The Ladies Man, Christmas Edition...

He's a flirt.  He's a ladies man.  He knows what women like...he's only FOUR!!!  Let's just observe the facts friends: 

My husband and I help out with the youth group at church.  Every Wednesday night the little Mr. makes his grand entrance and begins making the rounds to all the high school girls.  He grins and bats his eyes and they pick him up, hug him, and gush at how cute he is.  And he eats it up.  We've got girls beating down our door offering to babysit (thank you by the way!).  He's a lady killer.

Aunt Sarah doesn't stand a chance.  Her will isn't strong enough to resist his hugs and kisses.  Try as she may, he always finds her and monopolizes her affections.  She's putty in his hands.

And remember this story about sweet little L?  I'm pretty sure it's just innocent friendship, but they still sit by each other every day.

The funny thing is he's really pretty oblivious to his powers.  He's just a sweet little guy who loves people and will talk to anyone who will listen...and girls are good listeners.

Since it's Christmas the little Mr. and I  worked together to make a Christmas gift for each of his teachers.  We got them all put together last night, when the little Mr. announced, "Mama, I would like to get Miss M. and Miss P. a flower too!"  He came up with this all on his own.  He talked it over with me and said he really wanted pink 'utunias' (petunias).   So, we decided we would get out early this morning before school and let him pick out flowers.  Well, he got up early alright...4am!  So I ushered him back to bed  and told him it was waaaaaaaaaaaay to early to go flower shopping.  He gave me a sad look and said, "Mama, I can't stop thinking about it!  Can we go now?" I would have thought he was super sweet, but this mama was tired and in no way thinking about flowers.

He finally went back to sleep, but he was rearing to go at 7am.  He scarfed down his breakfast, put on his clothes without a fight, and was waiting by the backdoor urging me to hurry.  We drove to the grocery store and....no pink petunias.  But, he had already come up with a compromise just in case and settled on one pink and one yellow rose.  He carried his flowers to the cashier and told her excitedly that they were for his teachers. 

When we got to school he was so excited to give Miss M. and Miss P. their gifts.  He joined the line of children filing by the teachers, giving them their homemade gifts.  Their arms were quite full when Ethan walked by and whispered, "Here." Then quickly walked away blushing.  He didn't want recognition.  He just wanted to do something nice for two teachers he loves.

Every day, I learn a little more from my wee ones.  More about giving.  More about the heart behind a kind action.  More about taking the time to bless others.  More about putting others first.  More about doing something simple to say 'thank you'. 

A simple reminder from a small child as we draw nearer to Christmas.  May you be blessed this Christmas and every day.

Merry Christmas from the Jackson '5'

Embrace The Camera--Longing For Warmer Days...

It is F-F-F-F-F-Freezing in Iowa. Here, in middle America, I can pretty much bet on shivering, complaining, and piling on the layers from early November through late April. I just can't seem to warm up.

Today, I planned to use a cute Christmasy picture for Embrace The Camera. But, when I woke up this morning, the cold air hitting my toes after throwing off my blankets had me longing for warmer days. And iced tea. And flip-flops. And the windows rolled down in the car. Excuse me as I pause and wipe away a few grieving tears.

So, I want to take a moment of silence and remember June, July and August:

Look at those joyful (WARM) faces...



Those were happy days.  Now, go link up to Emily's blog and EMBRACE THE CAMERA!

Rumplestiltskin Is My Name...

Remember that fairytale? It's pretty creepy actually. Well, I'm not exactly spinning straw into gold (if I could...oh never mind, no use in torturing myself with the possibilities...), but I have been doing some sewing. I've shocked myself by how much I've loved it! I've found a new love of textiles and there's nothing better than seeing an idea become a finished product.

For my first real sewing project, I tackled Christmas stockings. I figured I should start out with something pretty basic so I wouldn't become frustrated and call it quits. I've been wanting new stockings to hang, and was really having a difficult time finding something that was A) simple and modern, and B) in my price range. So, I did a bit of online research, and narrowed down a few designs that really fit the style I was going for. I decided I was going for modern meets retro...or something like that.

I chose to work with felt because it's a sturdy fabric and fairly forgiving as far as mistakes go (and believe me, I made a LOT!). My seam ripper became my best friend during this project.

I sketched out a basic stocking pattern and a few details to attach to each stocking for a little flair. I used the patterns to trace onto the felt, then cut everything out, pinned it together, and straight stitched everything.(Sorry guys, I had some great photos of the whole process, but somehow they were deleted...) I decided to do a raw hem (I think that's what it's called) to give it that homemade feel.

And here is the finished product...

The only one left is Stella. She's been a bit naughty, but, even naughty dogs get a treat on Christmas. She'll have a stocking decked out with a bone...

This was a super-fun starter project, and I learned through the mistakes. Hopefully, I'll tackle other sewing projects and post about them along the way...

Thrifted Threads Thursday...

Today isn't so much about thrifted threads, but rather repurposed threads. I have an extensive collection of t-shirts. In fact, I have more tees than anything else. I just can't resist their soft, stretchy, comfiness. It's crazy. It's an obsession. It's probably an addiction. But, rather than go to therapy for my little problem, I decided to repurpose them. A few of them were borderline immodest with all the holes and thinning fabric (yikes!). But, instead of throwing them out, I did a little google research and found a tutorial for a Jersey Statement Necklace. I got to work, and here is my formerly risque tee turned necklace:

The tutorial author gives lots of great embellishment ideas, but I chose to keep it simple by attaching some hand-me-down faux pearls I had lying around. The author also recommends using a tee that does not have side seams...I chose to keep the seams to give it a more urban/distressed feel. If I make another one (Hello? New obsession displacing old one?) I might give it a more streamlined look. So, there you have it!

Embrace The Camera...

This morning I caught the little miss on a good day...she wanted to cuddle and she wasn't going anywhere too soon. I called for my sweet hubby to grab the camera and quickly take a picture before she got spooked:

As soon as the photo op was done...she was too. It's all for publicity. Happy Thursday and go Embrace the Camera!

The One About Standing Out...

My sweet little guy was tasked with a preschool homework project: Decorate a paper tree. The directions listed all sorts of ideas to spur artistic creativity for parent and child. I dug through my stash of craft supplies and the little Mr. and I decided on some glitter, foam craft stickers and cut outs from Christmas wrapping paper. He colored his little heart out, cut and pasted and glittered the heck out of his little tree and when done, he held up his masterpiece and declared, "It's Finished!" Then we set it on the counter to dry for a Long. Long. Long. Time. (He used a LOT of glue).

This morning he ran in the kitchen and grabbed his tree and was so excited to show Miss 'M' at school. When we arrived at school, we walked the halls to see that some of the trees had already been hung. The little Mr. looked down at his Charlie Brown tree and looked back up at the Martha Stewart trees glistening in a row. Some were strung with tulle and real miniature ornaments, colored perfectly with stickers and gadgets applied expertly. He looked down at his tree and with a sad face said, "My tree doesn't have real ornaments, I only have stickers." I felt so bad. Maybe I should have pulled out more items for him. Maybe I should have arranged things. But then it wouldn't have been his. It would have been mine. I figured The little Mr. was probably too young to hear a pep-talk lecture on Picasso and how criticized he was for his break from traditional art and how choosing to step outside of the box changed art as we know it. Too deep a discussion for a preschool project.

So, I opted for a mommy hug and kiss, praised him for a job well-done, and ushered him into his class. Miss 'M' welcomed him to class and he raised up his tree to her and started to walk away when she exclaimed, "What a great tree! I love it!" She quickly began pointing out all the things she loved about his tree and he began talking excitedly about the glitter and the stickers. He was once again proud of his project for all of the reasons that initially brought him joy.

Today my sweet mr. unknowingly learned about satisfaction. That judging himself against others will not bring joy. He learned that he is unique. That God created him to be Ethan and that means that like each of us, everything about him is special. In his mind, he stood out today...and he didn't know if he liked that or not. But, with encouragement, he realized that standing out and being who God created him to be is good. This won't be the only lesson. It might get harder as he gets older. More comparisons. More choices. Differences...

The apostle Paul said in Galations 1:10

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people I would not be a servant of Christ."

If only my little mr. realized today that he brought a great lesson to his mommy (Hello? People pleaser?). Even as adults we struggle with wanting to be like someone else instead of who God created us to be. It's hard to see ourselves as our Heavenly Father sees us. HE sees the potential and the things about us that will bring glory and joy to HIM. We struggle through worrying about pleasing those around us rather than serving HIM.

When I picked up my little mr. from school, his tree hung proudly in the hall amongst the Martha Stewarts. His stood out. His was different. And when he walked past he shouted out proudly, "Look mommy! That one's mine!" And that's what our Heavenly Father says as HE rejoices over us, "Look, that one's MINE..."

T.T.T...

It's Thrifted Threads Thursday! Today's post is brought to you by the equator. My, how this frozen Des Moines girl wishes for the warmth being experienced by the people hanging out on that imaginary line.

On the topic of the equator, that's what this outfit reminds me of. While I love the look of a belted cardigan, this outfit drove me nuts all day Sunday as I fussed and fidgeted with the belt cinching me in the middle as the cardigan bulged above and below giving me the look of a northern and southern hemisphere muffin top. Not cute. I eventually removed the belt at home and declared myself free.

I love the pieces separately, just not together...

Blouse: Thrifted J.Crew

Belt: Thrifted

Bracelets: Thrifted

If any of you have any great thrifted treasures, I'd love for you to share in the comments section! Happy Thursday!