IPad Case tutorial

I made an ipad case this afternoon. I used this tutorial from Sew, Mama, Sew!

I didn't want the handle and I used stretchy elastic to hold the flap down. I also modified how the topstitching  was done at the end. I only wanted to go around once--cause I'm a super impatient sewer (no surprise there). You only need two fat quarters and two pieces of scrap (for the pocket). Oh, and I tried to make the outside look quilted by adding a thicker fusible fleece to the outer fabric and then stitching along the chevron pattern. Yeah, it looks about like this in real life--either the fabric was too heavy or the batting too thin. Either way you don't really get a good quilted look. I do like how it feels though. The fleece, plus the Pentax really makes for a protective case. I wouldn't be afraid to haul this around in my purse.

During dinner Jeff asked Lachlan what she had for lunch. She said that she had a chicken sandwich. Jeff asked what kind of chicken and she said, "Well, there was ham, then cheese, then turkey. Just a regular chicken sandwich."

Also, every night for at least a month, Jack has asked Jeff about where the Bermuda Triangle is AND are there real pirates and if so HOW can he see some AND are they still alive AND are we far away from the ocean so that they can't get us?? Oh, and on Sunday during Sacrament meeting he determined that Bigfoot was totally real because he found its real skull in a magazine (fossil catalog for science teachers). He said (too loudly), "Oh, I totally knew it, Bigfoot is real!"

Sunday Snapshot

We got to church on time because Bruce started throwing up on the carpet at 7:15. I didn't know it was that late when I initially heard the tell-tale sounds of blech-blech-blech. Though dark in the room, years of motherhood and pet ownership have honed my skills to the point where I instinctively got out of bed scooped up the cat and ran to the toilet. No lie--I literally held a cat over the toilet while it threw up. My efforts were only partially rewarded as my cat mouth to toilet rim ratio was slightly off.

You have to be a little wary of any day that starts by you staring blankly into a toilet bowl filled with hairball and bile.

We were all a little off and Jeff is sick.

Jack had his pant leg tucked in his sock.

I heard the parable of the Chinese Bamboo Tree today during Sunday School. I'm kind of surprised that I've never heard this before-- it was used in a different way in the lesson, but I had to look it up when I got home.  This is a way of thinking about it that I really liked.

The Parable of the Chinese Bamboo Tree "In everything you do in your family, keep in mind the miracle of the Chinese bamboo tree. After the seed for this amazing tree is planted, you see nothing, absolutely nothing, for four years except for a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. During those four years, all the growth is underground in a massive, fibrous root structure that spreads deep and wide in the earth. But then in the the fifth year the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet!
Many things in family life are like the Chinese bamboo tree. You work and you invest time and effort, and you do everything you can possibly do to nurture growth, and sometimes you don't see anything for weeks, months, or even years. But if you're patient and keep working and nurturing, that "fifth year" will come, and you will be astonished at the growth and change you see taking place.
 Patience is faith in action. Patience is emotional diligence. It's the willingness to suffer inside so that others can grow. It reveals love. It gives birth to understanding."

I love the idea of a massive, fibrous root structure spreading deep and wide-- sometimes I forget to think about life in that way. I had a rough day on Friday. I've been hating myself for getting so emotional about things that are not really about me...and I had a breakdown. It's always after the fact that I think, "come on--what is your deal--your roots are deep!"

At church it appeared on the program that the Primary kids were going to sing the musical number. I leaned over to Jack and asked if he knew that he was singing with the Primary to which he responded with great exaggeration  "Ugh, I'm not even wearing my singing songs shirt. I can't get up there in this--" He looks down at a polo and sweater vest with a big eye roll. It took all of my self control to muster, "You have a song singing outfit?" Which earned me an, "I don't even want to talk about this"--and I was waved off from further explanation. The good news is that the program was a misunderstanding and the musical number was just Shari playing Primary songs on the piano. ...Aunt Susie would say, "Ryan Seacrest's social nightmare averted."

Post church amounted to UNO and Battleship. Jack always wins but it's because Lachlan plays Battleship by saying, "Miss! But you were really close!" "Hit! Oh, man, Jack you hit one of my ships and another one is really close too!!" OR "Sure wish that you would change the color to green. I would love green or red, but NOT yellow!" Dear Heaven, may she never have the urge to gamble more than a nickel slot. Amen.

Then I made some cake. This is the Pumpkin Pound cake from my Pinterest Food board. It's tasty. Very simple to make. Last fall I canned my own pumpkin, which I use for lots of other things, but this is pretty good on a snowy afternoon.

We got a foot of snow.

This is just what we got after church. Jeff had to shovel twice.

And then I turned into a total lump and watched TV for two hours, maybe three....Jeff says four.
P.S. What is going on with the fonts in this post? ugh.

Mercy

**I'm going to be really honest this year and this post involves religion. If you can't hack it, consider yourself warned. I believe what I believe. the end.

I spent most of last year studying women in the scriptures. I didn't start out the year doing so, it just sort of happened to me. It felt like I just couldn't stop once I got started--I read entire books, went to seminars, emailed professors--I was on a journey.

Some of my study materials:
Women In Scripture
Women Of the Old Testament
All of the Women of the Bible
The Mormon Women Project
Women of Faith Vol.I
Women in the Scriptures

There are many stories to tell about what I learned, some that I'm still learning, but the following is one that I keep coming back to--I've decided that I'm going to share this one first because MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE I've learned that women have to tell their story. No one else is going to do it for you, and there isn't anything worse than having someone else try to tell it for you after the fact [read: death]. I also know without doubt that we have to be truthful about what is hard and what is wonderful. There is strength beyond our capacity to describe when we learn from ourselves, from our own history, from our own words. I believe that the Spirit of God can direct our lives and can "bring all things to our remembrance for our good"--but if we never learn it in the first place or at least admit that we learned something, there will never be anything for us to remember.

The book, Women of Faith, details the experiences of early Mormon women. Many of them had little education, their lives are detailed in short but heart-felt expressions of faith and mercy. I have so many questions for them--mostly they can be summed up into "how?" "How is it done?"

Jack and Lachlan, this is a part of my personal history. My "how". I learned this lesson because of the strength of other women and the love of God.

What I Learned About Mercy
In 2010, I decided that I was done having children and for a truth I had made peace with it. I knew that for Jeff and I, our kids, and Heavenly Father that it was enough. I posted my thoughts here when I sold off/gave away all of our baby stuff. For two years I never thought about the decision again, but last February I read this book, Silent Tears. Actually, Jeff read it first and then said, "you should read it and then we'll talk." Well, after reading it I couldn't stop thinking about kids, opportunity, and privilege. It's not the easiest book to read and not be affected in some way. I just knew that we had the capability to do more, that we could make a difference for one more child.

I finally got the nerve to blurt it out to Jeff, "I think that we're supposed to adopt again." I don't know why I'm still surprised when he always immediately responds, "yup, me too." ...And then were both really thinking about it, but it was just "out there" because we hadn't made any plans to make this happen. By that, I mean, we hadn't saved a dime to dedicate towards adoption. This isn't a small thing. It's also scary to start thinking about what one more child would mean to our little family that was working and loving together so well.

But the feelings didn't stop. I kept learning from other women that life is sticky and scary, but also wonderful when we live by the Spirit, when we have an all consuming faith that some how He can make something wonderful out of a thought--out of inspiration. Just like He did for Hagar who is dying of thirst and pleads with the Lord to spare her son and she is taught to "see" the well. The Widow of Zarapheth who is going to eat her last meal, but instead receives direct inspiration to serve others--then feeds Elijah (and then goes the extra mile by taking care of him for the next three years). Amanda Barnes buries her son and her husband in an abandoned well at Haun's Mill, everyone is SO sad about what has happened that they won't even help her throw her own boy into the mass grave (what??!). In a moment of complete sorrow and desperation she prays for a way to heal her wounded son's hip and is given a level of intelligence and healing unknown by even today's medical standard.

Frankly, I can't even remotely relate to these experiences, but that's not what's important. I was listening. I was remembering.

I begin to see that two years ago, Heavenly Father knew exactly what I was thinking and feeling. His mercy and understanding allowed me to be finished. To let the anxiety of pregnancy and babies fade into the past--and what a blessing it was--I believe all along that He was giving me a Nauvoo. An escape to Egypt. Reprieve. Mercy.

I finally got brave enough to pray about adoption. [As a sidenote, if you aren't really serious about adoption you probably shouldn't pray about it because the answers can be hard and fast. It's been my experience that they will go directly to your heart and if you aren't ready it might hurt.] I prayed, "okay, I'll do this if you'll make a way. Show us how it is possible."

Faith proceeds the miracle. This experience has been nothing less. I'm not totally unaware that bringing Mei home isn't going to be a walk in the park. Adoption is hard. I used to believe it was for everyone. I can firmly say, that I do not believe that anymore. BUT, the act itself is merciful in the greatest degree. I believe that my Heavenly Father asked us to sacrifice one more time so that he could bless us with more mercy.

Mercifulness is a cycle. Mercy begets mercy begets mercy--and it will continue forever--or at least until we screw it up because we forget how it works.

Deep in my heart I wanted Lachlan to have a sister. I remembered a dream I had many years ago where I was a mother to two dark-haired little girls. I had written it off until I realized that mercy was going to make it possible. It wasn't a missed opportunity (also what I thought). I'm going to get to be a mom to somebody who needs me as much as I need her.

I know the Lord made this adoption possible. His power and mercy know no bounds and all we have to do to access it is have faith to reach out and touch the hem-- just the hem-- of His robe. He loves my little Greta and he knew that I would listen to other women--that I might just take their advice.

Three More Weeks...probably

Yesterday we received our clearance from the National Visa Center...which means that they have approved our I-800 (US Immigration Form) and Mei's visa application will be forwarded to Guangzhou first thing this morning. We will wait 14 days for our I-800 to be approved, hypothetically it will only be ONE WEEK after that until they give us a travel date. Unfortunately, our one week will fall right during Chinese New Year.  I'm trying to stay positive, but it's going to be an additional week of waiting out through the biggest holiday of the year.

This has been the longest January on record. It's been bitter cold and I swear that every time we get a step closer there is always one more form to be approved. Adding to the length has been that I was laid off my job at NGA...hum. I'm not surprised that financially they are in a rough place. There was a bunch of crazy stuff going on, generally good people, but a definite lack of consistency. Nevertheless, I really loved writing for them. I hate to see it go. It was a pretty sweet gig to work from home and I've always known that it was a huge blessing for my family. I'm not going to be looking for anything new. My life is in such a state of transition that I think I just need to "be still" and "be patient" and let things kind of work out and about for the next few months. I've had a few sad days, but I don't really know how to sit still so I've managed to keep quite busy. It also looks like I'm going to be sticking pretty close to a budget for the next year. Woot, woot. Good thing I've got all of those hard beans in food storage--really looking forward to making some high fiber foods with them.

Last Saturday we took the kids skiing. The sunshine felt so good. The kids are really skiing well. I honestly don't know how Jack can go so fast straight down the hill--it makes me sick to my stomach to watch him do it. Lachlan mentions over and over again how much she loves using her poles this year. She still is, technically, a better skier than Jack. There is a lot more control going on with her.

I have to laugh when I look at this picture. What is going on with my twisty leg and crazy hand? 

Welcome to 2013!

Despite the lack of posts last year, I actually worked more on family history than in previous years. Which is actually the purpose of this blog for me--however, due to our upcoming addition I'm going to pick up the writing so that many of you can follow along.

Today is Jack's 6th birthday. I've been building him a "first year" baby book for the past few months and it has been so fun to look back. I can't believe that five years have come and gone. He's sitting here next to me right now, watching Kung Fu Panda cartoons while his beloved ipod charges up. He burns out the battery playing, Plants Vs. Zombies. I conceded my rule about "no killing games" because technically Zombies aren't real. Ah, you win some and you lose some battles.

Jack has a great Kindergarten teacher. I love visiting the classroom because I always learn something about teaching from watching her. In fact, I've had several "ah, hah" moments--where I always walk away thinking about how amazing her skills are. Jack was the VIP last Thursday. I helped him to make his poster. He stood up in front of the class and told them, "this is a picture of me when I was a baby. I didn't have any teeth so I just sucked on a tomato." I loved that part because I don't remember telling him that he didn't have any teeth. He also told them about how much he loves Super Heroes and that his favorite cartoon is Scooby Doo. One of the kids asked him what else he liked and he said, "Pokemon." I don't even think he knows what that is--I sure don't--but he must have heard about it somewhere and has decided that he likes it. He can get wiggly sometimes, but I have noticed that when a story is being read he maintains rapt attention. I love that a bit of maturity comes out on these small moments. He told me last week that he skipped choice time so that he could finish writing his book about "the trampoline." I loved hearing that--

 

 

Jack wanted to have a little party at the JumpZone for his birthday. We invited Lilly and Sammy to go with us. The JumpZone is pretty cool (and not filthy dirty like the Fun Park (gag)). I would have loved a place like this when I was a kid. My favorite part of watching the kids is seeing them try their "tricks"--Jack thinks he is very high, but he jumps about six inches off the mat. Lachlan on the other hand, with feathers for hair, has the most awesome "launch-toss"--it doesn't hurt that she weighs less than a sack of groceries so you can really throw her.

Her hair kills me. You couldn't even Photoshop it any better!

The party then headed to the house for the pancake dinner. Jack requested pancakes, sausage, bacon, and chocolate milk. Lachlan was starving because she hadn't eaten since 11:30 at the school--I totally forgot to bring her a snack before we went to the trampoline place. She ate three servings of pancakes, a personal record. All Jack could think about was opening presents--he got an art kit, some games, a new Spider-Man costume (the old one was worn to rags), and his beloved Castle. He was very disappointed that Santa didn't bring it at Christmas. Good thing that Santa saved it for his birthday, less than a month later. I have to admit. The castle is pretty cool. He has played with Lachlan non-stop. He even got up early so that he could play before church!

Spider-Man tattoos for all the kids.

A very special Spider-Man birthday cake made for him by our lovely Aunt Carrie. He picked it out from several designs on Pinterest. It was so awesome. He was so excited to have it just like the picture.

He is very serious about wishes. He is always begging me to save eyelashes so that he "can blow the wishes." On Sunday, Jeff was cutting his hair. He was standing, naked in the tub, covered in hair from the clippers. He looked down at all of the hairs and said, "oh, wow! Thousands and thousands of wishes!" He stood still thinking very hard before he blew out the candle on his cake.