My Nanaw's House

My NaNaw passed away on the 13th of November. She was a beautiful woman. Vibrant.
The childhood memories I have of her house are some the most clear.
I got a chance to go to her house and capture on film some of the things that I will always think of when I think of her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An excellent woman, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; her husband also, and he praises her, saying: "Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs 31:10, 25-31

Hats Off to You All

Last Friday, I scheduled a much needed massage. Thank you so much, Sue. It's gotten me through this week. I'll be calling you again soon.

My friend, Rachel, babysat Abby for me while I was out. I think they had some fun.

The last couple days, Abby's hung out with Erin and Cade, and Ellen, Gabi, and Audrey. They've helped me get so much done during a crazy crunch time. And I know that Abby was well loved and cared for while I was away. Thank you all sooo much for helping out this mommy. I love you guys.

Abby Oakley: Halloween Costume Tutorial

I'm playing some blog catch up. Life is crazy right now, and always.

But! I wanted to share how I made Abby a costume on a budget and a time crunch. I think she turned out darn tootin' cute.

The idea started with the hand-me-down of a cute embellished onesie made by my cute and creative friend, Jeanne. (Here's her blog, Bubsies Boutique.)

So all I needed were the accessories. I had seen a costume cowboy hat headband in Michael's complete with yarn pigtails. It was cute, but I knew I could do better.

I got a kids cowboy hat from the Party Store. It was the most expensive part of the costume but it was only 7 bucks and I have a feeling it might be part of costumes and pretend in years to come. I made the pigtails from some left over yellow yarn. I laid it out and cut the strands all the same length. I tied it in the middle and taped it to the inside of the hat. I then braided the ends, fastened it with some rubber bands and tied on some red ribbon.

I dressed Abby in the onesie, some tights and sweater for toasty toesies and the hat made the outfit complete. She was ready to ride off into the sunset and party the night away. I'm really loving all of these holidays as a parent. Celebrating with a kid can make everything so much more fun. And I think the first Halloween was a big success.

Kids Club

This past Friday at the park I took my new camera out for a whirl. I got some great pictures.

These kids are pretty great examples for how to be dear friends. One of my little buddies, Cade, has to exercise one of his eyes by wearing a patch a couple hours a day. He is a trooper and complains about this very little. Of course, it helps that all his patches are super cool. Space rockets make anything cooler. Wearing a patch can put a damper on his playtime though. It's not easy to run around and navigate the playground. Fortunately, Cade has some good friends. We watched as Archer held Cade's hand and walked with him around the park, talking about whatever 4 year old boys talk about, probably space rockets.

I look forward to Friday every week. It's not just about getting out Abby of the house and getting some fresh air sun, but more importantly, I get to spend time with my friends. I know from experience that if I ever need a hand to hold, someone to walk with me around the playground and talk about space rockets, I can depend on these girls.

SCC Kids Club