a baby for AB

I have to tell you all about my friend Anna Beth and the blog that was just started to help her family fund raise the $10,000 they need for IVF. I will share with you the blurb about her I wrote for the blog...

As a close friend and former roomate of Anna Beth's, I have seen just about every side of her and even at her worst and in the most difficult places, she manages to find hope and choose joy. Having Anna Beth in my life has changed me - it is what she does - she lives her life in such a purposeful way that lives are impacted merely by her presence. While Anna Beth has made some radical choices (living alone in a dangerous neighborhood so that there is a safe place for children to come, leading a team of college students to Turkey for the summer, after graduating - choosing to live with 7 college students in order to invest in their lives, and the list could go on...) she would not see herself as a radical person. She would simply see herself as an image bearer of Christ. While AB doesn't recognize these things as remarkable, she possesses a remarkable attitude of grace and joy. I have never seen anyone endure as much as she has while maintaining an attitude of hopeful anticipation. It seemed like the harder things got, the more determined Anna Beth was to choose to trust the goodness of God and accept what He chose to give her whether it was joy or pain. That doesn't mean she didn't hurt... that is another amazing thing about Anna Beth, she isn't afraid to be real and admit when things are hard or hurt. But even as she pours out her pain and heartbreak she has a determined grasp on God's love and provision for her. This whole journey of adding to their family has been so painfully personal to Anna Beth as her lifelong dream has been being a mother. And she is, she is a fantastic mom to Jace, and I know a long list of people who have been 'mothered' by her presence in their lives. Knowing Anna Beth, as hard as this journey has been and as much as she wants to have a baby - I don't think she would change any of it. She might not have chosen for things to be this hard, but she has fully embraced that the fulfillment of her dream will come from God in one way or another. IVF is the next step of this journey of faith, hope and trust for the Morgans and I'm so grateful to be a part of what God is doing in their lives through helping them make this dream a reality. My life and my family have been forever impacted by the Morgans and I can't think of a better response than to invest in their family by giving financially to help cover the costs of IVF. If I have learned anything from Anna Beth it is that God is so good... all the time, even when it hurts.

Go check out their blog and be inspired by the story of this amazing family and then get involved!!!

I am believing God for a miracle for them and I totally believe this $10,000 is nothing compared to the greatness of God. It is so cool to be a part of what God is doing through their family by giving financially as a step of faith. So, come on! Join me in being a part of God's blessing to them.

baby projects

I've been making lots of gifts for the recent baby boom of friends having children. It's been so fun. I love making something special for my friends to show them how excited I am about their new arrival. Here are some of the recent projects and links to tutorials I used (cause who needs original ideas anymore? .... thanks pinterest)

This was a blanket I made for a friend of Jeff's from work. I got this idea from a gift that one of my friends gave me when H was born. That blanket is his favorite and he takes it with him to daycare everyday. It is actually a really easy project. It only requires a yard of flannel and a yard of the soft, bumpy fabric. I've made a few of these but this was my first attempt to embroider...I used this book to learn the stitches, but I totally free handed it, so that was not the best idea.



Since I have a boy, it is really fun to get to buy/make girl things. I've been wanting to make a tutu for a while and found a great tutorial on you tube that I used. The best part is there is absolutely no sewing involved! So when I found out my friend was having a girl I immediately ordered some spools of tool on Amazon. Just an FYI it is much easier to use spools than to get a yard from a fabric store.



My next project was a onesie for my nephew Bryce. I had my sister's friends all make her or buy her a special onesie for Bryce that symbolized them. I saw this one on etsy a while ago and knew I had to make it. Since there wasn't a pattern this was my first time drafting my own pattern and figuring it out myself. I ended up making two of these in different sizes and on one I left the edges raw and on one I pressed all the edges. The one with the pressed edges turned out better.



Finally, I saw this adorable tutorial over at Lil' Blue Boo (I totally have a blog crush on her) for a sock bunny and decided to make one for H for Easter. It turned out so cute! I don't have a good picture of the one I made for H, but here is his holding it at the Easter egg hunt today.





I've got a few more baby gifts to make, but don't think I'll be able to get much done until after my comprehensive exam on April 25th. So, please don't come early babies!

Motherhood

Becoming a mother has changed me, in some ways the change seemed immediate, in others it has happened gradually. H and I just returned from spending 5 days visiting Papa Bill & Jo Jo in Louisiana. We had such a good time and got lots of quality bonding time together. It was my first time to travel alone with H and I was so proud of him. He did such a good job and on every flight we were on someone would stop me and tell me what a sweet boy he was or how he did such a good job. Everyone we sat next to H tried to share his snacks with and gave them stickers and toys to play with. People are always telling me how beautiful H is and are so charmed when he just talks and talks to them. I was thinking over this trip about all of the things that I used to inwardly cringe at before becoming a Mommy... things like never getting to eat or drink anything without a child appearing and wanting whatever you had, kids waking up before dawn and running around the house screaming, not being able to complete a task without some kind of interruption, toddlers crawling all over you and being your constant shadow, stinky diapers and projectile vomit, the list could continue, but I think you get the idea. Not that I always gracefully embrace all of these things now, but I certainly don't cringe the way I did before becoming Mommy.

At night in Louisiana H and I would cuddle in bed together and I would sing songs of Truth to him until he fell asleep. I couldn't help thinking about our Heavenly Father and the pride and joy He feels when we want to draw close to Him and let Him sing over us His peace, hope for our futures and His unending love. Being H's Mommy has helped me to grasp just a little bit of what it means to love unconditionally. It has also helped me to embrace life's joys and sorrows knowing that I cannot control the outcomes of either. It has changed my relationship with God in that I have put away some of my 'performance anxiety' trying to earn approval and love. H and I can have a terrible day where everything seems to go wrong and I'm totally frustrated, but I don't love him any less on those days than I do on the days where everything goes according to schedule. How much more perfect is God's love towards His children? It does not waver or fluctuate depending on how much we are trusting Him or the number of good deeds we have accomplished. It just is - now that is a miracle.

A few weeks ago I posted about baby James and his battle with a cancerous brain tumor. I have continued to follow his progress and have not stopped thinking about this family and praying urgently for them. I even dreamt about little James last night. James's tumor has come back full force and yesterday his parents took him home under the care of hospice to spend their final days or weeks showing him just how much they love him. I have cried many tears for this family and have cradled H longer, kissed him more and told God how grateful I am for every single day that I get to be H's mommy. I think part of why this has been so emotional for me is that H is just one year older than little James. It could just as easily be H fighting this battle. Our children are gifts given to us by God, they are not possessions to hoard, lives to control, or even promises of bright futures. They are blessings from the Father and He can use them to pour out his blessing in whatever way He chooses.

So, embrace your children today. Embrace your Mommy or Daddy journey wherever it has led you. Embrace the Heavenly Father who is the giver of all good and perfect gifts. Pray, pray for the Sikes family as they care for little James. Pray for all of the Mommies and Daddies who are struggling to care for their children, struggling to conceive children, and those fighting alongside their sick children. And let us give thanks to God.

Belated V-Day!

I took pictures to post on Valentine's Day... I even took them the day before... but here I am just now posting them.


H had his first Valentine's Day party at school! It was fun to make little pink cupcakes for his class!



My sweet husband got my car detailed for V-day (it is what I wanted) so no more cheerios and trash - for at least a week or so? And to top it off he let me buy a way too expensive purse! The Kate Spade sample sale is going on this week and they are having huge sales!! I haven't bought a purse since before we moved to Iraq so I really wanted to get a new one. This was obviously more than my monthly 'allowance' (I use quotes because I tend to spend more than 'allowed'), but hubs agreed to let me pay it off in installments and won't even charge me interest. Right, hubs? He was a little vague on that point... =)



Isn't it beautiful? Happy Valentine's Day to me. I got hubs some socks... he really wanted them? I know... he wins, or do I? I like to think of it as a win win.

Beanbags!

I'm so excited about my 3rd sewing project! Never mind that my seams are a little out of control, my letters crooked and my bags different sizes... I love these bean bags! I found this tutorial over at Lil Blue Boo and had to try it!
She gives an awesome tutorial, so I'll just tell you the changes I made to mine and let her tutorial be your guide. You need to check out her blog - it is fabulous!



Here they are! They have uppercase letters on one side and lowercase on the other side. I couldn't find freezer paper so I just free handed my letters and used puff fabric paint and thinned it out with a paint brush. This is the biggest change to Ashley's tutorial. If you can find freezer paper, then your letters will turn out a lot more equal in size than mine did.


Here are the lower case letters


And the upper case letters

The other big change I made was that I did a zig zag stitch for the top stitch instead of a straight stitch. In hindsight, that was not the greatest idea. It is cute, but since you have to leave an opening to stick the beans in it is really hard to go back and match up your zig zags correctly. I ended up having to straight stitch over the zags (or the zigs) to close them securely ... and this ended up looking kind of messy instead of cute. But since I made these for my friend's daughter who is turning 2 - she probably won't notice.




Here is a close up my favorite letter


Yay for sewing! What should I make next?