Getting use out of wedding gifts

I think it really started in high school, my senior year I think. I volunteered to sew about 20 of the girls' costumes for our spirit week skit. Not too difficult, just red sating flapper dresses with a fringe hemline and sequence straps. They didn't turn out too bad.
When I put a sewing machine on my wedding registry I thought no one would buy it for us (me). Can I tell you how shocked, and pleased, and thankful, I was when it showed up at our front door. It has probably been used more than 95% of the gifts we received for our wedding. Even Joe has used it a number of times to patch, repatch, and patch some more a pair of jeans that we refuse to throw out. They make the perfect yard-work-pants.
I thought it would be fun to show (off) a few of the things that I've made.


This is a crib skirt I made for Cassidy's new crib. I had the fabric left over from a failed project and it became the perfect skirt.


Here are the curtains I made for Cassidy's new room. I must have bought and returned ready made curtains three times and couldn't find anything I really liked. I really like the colors and how they tie into the room color. Not really a baby style, but I like them.


I loved this fabric and had to make some pillows.


I made the roman shade, though it still needs to be hung right, as well as the valance.









One of the best baby gifts I received was a Hooter Hider (nursing cover). When I found out they cost about $40 I thought, for $7 worth of materials I could make one of those. So I do, as baby shower gifts.

Surprise!!

I always thought it would be fun to go through a pregnancy and not learn the sex until the moment the baby was born. Initially I was going to not find out but Joe wanted to know for this baby. But he has changed his mind and so we are both going to be surprised in the delivery room. We thought it would be fun to do a few polls. Just 'cuz it's fun to guess all the details knowing you have little control over any of them. Kind of like guessing the new bishopric. :) Have fun guessing and we might throw in a little, albeit cool, treat for someone who gets all three right.

Super great August

We're back!!!
What a great August it's been, I can't believe it's over, in three days. Here's a little run down on what we've been up to.

About mid-August Joe, Cassidy and baby & I went up to the cabin for a full 4 1/2 days. How nice it was to get out of town on a Thursday instead of hitting Friday traffic. We made it up in about 4 1/2 hours (we did hit traffic). Cassidy was great up until the last twenty minutes; she just wanted out of her torture contraption at that point. Once we got out of the car and set up and put her on the floor she was so much happier. We all loved being up there. Joe went fishing a few times, we all went for a few walks, and we took a stroll around the craft fair going on down town. We came home reluctantly but refreshed.

Most of the month I have been busy with the youth summer program, finding family names to take to the temple for baptisms. Being family history consultants (well, married to one) we have keys to our building's family history center so I scheduled hours a few times each week to help those who wanted it. I was ale to get a lot done for Joe and my families when there weren't youth there so it was a very productive month.

The last two Fridays our youth have taken their family names as well as names provided by other members of our ward to do the temple baptisms. In all I am guessing that we did between 420-440 family names!!! While there, I was in go-go-go-mood, always shuttling kids to the right place or taking names to be recorded, grabbing men to help out where needed. Exhausting but so worth every minute. It was amazing to be a part of that as well as having contributed about 80 of our own family names. Now we just have to do everything else.

This was my last time with my Laurels and the young women. I was released last week from the YW program. Our whole YW organization was redone. I think only 3 women still remain. I kind of thought it might happen but I'm still sad to move on to the next calling. Which is... co-teaching with Joe the 12-13 Sunday School class. This will be great, especially when the new one arrives in January. We are excited.

Cassidy turned 1 last week. So amazing that the year has already flown by. She is getting so much personality. She is getting her fourth tooth right now. She finally really picked up the idea of crawling on her knees about 3 weeks ago, no more army crawl. She's still too nervous to venture away from furniture unassisted but she's physically capable. She loves to converse with herself or her toys. I found her with a picture of my friend Marilee's little girl; she was saying 'baybay' (baby). So cute. She's a doll. We are so lucky to have her in our family. We are thankful for her everyday.

I hit 20 weeks this week. I can't believe that we are half way through this pregnancy. We can't wait for this little one to be with us. Yet we can enjoy the last four and a half months with Cassidy alone. I can enjoy the relative ease of shopping at whim just the two of us.

Yeah!!!!!

Let me be the first to say... HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't tell you how grateful I am to live in this country. Having served a mission in a less ___________ (you fill in the blank) country I have never since had a moment of ingratitude for the privilege I have to live here and raise my family in this imperfect yet AMAZING country. The freedom we enjoy to work hard and pursue my own dreams and ideals and (oh no, don't say it, don't say it) prosperity are too die for, literally. Many have and many more will. We live in a choice land and as long as we worship and serve the God of this land, Jesus Christ, we will be blessed. That is the key. There are many problems facing our country (when hasn't there?) and there are many nay sayers but the fact is that the more perfect the people become the better our country will become. The ONLY answer is serving Jesus Christ and becoming like Him. There is no other philosophy, political policy, or means by which we will enjoy the blessings we all desire. Thank you Father in Heaven for creating a land where we can enjoy the Gospel fullness and where we can learn and grow towards becoming like You.

Lots updates:
Cassidy came down with Rosseola this week. A baby with a 103 temperature is no fun. Add to that she got her first tooth on day 3 of the fever. Thankfully both are past us. Just remind me not to let her put my finger in her mouth. Little Miss Razorblade.
I'm almost out of the first trimester and on my goodness the difference a few weeks make. I feel so much better and have more energy.
Cassidy is officially a water baby. She loves to swim in grandma and grandpa's pool, especially when her cousins come to play.
Oh yeah. Cassidy went back to the doctor last week for her weight check. She gained 2 1/2 pounds!! Woohoo!! The doctor was thrilled. She asked what the secret was so that she could tell her other patients. Formula. I finally realized, learned, figured out that I was losing my milk and that Cassidy just wasn't getting enough calories from me. Though there are some aspects of nursing I kind of miss, can I say that a bottle, in some ways, is SO MUCH easier. Now Joe can feed her or we can go places when she gets up and just bring a bottle. The only reason for the switch was she wasn't gaining enough weight. So Cassidy went from the 3rd percentile to the 16th percentile. GO CASSIDY!!

Fun days... usually

Ever since Cassidy was really little she liked to stand, it was difficult to get her to bend her hips to sit. Couple that with the fact that she isn't too keen about being on her stomach, though we tortured her anyway with tummy time. Those two facts lead me to think that she would definitely walk before she crawled. She's been cruising for a few weeks now. She's still fairly tipsy and when she wobbles too much she gets nervous and tentative and will only move if I offer her my hand. (She takes after me in the tentativeness department) She loves to go for walks if you take her hands. The knees don't really bend much when she's walking so she kind of looks like a soldier. This only further strengthened my hypothesis about the skipping crawling and going straight to walking. Well, I may have to admit my error on this one thing.
On Thursday Joe was listening to a message on speakerphone and Cassidy really wanted his phone. Being on her stomach, she grabbed the carpet fibers and pulled herself forward. Instead of using her knees she used the tips of her toes to help her move. It was really cute. And she goes at an angle. We've put her down to practice everyday but she still only goes about two feet before she's done. But she's getting it. Once she can get herself places she'll be more content I think. Not that she's not content but it must be frustrated to see something you want and not be able to get it yourself.
In the midst of all this new movement I have found that I really like the couch, as in laying on the couch, with a pillow and a blanket. I usually get to take a nap during at least one of Cassidy's daily naps. After feeding her and putting her down for a nap a wave of exhaustion usually overtakes me and I am out like a light. I am continually grateful that she naps so well and so often because I couldn't make it through the days otherwise. Couple that with the from-the-moment-I-get-up-to-the-moment-I-go-to-bed nausea I am not the most interactive mommy at the moment, or wife for that matter. Poor Joe (and Cassidy) But as it did while pregnant with Cassidy, this too shall pass, hopefully sooner this time. And yes, I am pregnant!!! Woo hoo. We are super excited. This time I am not finding out the sex so from now on the new baby will be called "the baby". The baby will be arriving in early January so this experience will be different from Cassidy who was a "full third trimester during the heat of summer" baby. Yeah about that difference. What else to say? Really excited! Already stockpiling diapers and wipes, making room change decisions, etc. Can't wait...