Answering to arguments

I feel like God has really been calling to me lately. Everywhere I look, I'm reminded of Him. What does this mean? I'm really not sure, but I'm along for the ride!

I just finished reading "20 and Counting" by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar (Thanks Jenn!). It was a pretty quick and fun read. I was searching my bookshelf filled with many good unread books to find a new one when I was drawn to this book: "Let the Journey Begin God's roadmap for new beginnings". Not sure where this book even came from. Possibly a book my Nanny gave me as she was closing up her bookstore...

I open it up and read the first few pages. It wasn't exactly catching my attention. Read a couple more. Still not very interesting. As I'm about to put the book away I decide to flip through the pages to see if anything catches my eye. And behold, I turn to a page where a single square of toilet paper is used as a makeshift bookmark! Being curious I read the page that someone felt necessary to mark with their toilet paper.

The page is about answering to arguments. It says:

Unity doesn't begin by examining others but in examining self. Unity begins in not demanding that others change, but in admitting we aren't so perfect ourselves....

The answer to arguments? Acceptance. The first step to unity? Acceptance. Not agreement, acceptance. Not negotiation, arbitration, or elaboration. Those might come later but only after the first step, acceptance.

That just spoke to me on so many levels. Little did the person who had this book before know that I needed to read that very passage. But God did. He is an awesome God!

A dress for Emma

I've never made a dress before, so this was a first!

The pattern was very simple-- no zippers and no buttons. I purchased the pattern from Mani-Mina, a shop on Etsy. I bought a couple other simple dress patterns from her that I'm excited to try out.

This dress was made by using her Chic Everyday Dress pattern. I can't wait to try it out by pairing it with different fabrics for the dress body and sleeves. It was my first try at it, so I used fabric that I wouldn't mind if it went to waste. The next dress will be done using some really pretty discontinued Heather Ross prints.




I also made her a matching headband to go with her new dress. Did I ever mention how much fun it is to dress up little girls? Too much fun.

Fleece longies

I got the sewing bug again today.

I have a lot of pink fleece sitting around taking up space, so I decided to sew up some fleece longies for Emma. I took it a step further by embellishing them with some cute knit fabric, since again I have a ton of it just sitting around. Do you see a pattern here? I buy fabric and never use it. It's a real problem.

So here is the final result!

Another day at the Verhoeven's

Nothing to really blog about. Got some cute shots of the kids around the house. Had to Share :)

Mischievous boy.

Melts my heart.

Crawling.

I love that dimple.

Happy Heart Day

Today was Valentines day! The kids woke up to cards, chocolates, baloons, and a couple gifts. I was putting together Jacob's wooden train tracks that he took apart the night before when I heard our bedroom door open. (Yes, he is still sneaking in our room in the middle of the night!)

When I came out of his room I greeted him at the kitchen table. He was already helping himself to some ladybug truffles sent by Grandma! He ate three more before we decided enough was enough and it was too early for that much sugar.

Then we read cards and opened gifts. Jacob got a few Thomas the Train DVDs, a new shirt, and a wooden Toby train to go with his tracks. Little Emma got some really cute clothes and two books about nursing. You know, since that's what she likes best!

The books are called "Mama's Milk" and "We like to Nurse". They're both really sweet and show differen mama animals and mama people nursing their babies. I have to say that I like "Mama's Milk" better. The graphics are much nicer and they show several different mom's with their babies. They even have a mama wearing her baby! Which is great since we're a baby wearing home too. :)

My sweet husband bought me filters for the camera. And the kids got me a basket full of doritos, white cheddar popcorn, and slim jims. LOL! Now, does my husband know me or what??!

For Mike, I got him a nice collage frame with pictures of the little ones for him to bring to work. Believe it or not, it's what he wanted! And I also threw in a case of Sam Adam's specialty sampler beer. ;)

Last night we spent the early evening with Mandi and her family. We met them over at her mother's house to celebrate her 30th, uh, I mean 29th birthday. ;) The kids had fun playing together and I had fun snuggling with little Gabriel-- he's almost two months old!!

Genesis finally got her crown and she put it on right away! It just so happened to match her beautiful dress that her mama made for her. She'll be making one for Emma's first birthday, right Mandi?? ;)

Oh, how I love the many faces of Genesis!

I just love the look on their faces. "Could you hurry up and light them already? We're ready to help blow them out!"

Don't you just want to squeeze him?

New Longies

I got the bug to crochet Emma some longies. I had bought the yarn and started them when Emma was about two months old. I just never got around to finishing them. So yesterday, while in the mood, I got down to business.

As you can see in some of the pictures below, Miss Emma Lou is starting to pull herself up to a standing position. Can you believe this girl? She is just growing and growing right before our eyes. I want to remember these days. It seems like just yesterday Jacob was hitting these very milestones, yet it's so hard to remember...

I loved this one so much that I had to turn it black and white.

As you can see the sweet moments don't last too long!

I pretty much made Jacob sit in the rocker and read with Emma, but at least he did it. He still doesn't care for her much these days. I'm really hoping he'll grow out of that soon.

Woodland fairy crown

Thought I'd share this fun project! It's woodland fairy princess crown I made for Genesis for Christmas. Can you believe I still have not given it to her yet?? We've only seen Mandi and her family once since Christmas and I forgot all about bringing it over. We'll most likely pay them a visit tomorrow and bring it then. I'm very happy with how it turned out. Once Emma is big enough, she will have one too. I'll probably make her one to wear for her first birthday.

The crown is made using wool felt. I hand stitched the mushrooms and "G" using embroidery thread in matching colors. The back elastic band is made using some of my favorite fabric from the Alexander Henry 'Sprites of Tillbrook' collection.

Two milestones!

Guess what chunky butt is FINALLY crawling??

Yes, that would be my Emma Lou!! Yay Emma!!

She has been capable for a while now. She would get on all fours and pretend to crawl before putting herself back into a sitting position. Lazy girl :)

Yesterday was the big day. I was so proud of her. I seriously could've cried. (Tears of joy of course!)I can't believe how fast this is all going. Before I know it, she'll be walking and talking. They grow way too quick!

So now we're officially in the next stage: mobility. Bring. It. On. haha!

I have to download all the videos on our video camera hard drive to a dvd. We've finally run out of space on it. However, I did get a video on my phone. I just need to figure out how to upload it to my computer. You'll have to excuse the fact that she is bottom-less. We were airing out a little rash. If we had known she would be crawling we would have made sure she wasn't wearing her birthday suit ;)

In other big girl news... are you ready for this?? WE HAVE A TOOTH!! Well, sort of. It's poking through just a tiiiiiiiny bit. Enough for me to notice at least.

Crawling and a tooth. All in less than 24 hours. Go Emma!