usually Tigger is sleeping (his favorite lovey). He loves to put his stuffed animals to bed and I about melt every time he gives them a sweet little kiss and says "night, night."

He loves Sesame street right now and we hear a lot about Elmo (Mo Mo), Big Bird (Bee Bur), Ernie (Nee Nee), the Count (nount), Grover (Gover), Cookie Monster (Gookie) & Abby (he's got that one down). I decided he would love a Sesame Street birthday and since then settled on doing these fun cupcakes. I can't wait to see how excited he will be. I'm only going to do his favorites so it's Elmo, Cookie Monster, The Count & Grover Cupcakes for his special day.

Wow I still can't believe he's turning two! Time flies when you're having fun!