Valentines from the Corner sewing Table

I have been spending a lot of time at my other corner table recently. Last week i set up a designated craft space for my sewing machine and all of my artsy supplies to be at arms-reach rather than in a closet or under a bed. This has been dreamed of for years!
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Being a teacher this Valentines Day, I thought I should get something little to give to my class of 3yr-olds, but since we are tight on finances, i decided to make something for them. After a couple of days trying to think of something which would be fairly simple, made from materials i already have, and look cute...here's what I came up with!
first i cut out the felt. two squares of one color and a heart in a contrasting color. the hearts are 2", the squares were about 2.5"-3" each
next, with the sewing machine loaded with a contrast color as the main thread, and blend in color of bobbin thread (white, in this case) I zigzag stitched the heart to one of the squares. be careful as you make turns...with the needle DOWN, lift the presser foot and slightly turn the fabric, stitch a few, repeat as needed. make sure the needle is down when you lift so it doesn't lose your place. go slowly and it will turn out great.
(photos to show what settings i used...zigzag width and stitch length)
then I trimmed the edges of this square with pinking sheers. I originally waited to trim both layers after finishing, but i thought they looked kind of like ravioli with both edges trimmed, plus it was harder to cut through both evenly...these sheers are not new, and also kind of small. 12 students had me choose to spare my hands the agony.
next i reset the machine to a narrower zag and a slightly longer stitch to finish (totally your choice, but these are what i used.)
sew both squares together on 3 sides, stop with the needle in the DOWN position, but don't remove your work from the sewing machine.
Add a little bit of stuffing (they are tiny, so a little really will do fine)
then continue stitching the 4th side.
trim up any uneven edges.
lastly, with a yarn needle i stretched the felt and poked a hole in a corner and slipped a piece of ribbon through and attached the card. (I've found it difficult to use a hole punch on felt.)
these would also make cute pincushions! This last photo shows what i meant when i said my first ones looked kind of like ravioli! anyone looking to make some toy pasta? that would be an interesting play set....

9 months and so busy :)

Dear Jenbug,
You have been outside of my body for as long as you were inside of it! While I will always be amazed at how much of you was pieced together within, you have grown and learned so much in the time you've been out here with us, too!
You sometimes say "papa" for daddy, though once when he was gone you said "dada!" You say "baby" when you see pictures of babies, or your babydoll, or your reflection. You say "bye bye" when we tell it to you first, and you put all kinds of other sounds together when you have something to say. If only we could understand you now!

You can crawl everywhere and stand up when you get where you want to be (while holding on still.) You can dance a little and "sing" and love to play music with drums, shakers, rattles, and bells.
You like to "read" your books, and are very careful while turning the pages back and forth. You enjoy petting the dog and getting doggie kisses (or hitting her in the nose...or using her as a pull-up spot...)
You have recently been playing your own version of chase, or hide and seek...which involves you crawling out of the family room and waiting on someone to come after you, when we find you, you grin and begin crawling quickly away! You just got a swing in the backyard, and love to be pushed fast and high.
You are very snuggly just after a bath when you're wrapped up in your towel, and also when we are out around people you haven't warmed up to yet. I love how you shyly tilt your head in toward me, letting others know you want to stay with your mommy.
While you still haven't cut any teeth, you are a very good eater most of the time. You still eat lots of purred foods, but also love Cheerios, Kix, pieces of banana, black eyed peas and other legumes, chunks of sweet potato, pieces of crackers or bread, and really got into eating pieces of the apple cinnamon pancakes we had a few weeks ago! You're very good at holding your cup, but still trick us into holding it for you sometimes.
Your 9 month pediatrician appointment is going to be a few weeks late, so we don't know your growth chart marks yet. We do know that you are smaller than "average." You started wearing size 3 diapers about 2 weeks ago, and while we are starting to pack some of your small clothes away, most of your clothes are 3-6 month sizes. You have some 6-9 month sizes in rotation, mainly because the season change required them! You still have a pair of 0-3 month pants in your regular rotation! I think you weigh between 15 and 16 lbs...we'll find out on Valentines Day at Dr. Davids office (your first trip to see him as your pediatrician!)
Your father and I often find ourselves gazing at you while you sleep in your bed, bragging about what a sweet little baby we have. I look at pictures of you from when you were first born and can't believe how tiny you were compared to now. I know you're growing up, and even in these images of you, you will appear tiny by comparison as you grow into a young lady.

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas everyone! We're enjoying spending time sharing Jennifer with her extended family during all the celebrations! She is 8 months now, crawling and cruising around, jabbering, and always the center of attention. Earlier in the year I thought my Christmas note would be about how "Texan" we'd become, but now we're Carolinians! Arrived in North Augusta in November, transferred our cars and licenses to South Carolina a couple of weeks ago. However, we did round out the year with a Texas-born child, and Mike owns a nice pair of Texas boots too! We are thankful for the time we were able to spend in Fort Worth and the many great friendships which the transition brought us. Looking forward to what new things the Lord will show us in the coming year!

We hope that you are seeking His face too!
Love, The Springsteads

6 months...now almost 7 months!

(i had meant to post an entry at 6 months, but things got really busy right about then.....)

Dear Jenbug,
You will be seven months old on monday! can't believe we've had you in our lives over half a year already.
You're such a sweet and easy baby...and still healthy too! at your 6 month appointment you weighed 14lbs 3 oz and were 25" long, average for a 4month old, but your head was still big! 17" is average for an 8 month old!
You're very smart and curious, so our packing may have motivated you to get moving. You began crawling one week after turning 6 months, the day that we began loading our truck to move to Georgia! every time i'd put something on the floor to get a box ready for it, you'd find your way right to the item! you looked like a little wind-up doll with your perfectly planned arm and leg motions. You also began pulling up on low items the same weekend.
About 2 weeks ago you began going back to a seated position on your own from crawling. This skill has made you unstoppable! You are able to crawl to something, sit and play with it, crawl some more...sit some more....
You handled the long-distance move pretty well, though you certainly weren't quite as eager to ride in the car this trip than on our visits over the summer.
You have recently become quite attached to mommy, which makes sense with all of the changes we've tossed your way. If you're on the floor with several people you know around, you go straight for me most of the time. thankfully, i have lots of extra hands around to help with you, which should also help prevent too much separation anxiety in the near future, thanks to your aunts and grandparents living next door!
I like to think that you know you are saying my name when you say "ma ma ma ma ma" but your daddy is quick to point out that you say the same to him, so we really think it is your word for "i need help with something"....which makes me think that must be the baby-talk word for it and is what babies everywhere have named us....
I really think that today i heard you say to me "my ma ma" and then you looked at your daddy over my shoulder and i heard you say "...and daddy"
You are learning to self-feed cereal and other finger foods, and get frustrated that you cannot eat all of your meal on your own...but seem to not like holding squishy foods, so spoon feeding is definitely required for some things.
I started pureeing some foods for you in place of using only store-bought babyfoods, but you seem to dislike the peas and carrots unless they are from the baby aisle. bananas and sweet potatoes are your favorite in any form.
One of your favorite "games" since we moved into great-grandmas house has been to make a bee-line for Goldie (the aging dog) so that she pays attention to you and smothers you with licks. You are one frequently-bathed baby by dog-standards.

obviously, i love packing, right?

God's plans are so different than our own, aren't they?

We moved to Texas 14 months ago, and in about a month we will be moving back to the Augusta area.
Our sweet baby was born just before the end of spring semester, which made for a difficult wrap up, and through various occurrences its been quite a rough beginning to this semester. This week it became clear to us that Mike seriously needs a break from school to regroup and refuel, which we realized two days ago means withdrawing now to prevent failing grades at the end of the semester (because failing at this point would lead to a whole year delay in his schooling.)

We plan to move back to North Augusta, SC for a while to stay with family and save some money to replenish what we've been using up here. Mike also plans to take a few online classes through SWBTS while we are gone. This afternoon Mike submitted forms to completely withdraw from classes, and to reapply for classes (yes, both forms had to be submitted in this circumstance, strange aint it?) He also gave the housing office our 30 day move-out notice. It's official. By November 6th we'll be all packed up again and moving.

I can not say that this whole year was a waste. I don't feel that way at all. If this had been our choice last winter, I know that I would have felt that we'd wasted our time and money in making this huge move just to go right back, but from where I stand now, I am able to clearly see several amazing blessings which we have received and been able to give through our time here, plus some very important faith lessons.

1. the life we were living in Augusta prior to moving here was wasteful. We thought we were making just enough to live on, but now that we've been here, i can easily see that we lived in a too-big home with two full incomes, bringing in twice what we really needed to live on and spending out of control and living in twice the space we required (though by many standards we weren't making that much, when compared to the way we've learned to live here, we were living extravagantly)

2. If we hadn't moved and hadn't had difficulty finding work here, we couldn't have afforded to pay for the birth of our daughter. Being broke has had its benefits.

3. I think i have learned to better manage wants-vs-needs, and also have begun learning the coupon thing, which will benefit our family for a long time. Even if we ever begin to make more than we need to live on, we want to be able to save and to bless others as we have been so very blessed during our needful times.

4. God showed us and our extended family that He is faithful when we are obedient to follow Him, even if it is to a strange place where we know no one. I never felt lost or alone here, even with job hunting and pregnancy and having to build new friendships, I always knew that we were in His faithful hands.

5. We began having planned family devotions here with a through the Bible reading plan and specific prayer for those close to us. I'm not saying that we couldn't or wouldn't have begun that from our previous residence, I'm just saying that it is something that we weren't doing before.

6. We have been able to be a part of an amazing church family here, where we have been able to grow be taught, and develop hearts for ministry, and to be challenged by what it means to live out the gospel in our lives every day. I learned that there is a group of churches which i agree with strongly in the Reformed Baptists. Its where the Baptist in me and the Presbyterian in me collide and make sense. I also learned more what the church as community should look like through our care group and the love we've received and given there. (This is the part I will miss the most from Texas)

These are just some of the lessons and blessings we've gained from our time here so far. I'm sure I'll continue to look at this short time and be able to count many many more great things.

People will ask me in the coming month if this move is temporary or if we'll come back to Texas later, and I can't answer that with any certainty. I thought a week ago that I'd be in this apartment for a few years at least, maybe have another kid or two before we moved again. I cannot plan to settle in one place because I am not in control of our future. This may be a short term restarting to get us focused and replenish our funds, or this might be a longer term settling for mike to take some distance classes while our children get to know their great grandmother, grandparents, aunts, and uncle in SC. It might be that we move back to Texas, or Kentucky, or Asia, for all we can see. If I've learned anything though this, It is that we need to be willing to go wherever God would take us, and live our lives that way.

Philippians 4:11-13
¹¹Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹²I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³I can do all things through him who strengthens me.