{things I've said}

A short list of things I've actually said to my children this week:

(to Joseph) "Take that camel out of your mouth and finish your reading lesson!"
(Note - I was talking about a plastic piece of the nativity set, not a cigarette, in case you're worried)

(James) "We do NOT pee in plastic bags and then hide them under the table!!"

(Gabriella) "Please take your finger OUT of my ear and do not put it in there again!"

(to Robert) "I have to go clean the dried tuna fish off the piano before Mom comes to give Joseph his piano lesson."

(to myself) "Why is there peanut butter all over the piano keys AGAIN?!"

and, lest you feel that Elora is being left out, here's my anecdote about her this week. She talks in her sleep. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever. A few nights ago, she rolled over in her sleep, sang/said "Di-e-go! Go, Diego, go! I watch Diego?" and then fell instantly asleep again. (Diego is her favorite tv show in the whole entire world. It's kind of like the boy version of Dora the Explorer. We're all quite sick of it...but she loves it.)

Then last night, James came in to tell us he'd had a nightmare about bears. Elora was asleep in my lap and she suddenly sat bolt upright, said "Bears?!" and then fell back asleep. I almost woke her up again, I was laughing so hard.

Yes, life with these little people is many things...but it's definitely never boring.

Status Update: Married!

In case you couldn't tell from my absence, the month of December was quite a busy one for me! Hosting a bridal shower in early December, tons of family in town for our FOUR separate Christmas celebrations (yes, it was excessive), and, finally and most notably, watching my little brother get married! That thought in and of itself is crazy and difficult for me to wrap my head around, but in a very happy way. It was a lovely wedding, a testimony to God's faithfulness, and a very VERY joyful day, especially for my brother and his lovely new wife, Melissa! It's exciting to have a new sister and see my brother set off on this new and exciting stage in life.

Here is a GORGEOUS professional photo of the newlyweds. More goofy and probably less professional photos to follow soon!

{Costume parade} year 2

We don't really celebrate Halloween, but unfortunately it's a difficult holiday to ignore altogether. Especially with the creepy decorations all over our neighborhood, the scary and disgusting displays at every single store in town, and, oh yes, the hordes of kids that show up at our door each year. Every year Robert and I struggle with just how much to do - or not to do - on Halloween, since it's not possible to ignore it or, even better, just fastforward to Nov. 1. Usually we buy some candy for the trick-or-treaters and let the kids each eat a piece while we watch a movie. Since 3 of the 4 are now in Awana, there is also a "Costume Night" on the Sunday closest to Halloween, and we allow them to dress up for that. Since I love sewing costumes, usually I make some or all of the kids' costumes for that - it's one project that actually "stays done" and you can never have too many dress ups, right?

This year Gabriella kept talking about how she wanted to be Strawberry Shortcake, one of her favorite characters, and Elora would Strawberry's baby sister, Apple Dumplin'. That seemed appropriate! (She also decided that Auntie Dano was going to be Strawberry's friend, Blueberry Muffin, despite the fact that said auntie lives in Colorado...she was an honorary member.;-)  There aren't really a lot of boy characters in Strawberry Land, so the boys picked characters from some of their favorite shows, Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam. Luckily we already had most of those costume pieces, so I got to focus on making the girls' dresses.

They were pretty simple, really - I just cut off the top of a t-shirt, made a little gathered skirt, and sewed them together. The hats were actually kind of a bigger pain. I bought them at the store and then hot-glued the fabric on, but they didn't stay on very well, especially Gabriella's.  Here's the finished product:

All four looking at the camera and smiling at once! That's gotta be a record.

 James as "Bob the Builder"

 

 Joseph as "Fireman Sam"

 

Elora as "Apple Dumplin'"

 

 Close up of Elora's dress. Her favorite part was the "hattie" as she kept calling it. She insisted on wearing that hat everywhere. And yes, the little buttons on her bows are apples. ;-)

Gabriella as "Strawberry Shortcake." Her dress isn't an exact replica of the character's, more like my interpretation of what Strawberry would wear. But the colors, especially the green and white stripes, are authentic.

 I was just not happy with Gabs's hat - it was a funny shape and wouldn't stay on, so we tied it under her chin with bows. But she liked it anyway. The hat is covered with Strawberry Shortcake fabric that Sophie gave her, and her buttons are strawberries.

 

The two sisters. I love the fact that I have little girls and can make dresses for them. I think they can even wear the dresses, minus the hats, as regular clothes. Maybe to church.

 

That's the costume parade from the Voss house this year. Hope you enjoyed it!

 

 

[You know] #3

You know you're a mom when...

...you judge the success of your day based on the number of baths your children have had by the end of it.

As in golf, the lower your score, generally the more successful your day has been. Because higher numbers of baths usually means you spent the whole day cleaning up gigantic messes. Or fishing the toddler's hands out of the toilet...again.

Done, done, finally done!

Two years ago I began working on a project for my little sister, Sophie. No, sorry, wait, this story begins way before that.

A long, long, LONG time ago in a galaxy far, far away...my best friend Rachel and I lived in the same town. When we weren't playing horses - which was most of the time! - we played with her Felicity doll. Felicity, for those who don't know, was one of the American Girl dolls, each based on a fictional girl from a different period of American history. There was an was a series of books about each girl, and, for the lucky girl whose parents loved her (sorry, Mom, I guess there's still some latent bitterness there), you could purchase an 18 inch doll that you could dress in all her gorgeous costumes. Felicity was the colonial girl and she was our  favorite, mainly because (you guessed it) she was crazy about horses, and eventually ended up rescuing and owning her own beautiful copper colored horse Penny. I'm fairly certain Rachel and I both wanted to BE Felicity (when we weren't fighting over who got to marry Roy Rogers...two small hearts were broken the day we found out he was both already married AND old!) and wear her dresses and own her horse and live her exciting colonial life, which coincided with all the events leading up to the American War for Independence. (Too much back story? I apologize...I really AM getting to the point eventually...) Anyway, I desperately wanted my own Felicity doll, and her lovely dresses, and my very favorite was this blue dress she wears to the ball at the Governor's palace:

 (Gorgeous, right?)

So, fast forward about **** years, and Sophie, lucky girl, now has the American girl doll AND the coveted blue dress that I always dreamed about as a child! (Clearly we all know who the favorite child is in THIS family!;-) And I just happen to have some blue satin fabric the exact color of the Felicity dress...and so I decide to let my inner child live vicariously through my little sister. Thus, I promise to make Sophie her very own replica of Felicity's blue satin ball gown.

We find a pattern that is very similar and will require only a small amount of modification, then search the fabric stores for trimming similar to the Felicity dress. Cutting out the pattern and the fabric pieces is always my least favorite part of a sewing project! Finally we actually start sewing, a little bit at a time each time we get together. Slowly, slowly, the dress starts to take shape. Lining, interfacing, boning, satin, lace, muslin...this is the most complicated pattern I've ever attempted! The goal is to finish the dress in time for Sophie to wear it to the Regency Ball that is held every year in Albuquerque.

Then....we learn the sad news that there WILL be no Regency Ball this year! What? This certainly puts a damper on our enthusiasm. Now we are making a beautiful gown for...what? Interest wanes, and the project is shelved for months, maybe even an entire year. Sophie occasionally reminds me to work on it, and I get a little bit done here and there. The stupid zipper takes 3 attempts before going in right. (Oh, zippers, how I hate thee! Always have, always will...) Finally, the dress is complete except for the underskirt, the hem and a bit of detail work.

Then September 2012 arrives. Sophie reminds me about her unfinished dress...and I remember an upcoming date - September 19. Official Talk-like-a-pirate day! We examine a flyer that promises a dozen free Krispy Kreme donuts to any patron dressing like a pirate. I recall the similarities between Sophie's dress and the dress Elizabeth Swann wears in Pirates of the Carribean. 

And so we suddenly have a goal. Finish the dress before Sep 19! Wear the dress to Talk-like-a-pirate night and earn those donuts! One more long afternoon does it. Bam! Details finished. Bam! Hemmed. Bam! Underskirt made. (Yes, I know sewing machines don't go "bam." Unless there is something very wrong with them. That's just how I felt.) She dons the dress and...perfection.

The underskirt looks nearly white in these pictures, but it actually a pale blue.

Close up of the lace details:

The back:

My lovely little sister! It was definitely worth all the time and effort just to see her look so pretty and happy!

Someone get this lady a carriage. I'm pretty sure there's a ball somewhere she should be attending.

The leather jacket

My first year of college, my mom bought me a leather jacket for Christmas. It was a nice jacket, real leather, but not terribly fancy or expensive. It wasn't any of the "I'm rebellious" or "I'm a Goth" or "I ride motorcycles" styles of jacket or, even worse, the "I'm the kind of girl who rides on the backs of motorcycles wearing little else" kind of jacket. It was just a nice classic black leather jacket that goes with everything.  I loved that thing - I wore it everywhere, for everything - except maybe skiing, and that was just cause leather doesn't like snow. ;-) I wore it to school. I wore it on dates with Robert. I was wearing it the night he proposed to me. (Along with 2 sweaters because it was 2 days before Christmas, outdoors, on a bridge at the UNM duck pond, on the very coldest night of the year! But that's another story.) I wore it throughout our marriage and even, unbuttoned, while I was pregnant with our kids.

 It looked kind of like this...

And then, one sad, sad day, ten years later, came the Great Mold Incident of 2010. You all know the story - 100% contamination, with everything having to be either washed or tossed. Well, you can guess the rest. That poor faithful beloved leather jacket, which I had completely worn out, was determined to be not worth saving. Or rather, not worth the amount of money it would cost to have it dry cleaned, because it would literally be cheaper to buy a new one. So it got tossed...and tears were shed...and life went on until...winter arrived again. And suddenly, I had no jacket. I had two nice heavy wool dress coats, which worked for the very coldest days, and some sweaters, but nothing in between.

My mom, being the sweet and generous lady she is, offered to buy me another leather jacket for Christmas. This sounded like a great plan...until we actually tried to find the jacket. Me, being the boring, traditional, and stubbornly-change-resistant person I am, decided I wanted the exact same jacket. Or as close a facsimile as possible. In vain we hunted - regular stores, department stores, thrift stores, online. Nothing. There are a million and twelve leather jackets in the world - and none of them looked right to me. I tried - I really did. I tried to give the other jackets a chance, to broaden my horizons - but I just didn't like them! They were too modern, too trendy, too "fashionable." I wanted my jacket. Soft black leather. Hip length. Button-up front. Pockets and princess seams. Plain and comfortable and safe. Is this too much to ask? Apparently.

This is just ridiculous looking. Too "fashionable" for me!

Winter passed and still no jacket. Spring arrived and the search was abandoned. Summer's heat made us forget the very existence of jackets and cold and snow. And then came September first...and along with the start of school came the first hint of cool wind and yellow leaves that reminds us: Fall is on it's way. Fall...season of apples and leaves and delicious pumpkin baked goods and...jackets. Oh yeah, jackets.

The search resumes. Day 1 is not going well so far. I'll keep you posted.

Pain

"Grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger links than common joys." -- Alphonse de Lamartine

"Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever." -- Isak Dinesen

"I walked a mile with Pleasure
She chattered all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow
And ne'er a word said she;
But oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me." - Robert Browning Hamilton

"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."  - J.R.R.Tolkien, The Two Towers 

"Pain is never permanent." --Teresa of Avila

Growing up I probably experienced more physical pain than most people. I had many injuries and surgeries, and I learned and grew a great deal from those experiences. I learned how to sympathize with other people's suffering.

But the past two weeks, I have been learning about a different kind of pain - emotional, not physical. And I have to say I prefer the latter. I would rather break my bones or have another concussion than deal with losing people I love.

Yet as hard as it is, as much as I wish I could just fast-forward to the end and not be stuck here in the middle, with pain, I have seen many beautiful things come out of it. It has knit Robert and I closer together like nothing else in our marriage, and I have never loved or admired my husband more. I have received such great amounts of love and kindness and service from my family members, and I am so grateful for that. It has made me more appreciative of my children and more willing to be patient with their small faults. And most of all, I have seen and felt the presence of God more clearly in my life, even as I struggle with my inability to understand His plan. Pain changes us. We will never be the same people we were before...but we can only trust it will make us better if we allow it.

"Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning." - Psalm 30:5