Answers

A few questions have been asked of me over the last few weeks. With the craziness of life, I haven't answered them here on the blog. So...here it goes:

Pattern for the little blue gown set: It is from a hard copy that I got from a Threads of Love person. It's terribly written actually. I have kind of made up my own way of doing it. However, if any of you want it I'll be glad to mail it to you.

Sock hats: It appears that she cut the cuff off the socks and with fine crochet thread (or at least something thicker than regular thread) gathered the cut edge to make the little ball on the top of the hat.

Jellyfish Sting: I'm the one that was stung. That's how I know the windex works!

Another fun week

Navarre Beach, FL is our beach destination of choice. I've been going every summer since 1982, I think. As a child, we spent nearly the entire summer down there. In the fall of 2003, we bought a condo.....just in time for the massive destruction of hurricanes Ivan and Dennis only 9 months apart. Early October is our favorite time down there. Unfortunately, with Hannah in kindergarten this year, we may not make a trip.

Despite the seaweed and jellyfish, we had a great time. Tip for jellyfish stings: WINDEX. It works amazingly.

Anyway....here are a few fun pics of our fun week.

Our Week

Because of this....


We've been doing A LOT of this!

Last Saturday, my sister and niece were in a car wreck barely escaping a head-on collision. Thankfully, my niece suffered only minor injuries that included a bumped head, black eye, and sore hips from the seatbelt. Unfortunately, though, my sister broker her femur and bruised her lungs pretty badly. She got out of the hospital on Thursday and is recovering at my mom and dad's house.

Hannah and I drove to Alabama last Sunday to get Lizzie. She's been with us all week and we will drop her off on the way to the beach tomorrow. It's been a lot of fun, minus the few fights. :-)

Slow and Steady

That's my new motto.....Slow and Steady
I finally have a little gown set completed. Two more are in the works.
The neckline gave me fits, as usual. I have something different planned for the other 2 sets.

I will probably send this to Teresa, the NILMDTS photographer. I promised it to her months ago. I'll see if she still needs it first.

Gotta run...meltdowns abound.

Good Stuff

A "green" donation

Our family has recycled for the last several years, but in the last 6-7 months we've really tried to kick our "green" living up a notch. So when these hats arrived yesterday, I flipped my lid. Plus, they are terribly cute too!

These are from Kathy's friend, Dana. Dana rescued these from heading to the landfill. They are rejects from a sock manufacturer that were in too bad of shape to even be sold as seconds. Dana took the rejected socks home, washed them in Dreft, and turned them into darling preemie hats. Thanks, Dana & Kathy!

Happy 1st Birthday Austin!

What a truly incredible year it has been! All those long, horrible months on bedrest are a distant memory. Austin has been a wonderful addition to our family, a dream come true. One year ago today, our little miracle was born weighing 6 lbs 5 oz. He had a bit of breathing problems at first and spent the night in the NICU.

At 12 days old, he had a little "episode" that we now believe was something called Sandifer's Syndrome. He refluxed up and began to choke. With Sandifer's, baby goes stiff. After a gazillion tests, nothing was found.

He was slow to gain weight at first, but once he caught on he took off. We nicknamed him "Hubba Bubba".

Although he's not walking yet, he's into EVERYTHING. And, boy oh boy, is he FAST. He has the quirky half crawl/half monkey skoot that serves him well. Baby gates are going up and cabinet locks are being installed.

He has an adorably funny personality. He already knows how to get your attention. Daddy has been wanting to see one of his belly tantrums and started laughing at him to try to encourage it. Now, anytime Austin wants your attention he flops on his belly and kicks his legs...all the while laughing at himself.

I love you more than the world, Austin! Happy First Birthday, Bubby!

Another Harvest

Picked these Sat night. Poor yellow squash. We're not sure what's going on with them. The plant looks wonderfully healthy, but the veggies just aren't plumping up. Any ideas anyone?

Slide Show

Check out all the BEAUTIFUL things coming in for the 3rd Annual Remembering Emma Grace Donation Drive! I've put the slide at the very bottom of the page so check it from time to time.

Turnip Greens

I have so many photos to post and will try to do them a little at a time. My computer is FINALLY back up and running. It's been a mess, though, complete with a lost key code for Microsoft Office. The laptop was purchased by Jason when I went on bedrest. He had Best Buy set it up, paid them extra, of course. Once we found all of the disks in a box labelled "pots", I took the computer back to Best Buy to have them restore it and install my software. Welllll.....when I went to pick it up, they told me there was no key code in the Office CD case.


Yesterday, I finally got around to calling Microsoft who confirmed that I did indeed have a legal retail copy of Office and would issue me a new key code for $10. No problem, here's my credit card info..... silence, dead silence.... Thanks AT&T, yet another dropped call! Interesting how I didn't have this issue with my TX number, but a few months ago once I FINALLY got around to getting a GA number, dropped calls are happening left and right....although I thought I was testing out the service by keeping the TX number before committing to another 2 year contract.



So, I grab Jason's phone and call Microsoft back....and go through the whole story again to once again confirm that I have a legal retail copy and that I need to pay them $10. Yep, got that. As I start to read out the numbers, the customer service rep says that their system is down and that they cannot process credit cards at this moment. Ha! Ha! Microsoft's system is down!! But, she'll issue me one anyway....FOR FREE. How kind of them! ;-)


Long story to say....I'm back on line and ready to talk about TURNIPS. You thought I forgot, didn't you?





A couple weeks ago, we picked 2 square feet of turnips. I don't like turnips, but Jason said they were really good. I guess we'll be doing more in the fall and try to stagger the plantings. 1 square foot was enough for a batch for Jason.

I'll take the peas (not from our garden) and cornbread, though. That's a banana pepper of ours in the peas.

Thanks Sharon!!

Sharon sent this adorable doll for Hannah. Thank you so much! She LOVES it!!

New Website

I'm so excited!! Check out the new Emmazing Grace website. My friend, Kiran, designed it and her friend programmed it. It's not perfect, but "oh so close!" Steve will switch it over to wordpress when he gets a chance (he's swamped right now I think) and give it to me. I'll fix some of the text and upload some pictures...provided that I can figure it all out. Let me know what you think!!

A Glimpse (without pictures because I'm not that brave!)

Did you see the crazy lady running for her life today? She was wearing a hotpink tank top, old maternity shorts, with her (clean, but not brushed) hair in a scrunchy.

That was me! Yep, I admit it. I took the trash out and decided that I would take my chances at battling the 100 degree temps verses returning to the cool house and ALL THE DRAMA!!

Of course, I'm joking, but the thought did cross my mind. LOL! My heavens....Mr Austin has turned into a clingy screecher! It's not a scream; it's a SCREECH. He protests EVERYTHING these days.....a diaper change, a nap, the finger swoop to retrieve whatever he's put in his mouth THIS time (which happened to be a Spongebob sticker and a piece of Easter grass), the highchair, the bottle....shall I go on? I think you have the picture.

Square Foot Garden Update

Last night we picked 2 banana peppers. We have baby squash, tomatoes, and zuchini going. Two of the tomato plants aren't in the greatest shape. As it turns out, our chimney overhang shades them more than the other two. Lettuce, Basil, and Oregon didn't make either. The dogs stepped in those boxes, so I'm not sure if that's the problem or what. I replanted last night.

3rd Annual Remembering Emma Grace Donation Drive

Yes, it's that time again! I've been trying to draft a post for a couple days now, but thinking about another year that has passed without Emma saddens me. However, I'm determined to be upbeat! ;-) So, let's do this! Let's beat last years numbers!!

3rd Annual Remembering Emma Grace Donation Drive

Date: June 1 - August 15

Goal: 530 items & $550 in cash donations

Items needed:

Handmade -

• Bereavement gowns in all sizes. Boy gowns without "frills" are in high demand. If possible, a set that includes a blanket and hat is much appreciated.
• Hats, booties, blankets for the NICU babies.
• Memory Boxes

Purchased -

• Disposable Cameras
• Journals
• Votive Candles
• Forget-Me-Not seed packets
• Mesh baggies for locks of hair
• Books on surviving the loss of a child
• Mini photo frames
• Hand/Foot mold kits
• Plastic ziptop bags, gallon & quart size - Each donated item is packaged in a plastic zipper bag to keep clean.
• Postage
• Print cartridge - HP Black #92; HP Color #93
• Wedding gown, bridesmaid gown, or prom dress - One of our volunteers would love to use your old dress and turn it into a beautiful bereavement gown or burial wrap.

As always, a monetary donation is very much appreciated. All donations are tax deductible and I will gladly provide you with a receipt.

To date Emmazing Grace has donated 1230 bereavement and NICU items. We have also helped 10 families with funeral expenses or the purchase of a cemetery monument for their precious angel.

Through all of your heartfelt and generous donations, Emmazing Grace has touched many lives. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining our little efforts!!

Just like last year, a prize drawing will be held at the completion of the donation drive. If you would like to contribute a handmade item as part of the prize, please let me know.

Please feel free to contact me at info@emmazinggracefoundation.org if you have any questions!

Thanks a million!

Candy

Great Contest

Knit-A-Little has a great contest running. Check it out! And, in case you are wondering....yes, I'm behind these days!

Shopping Cart Cover

I finished this shopping cart cover a couple weeks ago, but have just now gotten it photographed. When Hannah was little, I had one from Walmart and was not satisfied at all with it. I'm a germaphobe when it comes to shopping carts and restaurant highchairs. I looked online and the ones for sale were $40-$50. Instead, I purchased this pattern from ebay and made my own. It even has velco toy holders and slits in the back for the cart safety straps. and, yes, it fits restaurant highchairs, too. The plaid John Deere fabric was left over from Austin's bedding set. All I had to buy was the fleece and bias tape.

Before and After

I've been wanting to re-use clothing for quite some time now. In fact, it's probably been 2 years or so. This bereavement gown set was made from an old pageant gown from my mom's attic. It's made in loving memory of my friend's daughter, Trinity. I wanted to have it done for her 5th birthday, but didn't make it. That seems to be my standard these days....a day late and a dollar short.

Anyway, I think it turned out nice. I'm going to pair it up with a blanket donated to Emmazing Grace. I'm emailing pictures of it to Teresa, a Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep photographer that has requested some boy gowns. I know this isn't what she needs right now, but I think it would be beautiful in portraits.

Note: After a quick search, I can't find the pageant gown before I cut it...too tired to keep looking tonight. Austin's been ugly to his mommy the last 2 nights.

Pillowcase Dress

I've been doing quite a bit of sewing since my computer crash. :-) It's still not completely "right". In fact, Microsoft Office won't work and I can't get the wireless to work either. I think I'm taking it to the shop. I HATE to spend the money, but it'll be worth it.

This pattern is super easy and quick! I already had all the materials on hand and made it in no time. I think a few for summer birthday presents are in order.

Computer Crash!

Just letting you know that the reason I haven't been around since returning from Disney is that my laptop crashed. It has really cramped my style! :-) The operating system when Ka-Poot and we have had to find the recovery disk. Hubby just located it in a box in the basement labelled "pots".....as in outdoor garden pots. Gotta love how the moving companies mislabel boxes. We will try to fix it with the disk. If that doesn't work, I guess Best Buy is about to make $129 off of us.