Giving thanks.

It was a quiet Thanksgiving this year, but that didn't stop me from making WAY too much food. Evidence:


Now the obligatory what I am thankful for:
My beautiful daughters who keep me laughing on a daily basis. I love to see how excited they are about Christmas this year.

My wonderful husband who found me such a perfect Christmas gift that he could not wait and already gave it to me (it was a new camera lens)!

My mother who inspired my craftiness. I am also thankful that she spent Thanksgiving with us and was able to help us decorate for Christmas. She is a Christmas junkie (wonder where I get it from???)

My sister Julia and that she found the love of her life, Alya, all the way in Africa.

My sister Patty who is a free spirit and has the kindest heart.

My wonderful friend since age 12, Kelley, who always listens to me complain about my kids, while longing for kids of her own. (and knows me better than most people in the world)

My great friend, Tina, who takes the most beautiful photos of my kids and inspires me to be a better photographer. (and loves the Twilight series as much, if not more than me)

The rest of my extended family, in-laws and friends. I am so grateful to have an awesome support system.

That my husband and I are employed in this difficult economic time.
That we have a president who wants to make sure everyone has access to affordable health care.
The internet for allowing me to be inspired my so many artists all over the world.
Coffee.
Pumpkin Pie.
Christmas, an excuse to get the whole family together every year.

I will leave you with these photos of my girls pretending to be high fashion models taken with my new lens. Forgive any blurriness because it is a manual focus lens and we haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. (Also, don't mind the funky photo effects above, just messing around in photoshop)

hark the herald angels sing...

Now that we have gotten through Chloe's birthday, Christmas crafting is in full swing. Why is it that when I have tons of projects already on my plate, I get inspired to add more to the list?? Case in point, I haven't even started the Christmas PJ's and yet I am obsessed with making lunch boxes and reusable snack and sandwich bags for the family. Do we absolutely need this right now? No, but I can't seem to think of anything else. Luckily, there is an awesome thrift store in Ann Arbor that has TONS of craft supplies. It is a thrifty crafter's heaven. I found lots of scrap fabric and 3 different colors of rip stop nylon for the lining. And the prices can't be beat!

Anyone else have this crafting ADD? I have way too many unfinished projects, some from previous Christmases. I am embarrassed to admit that the quilt I started for my husband's gift last year is still not done (I suck) and there is a scarf and fingerless mitts on the needles from 2 years ago for my sister (double suck). (Anyone want to quilt a quilt for cheap?) I am hoping to finish everything on my list this year. Wish me luck! (BTW, it makes me sick to think that I made all of that stuff last year and didn't take any pics, I am going to try and be better about that too this year)

I did make a dent in my UFO (unfinished objects) pile when I made a doll for Chloe's birthday that has been cut out since 2 years ago! By the time I make Lily's she will be graduating from high school.


If you are inspired to make gifts this year, Sew Mama Sew has posts everyday in November on things to make, they also showcase handmade items for sale and recipes and have giveaways!

If you don't want to make anything, but want to give handmade, go to Etsy. There is some really amazing stuff, I could browse there all day.

Finally, if you don't want to make anything or buy anything, you can try to win something at Rae Gun Ramblings, she is having giveaways each day counting down to Christmas. Today's gingerbread skirt is too adorable!

My precious Chloe

Dear Chloe,
I am in shock that my baby is 4 years old! Wow, it seems like you were only born a short time ago. You were the sweetest baby ever. You slept constantly and rarely cried. I was in heaven.

You are growing up to be such an individual, you are truly a spirited child. Some of the characteristics that drive me nuts right now, like your stubbornness, you wanting to do everything yourself and your defiance will make you such a strong and independent woman. I think we will either be great friends or butt heads a lot.





You have such a sense of humor for a little girl and you keep us laughing all the time. You love to perform and like to have an audience. While you can definitely try my patience, you are usually such a love bug. You love to hug, kiss and snuggle and I am just savoring every moment of that.

You look up to your big sister so much, even though you like to drive her crazy at times (like cutting her American Girl doll's hair), but I think she is teaching you more than your dad and I ever could (hopefully not too many bad things:) You would sleep in her bed every night if you could.

You are making great strides academically. You know all of your letters and numbers and are starting to try and sound out words! You will definitely be ready for kindergarten next year, even though you will still be 4 when school starts.

It is a bit sad to see you growing up and you are not my baby anymore, but I am very excited for all the adventures yet to come.

You are such a joy and I am so happy to be your mama.

Love always,
Mom

The wedding

So, last Christmas, my baby sister, Julia, (not really a baby anymore), decided to take a trip to Africa with a West African Dance school she had been going to. I thought the timing wasn't great, Christmas is a huge deal in our family, especially to our mom and she had had a rough year. Her partner and a very close friend both passed away and her mother was quite ill (she ended up passing on Christmas day) and I felt that our mom needed her girls home for Christmas.

Anyway, true to fashion, Julia didn't listen to me and went to Africa anyway. It is a good thing she did because she met the love of her life on her 3 week African adventure. This summer he was able to come to the states and they got married on September 6th.

Given the low budget nature of our family (grins) we pretty much did everything ourselves. The wedding was held in my mom's backyard, which required some work to get it ready. Julia had her dress and dresses for me, my girls, and our other sister, Patty, made while in Africa in the summer. She ordered the supplies and made all of the centerpieces herself, we cooked the majority of the food and decorated my mom's yard. The groom's brother, Karim, played beautiful music for the ceremony on an instrument he made himself (wish I could remember the name of it). But, the piece de resistance for me was that I got ordained online and officiated the ceremony, which was a great honor. I am going to tear up just thinking about it.

The weekend was a whirlwind of activity leading up to the wedding and I couldn't fathom how we would get it all done, but thanks to so many including Julia's wonderful new sister-in-law, Sarah Lee, Julia's friend, Janet, our cousins Brett and Eric, Julia's friends Wendy and Charles, the groom, Alya and his brother, Karim, we managed to get everything ready and it was beautiful.








This wedding was a magical experience and I am so happy I had such a big part in it (even though I was rather stressed leading up to it). Lily kept saying "This is the best wedding ever!"

Alya, bienvenue à notre famille, nous vous aimons. (Alya, welcome to our family, we love you.)
(Here is the French translation for Alya (not sure if it is correct):

Ainsi, dernier Noël, ma soeur de bébé, Julia, (pas vraiment un bébé plus), décidé pour la porter à un voyage en Afrique avec une école de danse africaine occidentale était allée à. J'ai pensé que la synchronisation n'était pas grande, Noël est une affaire énorme dans notre famille, particulièrement à notre maman et elle avait eu une année approximative. Son associé et un ami très étroit passé loin et sa mère étaient tout à fait défectuosité (elle ont fini vers le haut du dépassement le jour de Noël) et j'ai estimé que notre maman a eu besoin de ses filles à la maison pour Noël.

Quoi qu'il en soit, vrai à la mode, Julia n'a pas écouté moi et n'est pas allé en Afrique de toute façon. C'est une bonne chose qu'elle parce qu'elle a rencontré l'amour de sa vie sur sa aventure d'Africain de 3 semaines. Cet été il pouvait venir aux états et ils se sont mariés le 6 septembre.
Etant donné la basse nature de budget de notre famille (grimaces) nous avons assez beaucoup fait tout nous-mêmes. Le mariage a été tenu dans l'arrière-cour de ma maman, qui a exigé d'un certain travail de l'obtenir prêt. Julia a eu sa robe et les robes pour moi, mes filles, et notre autre soeur, pâté, ont fait tandis qu'en Afrique en été. Elle a commandé les approvisionnements et a fait toutes les pièces maîtresses elle-même, nous avons fait cuire la majorité de la nourriture et avons décoré la cour de ma maman. Le frère de toilettage, Karim, belle musique jouée pour la cérémonie sur un instrument il s'est fait (souhait je pourrais me rappeler le nom de lui). Mais, le morceau de resistance pour moi était que j'ai obtenu ordonné en ligne et officié la cérémonie, qui était un grand honneur. Je vais déchirer penser vers le haut juste cela.

Le week-end était un tourbillon d'activité amenant au mariage et je ne pourrais pas sonder comment nous lui obtiendrions tout le fait, mais grâce tellement à beaucoup comprenant soeur merveilleuse de Julia la nouvelle, l'ami de Sarah Lee, de Julia, le Janet, nos cousins Brett et les amis d'Eric, de Julia Wendy et Charles, le toilettage, Alya et son frère, Karim, nous sommes parvenus à obtenir tout prêt et il était beau.

Ce mariage était une expérience magique et je suis si heureux j'ai eu une si grande partie dans elle (quoique j'étais plutôt amener soumis à une contrainte à lui). Le lis continué dire « ceci est le meilleur mariage jamais ! »

Alya, bienvenue à notre famille, nous vous aimons.

Lovely ladies

We have been having lots of fall fun, despite the dreary Michigan weather. I love this time of year. Fall color, apple picking, back to school.

Two weekends ago, we ventured to Wasem's orchard with great family friends (one of whom is Chloe's future husband) to pick apples and eat fresh donuts and cider. Yum. We are still eating the delicious apples (we got a half bushel) and I hope to get around to making applesauce this week! Thankfully, my kids love apples, so even if the applesauce doesn't happen, they will not go to waste.
Last weekend, while Shawn was on a business trip, the girls and I went to hang out with my BFF, Kelley, in Cleveland. She is an awesome friend to host us (and the mayhem) for the weekend and she loves my kids "buckets". Some of the weekends activities included a Halloween party, fort making, movie watching and a fashion show. Good times.

My Sweet Lily

Dear Lily,
I can't believe you have been with us for eight years! It seems like only yesterday that you came into this world and made our lives infinitely more exciting, wondrous, meaningful. (and also crazy, hectic and exasperating at times) You made me a mother and you mean the world to me. You are such a special girl, here are a few examples.

1. I admire your empathy toward others. You are always considerate of people's feelings.
2. I respect the fact that you always try to do the right thing and follow the rules.
   
3. I am in awe of your self confidence and self-awareness at such a young age. You do your own thing even if everyone else is doing something else.
4. You are a fabulous artist and writer.
5. I think it is amazing how well you pay attention to things, you can always retell an event or story with many details.
   
6. You are so sweet to your little sister, even though I know she drives you nuts sometimes.
7. I love that you will let her sleep in your bed, so she isn't scared or upset
8. I loved when you went on a field trip you used some of your tickets to get a prize for her too.
9. I love that you can be so patient with her in helping her learn how to do something new.
10. I love that you call each other 'sissy'

There are so many more things about you that are amazing. I am so grateful to be your mom and I love watching you grow and mature (although don't do it too quickly, OK?)

Love,
Mom

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who gave me input about my little hellion. I have removed the post because it doesn't feel right to have all of her bad qualities on display for the world to see. I sure wouldn't want a list of my bad qualities floating around the internet ((shudder)). Here is a pic from our recent vacation to South Padre Island, TX instead.