i can't believe we didn't buy this

so, matt and i attended a homeschool conference this weekend. it was great, but i must say that finding this at the book fair was definitely the highlight. i am laughing out loud at this moment just thinking about it again... i also kept bursting into spontaneous laughter at random intervals throughout the session following my discovery, which was a bit awkward. first, i just thought the book itself was funny, but THEN i began flipping through the pages and suddenly found myself staring at George W. Bush in his underwear, with Laura in similar attire right there by his side! the people around me must have thought i was a nutcase because i was doubled over with laughter right there in the middle of the book fair. several thoughts quickly ran through my mind: do George and Laura know about this book? did they have to give their permission? someone actually had to draw these pictures (for a children's book!! and as paper dolls, no less, that little girls are supposed to play with!!)... and then there was the shock/hilariousness that it was for sale at a homeschool conference book fair, right next to the books about the knights and the pilgrims. apparently (click on the picture for the amazon link) there are a whole set of these presidential paper dolls. at least they spared us the half-naked jenna and barbara dolls. oh man, i haven't had a laugh that good in quite a while, with all due respect, Mr. President.

favorite recent photos

i'm not sure why i love this one, i just do.

enjoying the sunshine

i am in love with kitty!

...and with this guy, too.

one of the things i love about winter is how, with the trees now bare, we get to see where the little bird nests were hiding out all summer.

and a few more snowy ones:

notes from the creative journal

1) craftsanity website and podcast -- i randomly came across this podcast online a couple of weeks ago, and then discovered that it is produced by a woman who lives right here in west michigan! she interviews various crafters and artists in the hopes of providing creative inspiration to her listeners. this has become one of my new favorite podcasts.

2) my main crafty project this past week was highlighted in my last post -- my joint effort with miriam in making levi's birthday pillow. levi is guaranteed to love anything involving a car or a truck, so we bought some "cars" fleece and i helped her personalize it by stitching his name onto it. i sewed it into a pillow on my mom's sewing machine and then we stuffed it. it was quite simple and a lot of fun to do together... and levi loves it!

3) another trip to the thrift store, again with no agenda in mind, and this time there was a sign at the door that said "buy one ladies' sweater and get the second for 99 cents!" i wasn't really in need of sweaters to wear, but i did recall something i thought i had heard about felting old wool sweaters in order to reuse them to create something "new". i grabbed a couple so we'll see what they become!

4) i have started collecting free tutorials and patterns i find online for future use. one place i have found some great ones is sewmamasew.

on deck this week:
in honor of the loads of snow and bitterly cold temps we are presently having, we are going to bring some of the winter beauty inside with coffee filter snowflakes as well as attempting some 3D paper snowflakes.

and, just for fun, the exercise update:
i have been getting my (behind) kicked at some pretty intense aerobics classes with a super spunky instructor. tonight i will submit myself to it once again and then negate it all at the coffee shop with a couple of girlfriends. :)

our big little boy

i know it's cliche', but they really do grow up so fast...

here are a few birthday highlights for y'all.friday night we had the kids' neighbor friends over for pizza and the "cars" movie. today, levi's birthday, we went to the children's museum, where they had a big bob the builder exhibit.

i love this picture -- doesn't it look like he's on a crazy shopping spree? (this was a kid-sized grocery store play area at the museum.) out of everything at the museum today, the markers may have been sawyer's favorite (go figure).

earlier in the week, miriam and i made levi this pillow to match his new "cars" bedding.

my personal creative challenge

i have instituted for myself a personal creative challenge starting this past week. i was originally going to photo-blog about it daily but then realized that that conflicted with my other goal to be on the computer less. instead, i bought myself a journal specifically for the purpose of recording my thoughts, ideas, and daily outworkings in regard to expressing more creativity in the everyday. it certainly has already done the job of getting my creative juices flowing! maybe once a week or so i will try to write a little summary of my/our latest projects, share interesting links i have come across, or whatever.

first off, if you haven't already been there, you need to visit Etsy. it is sort of like Ebay but all handmade. you can find just about anything handmade you could ever think of, as well as lots of things you would never dream of! :) i have thought of setting up my own shop there with my photos, but haven't gotten around to that yet. if you need a place to start, i know a woman from hamilton who is selling some great bags here.

i have had this needlework book sitting on our bookshelf for years but never look at it. so, i cracked it open friday night and realized that i learn much better from an actual person showing me than from trying to decipher pictures of yarn going this way and that and loads of letters and numbers that are supposed to direct my fingers... i did manage, however, to re-teach myself a basic crochet stitch, with a little help from matt. :) i also have now officially finished knitting two washclothes!

yesterday i discovered another new creative outlet -- thrift-shopping! i used to frequent these shops, especially while in college and while living in australia, but got sick of it and started shopping in real stores. :) i had no plans to go yesterday, but drove by one and thought i'd stop. i was there for at least an hour -- it was like treasure hunting! i left with a small vase (i have been needing one to hold all the little "treasures" the kids bring me in the warmer months), a dress-up hat for miriam, a couple of pretty scarves/sashes, a small wooden game for the kids, and my personal favorite, this little stained-glass owl candle holder (oh, how i love owls!), all for about six bucks.

another one of my favorite ideas from this week came from the soule mama blog, and is super doable for anyone. she said she keeps a bunch of little handmade books made up and in a spot where her kids can access them whenever they get inspired to create their own story. just fold some plain white paper inside a piece of cardstock for the cover and staple or tie at the crease in the center. think of the creative possiblities!

this week i will need to have birthday on the brain as we look forward to celebrating levi turning 5 on saturday!

as you can see, moses has been making himself right at home.

a new year & a couple of new goals

i didn't mean to time it this way -- at the usual time of new year's resolutions and all -- but i have been giving some thought lately to some little changes i would like to start making in my general lifestyle. i am hesitant to even write them here, because then they seem even more doomed to fail... but here goes, anyway.

the first is exercise... i know, i know, so predictable. i have been inspired by a couple of my friends who have recently run marathons, and while i don't think i'll be signing up for one of those anytime soon (or in this lifetime), i have been feeling the need (particularly around the mid-region) to make a little more effort toward getting in shape. plus, i know it will make me feel better, both physically and mentally. i have taken the plunge and joined a local gym -- with childcare to boot -- so i am looking forward to taking advantage of that, at least until the weather warms up. and since i'm paying for it, hopefully that will help to keep me motivated!

secondly, i desire to access more of my creative self that so easily gets crowded out by the demands of daily life with three young children. another friend recently sent me to a crafty mom's blog/website that sent me over the edge with inspiration. (i have added it to my sidebar -- soule mama). i have just been thinking about how we spend so much energy helping the kids to grow and access the gifts and passions that God has put in them, that sometimes we forget that God has put things in us as parents, too... besides just the obvious tasks and skills required for raising and caring for a family (though i'm not sure i got all those...) and, how it is probably good for our kids to see us pursuing such things, too. when i see things such as the blog i mentioned above, something comes alive inside me that i realize has for the most part been lying dormant. i just want to learn and experiment more with incorporating more creativity and enjoyment of beauty into my everyday life with my kids. i may even need to request a sewing machine for my birthday... ;)

any new goals out there that you feel like sharing?

moses

meet the newest member of our family. our first ever real pet! (goldfish don't really count.) i have never been much of a pet person, but our kids adore animals, and i have to say it's beginning to grow on me. from the moment we decided to get him last week, i started to miss him because we couldn't bring him home until a couple of days ago. he was mostly a barn cat before coming here, and we weren't sure how he would respond to the kids, but he's been great so far. the kids are ecstatic. if anyone has any cat tips, let me know!

this is me with my friend jess, whose son alex has leukemia -- that's him in the next picture. matt and i stopped in at the hospital for a visit while we were down in their neck of the woods this past weekend (kids are not allowed, since his immune system is essentially zero). i had to borrow his picture from their website because he was not well enough to talk with us yesterday. so, we visited with jess and sam in a nearby lounge while alex slept. i cannot express the emotions that flooded over me when we walked into his room -- it is one thing to read news over the internet and email, but it is quite another to put yourself right there face to face with the pain. i have so many thoughts regarding the whole thing that i just don't think i can blog about right now... perhaps one of these days i will find the right words, but for now suffice it to say there are more questions than answers.

if you would like to pray for this family, here are a few specific requests: -minimized side effects to the chemo (esp. nausea) -white blood cell count to go up quickly -the cancer to go into remission so that a bone marrow transplant is possible -wisdom for jess & sam as they make decisions regarding alex's care -grace for all as they walk through this day by day, moment by moment