Pigtails.

Big thanks to big sis Mary for doing a fabulous job!

The bigger kiddos have gone with their daddy to prayer meeting. I am stayed behind with the little ones who need a bit of extra sleep. They are sleeping at this very moment.

We are house sitting for friends this week. Since we are in a “strange” house and her room buddies are not here, I grabbed a pillow and blanket so Sarah could snooze on the couch this evening. (I’ll move her to bed later.) She was cuddled up on one end of the couch and I was nursing Sam to sleep on the other end. Every now and then she would look at me and smile, I’d tell her I love you and I watched her eyes getting heavier and heavier.

In a moment she was asleep. I watched her for a bit. Still and quiet. Those two words are not often associated with Sarah.

Before I know it, I hear Sam’s little snores. He has fallen asleep as well. I hold him a bit longer. Yes, I know. I spoil my babies. I’m ok with that. I love to cuddle them to sleep. The time can pass so quickly. I want to savor those sweet baby smells and sounds.

Sam is now in his bed. Sarah is beside me on the couch. I have a kitchen that needs to be cleaned. My clean up crew was running behind and had to dash out before we were done. But I want to enjoy the stillness, the quiet just a bit longer.

Thank you, Father, for this moment. For reminding me to take time to be quiet. To be still and know that You are God. Father, I thank you for this moment to remember how You have blessed me beyond measure. Amen.

Sarah adores Sam. She is a great big sis! She takes her job very seriously.

She patiently explains things to him and he intensely listens to her wisdom.

He finds her methods of teaching quite funny.

She really loves being the big sis. I hope she explains to him what happens when you break your fall on a brick porch. Ouch.

Our thinking can be so messed up sometimes. Look at the love, folks. I think these two are going to give me lots of fun trouble.

So does school stop in its tracks? Of course not! Those who are well keep on working. What do the sick little ones do?

Hannah decided she would share her pillow (and her germs, lol) with me. Sarah was a bit upset at no spot until she realized my back was free. Comfy? Not so much. However, I was able to help Lydia with math and cuddle with the little ones. Multi-tasking at its finest, yes?

Pitiful, isn’t she?

And Sarah decided that a stuffy nose and cough just wasn’t good enough. So she introduced her head to the brick porch. I couldn’t get a good picture but it was a nice little goose egg and such pretty colors! Applying arnica gel is helping immensely.

Praying that we are on the end of the stuffies and coughs. I am currently enjoying it now so that has to mark the end, right?

See these adorable dresses? (Sarah is intent on a cookie, lol) I LOVE these dresses. A wonderful friend blessed me with the pattern several weeks ago. Yes, a pattern. You know what that means? I’m going to tell you how easy they were to make and that you need, yes need, to make one for your daughter. Don’t have a daughter? Then make one for your niece or neighbor or a little girl at church.

I LOVE this pattern from The Handmade Dress. It really is a 2 hour dress. I made 3 of them, plus a skirt in 2 days. The instructions that Mrs. Caffee gives with the pattern are easy to understand but thorough. Even someone new to sewing could easily make this dress with no problem.

My girls love the dress. As soon as the dress is hanging, it is the first choice to wear. Hannah (the cute one with legos) has already requested 2 more. I love that you can keep the dress simple or dress it up a bit depending on the fabric you choose. It can also be made with an apron which I’m going to do with the next set I make. I’m also going to adapt the pattern to make a peasant top for my older girls.

I’ve been browsing around tonight looking at the other patterns and I think Miss Mary is on my “need to sew” list. I love it! I know it would look great on my Mary.

So what have you been sewing lately?

My little nappers deserve a gold medal.

See Sarah’s forehead? This is what happens if you don’t wait for help when getting out of the 12 passenger van. I forgot to take a pic of the black eye she had the week before; courtesy of a fall off NaNa’s toilet and landing on the bathtub. Such grace.

Frame worthy? I think so. They are just too cute!

It is actually my second diaper of the day. The first turned out really nice but too small. Oops. So I adjusted the pattern and we had a much better fit.

The elastic actually goes in the back but I wanted to see how it looked in the front. Why? No clue. I just did. Sarah is fighting a cold and was not in the mood to try on the diaper but so many ways.

In theory, this diaper will fit a little 10lb baby as well as chunky Sarah. We shall soon see.

Adorable?

(Please note – one day I will have pictures of my older children when they decide to not run from the camera. Goofy kiddos.)