Christmas Dresses and Holiday Traditions

While T's parents were here I was able to get some sewing and crocheting done. I thought I'd share the dresses I made. It was so much fun to put together the fabrics and ribbons! I used some old shirts, so it felt good to recycle from the way too big stash of clothes the girls have. I also put together the outfit for G using a pair of leggings she never wanted to wear... until I sewed the ric rac on and they matched the dress. :) Most of these will be given away as gifts, and that feels really good, too!

I am *almost* done Christmas shopping. Just a few things left, for few people. One I know will just be a gift card (J) and another is for my step-mom and I'm waiting for some ideas for her. My dad's gift will require a trip to the store which I don't want to do on the big shopping days! I don't enjoy the crowds! I've had fun doing the shopping, though. And now I look forward to being more relaxed through advent, and hopefully concentrating on Jesus and making sure the kids understand Christmas is so much more than Santa. (Though Z announced that he didn't think Santa was real, and my heart just fell!) I'm just looking forward to doing the holiday traditions we have. I'll share a few of mine, and I'd love to hear yours, too!

-We make a construction paper advent chain on Thanksgiving. Each chain link has a nice thing about one person in our family, written by someone else in the family. We all love it! It's fun to take off each link of the chain and count down to Christmas with compliments.

-We act out the manger scene, using figures, stuffed animals, or people. This is also very fun, and the kids love it! We try to do it a few times each week before bed.

-The Christmas Story movie. (T brought this tradition to the family.)

-Making spritz cookies with the cookie press - T does this with the kids

-Making mints and chocolate covered peanut butter balls and chocolate covered ritz cracker peanut butter sandwiches - I do these with the kids

I'd love to hear some of your family's traditions! Please share!

I'm Back! We're Adopted!

Wow! This past month has just flown by! We prepared for and celebrated G's 5th birthday. Then it was getting ready for H's adoption with announcements and party planning. Then it was here. We really have been busy, but it all went very well!

You can see this picture of us with the judge on H's adoption day. The judge was wonderful, along with the whole court. They all came in on their own time on a Saturday to do 12 adoptions in our county! You can see all of us with the judge, plus T's parents, who came in for the occaision and stayed until Thanksgiving.

H was very excited. She had some pretty rough days as adoption approached, and regressed back in some behaviors (yikes!!!) Thankfully we had our therapist telling us it was all normal and to be expected, so we didn't freak out. And by the time adoption day came, she'd settled down quite a bit. I figure once Thanksgiving vacation is past and we settle into more normal times we'll see how she's doing.

*I* had a last minute crisis when I realized I'd handled everything but had forgotten an adoption day gift for H! Because of J's adoption she knew to expect something. So, at the last minute I put together the blanket H and I are holding. It's silky on one side and soft and shaggy on the other. A local monogram shop added her new name and adoption date. It was very fun to do.

Halloween dress AND my sweater!

I've gotten a lot of crafting done lately, and I wanted post some pictures. My nieces are wearing their Halloween dresses. I've started collecting material and shirts to make some Christmas dresses. I've also had an offer of someone wanting to take orders and/or sell dresses for me! I think I've decided that I don't want to get into the dress making business right now. But we'll see. If I can get a little faster I might consider it. It is fun, but mostly because I think of who is going to wear it as I make it.

And, finally, finally, I finished my sweater! It is everything I hoped it would turn out to be! Very soft and really warm. I've been wearing it to walk the kids to and from school and I love it!

I also finished crocheted bags for my mom and grandma, but since they will be Christmas gifts I am not showing pictures!

Other good news is our upcoming adoption date for H! We are very excited. I took her shopping and we bought and adoption day dress. She even agreed that G should have a matching dress. Now if I can get the boys to dress up (and me too) we should have quite a nice picture to remember the day by!

We're gearing up for G's birthday party on Saturday. We let her invite 5 friends, but I only know of one who is coming and one who is not. I wish the others would get back to me. G really wanted a pinata, so we have a pony pinata and party hats and plates and napkins. We kept the party time to an hour. So I expect kids to arrive, decorate treat bags, do the pinata, open gifts, eat cake, and go home. :) Let's hope it goes smoothly!

Frustration! And Rejoicing!

Everything about this adoption is taking SO long! I am so frustrated today. The latest thing? No one can find a copy of a paternity test for H. So, her father can't relinquish his rights to her if they don't have proof he's her father. WHAT? I took her for that test. Of course, *I* never saw the results. I'm just her fostermom, and I'm sure that's need to know information! But now, 3 ----

OK, I just read an incoming email... that problem is over! The social worker is taking the adoption packet to our lawyer! Oh. Wow. I can't believe it! I logged on ready to vent a bit, and now I'm almost shaking with happiness! Maybe, just maybe we'll be finalized before the end of the year! I know the social worker was aiming for November 17, National Adoption Day. Wow. This could really be happening!

What's On Your List?

Today I got tickets to a Garth Brooks concert! I have wanted to see Garth in concert for a long time. I'm so excited! Even buying them was exciting, as it took several tries online at Ticketmaster to get tickets. In fact, the first show sold out in 5 minutes. I got tickets to the next show. They had only announced one show, but after it sold out they added others, and last I heard there were 5 shows. And I think that was at 10:30!

It was such a rush, and it occurred to me that this is something on my "list". I have this list in my head of things I'd like to do in my lifetime, and this is one of them. I don't think I've ever written this list down, but I think I might do that, and if I'm not too embarrassed by it, I'll post it. I know a couple things off the top of my head... have a baby, be a grandmother, see Reba McIntyre in concert, see the Grand Canyon with my kids, swim in an ocean again... but I'm wondering... what's on YOUR list?

Rambling - several topics

I have had things buzzing through my head I've wanted to share, so I'll do that today, several (mini) topics in one post!

AM I BECOMING MY MOTHER?
I have always admired my mother! :) But I always kind of felt like we only had a few things in common. But lately it's hit me over and over again how I feel like I'm becoming more like her, and it's a good thing! I sewed the dresses for the girls. I'm enjoying my crocheting. I don't sit down to watch tv without something in my hands. I enjoy cooking for my family (when I have time). I almost fell asleep watching TV the other day (OK, that was embarrassing! I'm not proud of that one.) Then I made some dresses to sell.
I have vivid memories of my mom making Cabbage Patch kid clothes to sell. They were so incredible. They put my dresses to shame. But it really hit me how much we have in common. And I am very proud of it! :)

THE JOY OF BEING ALLOWED TO HELP
I really believe things work out like they should, like God intends them to. I had a great example of that yesterday. It was a rough afternoon with H. After a long tantrum, and a talk about whether handcuffs hurt, and "I don't understand why" her parents hurt her... we headed off to church, and I was pretty mentally exhausted.

I really enjoy our Wednesday nights at church. Someone else makes dinner, we hang out with friends, we talk... it's very nice. Then later there are classes for kids and adults. Even though the rest of my family is participating in one way or another, I've chosen to sit out this semester. I bring my crochet bag and sit in a quiet corner for a whole hour! It's wonderful. Sometimes I feel a little guilty - after all, if I'm not in a class, I should probably be helping with the kids or in the kitchen. Well, last night I knew I'd feel no guilt. I felt like I'd made my contribution to the church and society by being warden, controller, and counsellor to H, while keeping the others active in their chores and homework. I was really looking forward to my guilt free hour. But then...

Our children's ministry director asked me at dinner if I could help her teach H&Z's class. The other teacher had a family emergency (think 911!) and they were short a teacher. I agreed to do it, but asked her to let me know if someone else was willing instead. I was pleasantly surprised when she found someone. So I settled into my crochet corner and relaxed.

But a half hour later I realized I had her keys to the supply closet. I decided I needed to return them asap or I'd take them home with me. I went to the class and passed her the keys. On the way back to my corner I ran into the other teacher and her daughter. To make a long story short, I was able to take her daughter to McD's for supper and back to church to meet her aunt, so the other teacher could go back to the hospital. It felt so good to help.

We've been helped by so many people, especially over the past few years. And I often feel stretched too thin to be of much help to anyone else. I could see on the teacher's face that she was hesitant to "burden" me. But it was a privilege to help, and I'm so glad she accepted my offer. And if I'd taught the class, or stayed in my crochet corner, I wouldn't have been there to help. Thank you, God.

MY DRESSES
Well, while T's parents were here I was able to make six dresses. Two went to Indiana for my nieces. Two will soon be mailed to Wisconsin for my other nieces (hi, K!!!) and two were dresses ordered by G's preschool teacher for her two daughters!!! And she paid me (well) for them. It was a really good feeling. Yesterday she said she'd had several people ask her if I take orders! It's a really nice feeling to know that people like the things I'm making. But I did decide I wouldn't do anymore before Halloween. I think I will do a batch of Christmas dresses, though. I'll actually need to start buying supplies soon, I think. I'm putting it off until next week, at least.

I enjoy making the dresses, but they suck away my free time. I'd really rather finish in one sitting, rather than an hour or two one day, and the next, and the NEXT. (I just can't abandon my crochet that long!) So I need to give some thought and prayer to how much sewing I want to do, and how much of my personal time I want to give up!

MY SWEATER & ANTIDEPRESSANTS
This past weekend I had to rip out over half of the work I'd done on my sweater - that was about a quarter of the sweater itself. I'd made a really dumb mistake one day and just kept going from there. There was no way to salvage it, but to rip it out and start again from the point I'd gone wrong. So I spent an hour ripping and untangling and rewinding. Ugh. But afterward I was surprised at how mellow I was about it, and I wondered if that was an antidepressant thing. I was disappointed - very disappointed. But not frustrated with myself. Not stomping around angry at everyone. I wish I could take credit for that, but I think it might be the drugs. ;) But, really, from my point of view, that's just one more reason why the drugs were a good decision on my part. I just really want to get back to being able to handle that kind of stuff without them.

Well, that's more than enough rambling. I've put down the things that were on my mind, now back to the laundry, so I can crochet without guilt! :)

I started my sweater!

Well, the yarn I was watching finally went on sale for $1/skein, so I went and bought my yarn and started my sweater yesterday. Besides my first bag, this the only thing I've made for myself, and I'm really excited about it. So I've got several projects going right now...
My mom's big monster bag - I've set that aside for a while, but I will pick it up again. It's close to getting done!
Z's scarf - this is a project I work on while he's at karate - it requires counting to 18 over and over. :)
H's scarf - I work on this one in the car when I'm waiting for kids, or whenever I just have a few minutes to crochet - no counting!
My sweater - lots of counting! I have to follow a pattern, this can only be done when kids are at school or asleep!
My afghan to donate - this is for Project Warmth, and it's probably half done.

So, I won't be starting any more projects until I finish these! Except the dresses I'll be making this weekend!