Word of the Day: Applique

I spent Cole's nap time at my favorite online fabric store, and bumped into a little "How To" section. They had a pretty straightforward explanation of an Applique, including templates of the alphabet. It looked and seemed easy and it's been something I've been wanting to try for a little while.

As luck would have it, I am finally making a tote for myself, and though I planned to embroider a monogram in it, I hadn't made it that far. So this seemed the perfect opportunity to try out something new! And I got all the fabric for my little tote on mega-clearance, so if it all went sour, I was only going to be out $5.

Actually it was fairly easy. The turns on my "S" were a little hard to manage, so I'll fix that by hand. But for my very first effort I have to say I'm quite happy and now have endless ideas of things I can (and will) applique! I am already looking forward to practicing it more.

This sewing machine has been such a blessing, as silly as that may sound to some. I admit, being a stay-at-home mom who sews all day long was not exactly what I had in mind when I left work. But it is truly a joy. It's something that keeps me always thinking of something new to make, and has challenged me to learn about something I literally knew nothing about. I'm so grateful Kevin was willing to make the investment.

Love is in the Air...

...and it's not even February yet.

Our good friend Lizzie was over here today, and they really are starting to develop a friendship. Cole has some safety glasses (which the Lovely Lizzie is modeling) and after he wore them around on his little car, he got off and handed them to her so she could take a spin. With the glasses on, of course. To my surprise she obliged and Cole was so pleased. You can see him looking at her with a little smile on his face.

They have always been generous with their affections (only when asked, though, never on thier own decision) and I hadn't had a chance to catch the moment on camera, until today. I'll skip the jokes about boyfriend / girlfriend only because I find the thought of Cole dating someone completely horrifying. But I will say watching him at this age is a special reminder of love without prejudice. You tell kids to give another kid a hug at this age, they do it. They don't worry about what they look like or smell like, or how nice they are, or how funny, or if they are like themselves or not. Just another way the Lord uses these little children to teach us when we least expect it.

"Mane"

This is Cole's word for plane. And he loves them. Last Sunday we took advantage of our mild "winter" weather, and headed to the park to fly Kevin's two planes he got for Christmas. Right away you could see it was a special father-son time, even at Cole's early age. He ran around shouting "Mane!!!" and often would beat Kevin to the plane when it landed. It was a fun afternoon, and the pictures turned out so nice. I especially like th one where Cole is talking about something and Kevin is listening intently. :)

Christmas

Here just a few pictures of our Christmas with the Spillman's, and then Christmas morning at our place. I don't have any with the Mattix's...because we forgot our camera. But I think Dean is going to email us his pictures (hint hint Dean....)

This year our time was pleasantly relaxing. We were able to enjoy both families, and still have time to celebrate with just Kevin, Cole and myself.