I'm hooked....

So, I've gotten into this sewing thing. I mean, I've really gotten into it. Since Ethan was born, Mom and Randi have "helped" me sew different things - from his bedding to multiple bed skirts and curtains. I've always liked "helping" them (meaning, make salsa and have Chick fil-A tea and M & Ms at their disposal), but have really never wanted to do much on my own. I guess I've been a little scared. Well, a couple of weeks ago I purchased an embroidery machine. My intention is to be able to monogram for friends, etc, and pay for my machine. But in the meantime, I went to this Christmas market with some friends and we started looking at some of the children's clothes that were there. I began thinking that I could do make these things. I mean, how hard can it be? Sooooo, it's started and I'm hooked. Thankfully we had our church Focus Group meeting at our house tonight so I HAD to clean the dining room. I've taken it over with fabric, 2 machines (sewing and embroidery), ironing board, thread, needles, patterns, etc...But I've had a great time. I've made several little SIMPLE pillowcase dresses for Nina and they are adorable. I've made a couple a line dresses for her and I also made some pants for Ethan. I was a little freaked out by those, but they turned out really well. I made them outfits for Thanksgiving and then I started thinking, oh, Hunter is going to be there too, so maybe I should make him a john john. So the other night about midnight I cut it out and the next morning I sewed it. I've still got to get a friend to help me with the buttonholes, but it's really cute. I'm just sewing really simple things, but I've had so much fun and I've realized that hey, I can do this!!

I was just telling Ethan that this time next Sunday night we'll be in Georgia. Can it really almost be Thanksgiving? I'm hoping to have at least 2 trees up and decorated this week, but we'll see. The holidays are rapidly approaching!!


Something cute from our house lately has been Ethan's prayers. He always wants to say them and it's really funny because he always says the same thing. At mealtime, it's thank you for the food and all our friends and family and if you remind him to say thank you for something else he says that's for nite-nite prayers. Lately he's even branched out of his comfort zone and started it with Heavenly Father instead of Dear God. And then the other day out of the blue he asked God to help his baby teeth fall out so he could have big teeth like Daddy's. Mark and I about fell out of our seats laughing. Then at night it's always Now I lay me down to sleep....and then he says Thank you God for Chris and Melanie, Allie and Avery (they are ALWAYS at the beginning) and then Nona and Poppa, Ro Ro and Pa......and then at the end, ALWAYS at the end it's thank you for Courtney and baby Hunter, Landon and Heidi the doggie. Amen.


I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. It will be bittersweet at our house, but we know we have so much to be thankful for, so we'll be thinking of that instead of what we've lost. But the table will not be the same!

Movie night - Ethan asks me to make a pilot (how he calls a pallet) on the floor and pop popcorn. Although this evening Nina was more concerned with the tiny M&Ms that went in the popcorn.
Ethan in his Poppa clothes - as he's begun to call these type clothes.

We had to take Mark's car into the shop for an oil leak so Ethan has been all into fixing things. I came outside and Ethan had asked Mark to jack his Jeep up so he could fix the oil leak - notice he's putting paper underneath....

Oh yes, very proud of his work!

Nina has found that she loves to play underneath my bathroom sink....and has also found that the lipstick lids come off....needless to say I've thrown several Clinique sample lipsticks away and washed my white bathmat several times. Now the lipstick is put up!

Ethan and Nina today after church in their outfits I made

Ro Ro made the green and red pants and sent them to Ethan. I put the trees and E on his shirt and my Mom got the dress for Nina last year. A joint effort on Santa clothing for sure!

Hunter's john john