Last Night....

So yesterday things were feeling a bit more back to normal.  The plague (okay it was just the flu) has subsided and we are officially on the mend.  I'm still praising God that Christian and Abigail never got it....thank you Jesus for miracles even in the little stuff!

You know that feeling after you've been sick for a while and your brain is full of stuff you need to do and want to do but you just can't do more than maintain the life forms under your care.  And then oh happy day when you realize you're better enough to actually do something!  Then comes the dilemma...laundry...or crafting?  Make an actual dinner....or sew those valentines projects before Valentine's Day passes and you lose your chance?  I mean, come on...these sewing projects have an actual deadline, unlike the laundry (well unless the kids are out of pj's or something major I guess, but still).  So basically my decision was made for me.  I mean really, who likes to miss a deadline?  I'm just sewing to be responsible really.  Ahem.  Anyhow...

So Last Night, while Christian sat at the kitchen table studying, I busted out the sewing machine.  I've had in my mind for days the image of this sweet tie for Seth to wear on Valentine's Day.  We don't do a whole lot to celebrate the day, partially cause I can't see spending money we don't have and partially because every day should be celebrating love...the love of Jesus that surrounds me and saves me....but also the love we share with the awesome family and friends God has given to us.  So we don't do anything big. We just enjoy each other usually with a fun dinner with something in the shape of hearts and a little something for the kids.  I still have bouncing in my mind an idea for a little fox softie...like you've stolen my heart...get it...slye foxes...haha!  Anyway....the tie!  I had an old prom dress someone gave me because they thought I could do something with the fabric and it just happens to be candy apple red...

I totally winged it and just cut the dress into a tie like shape...appliquéd a quick heart on the front...hemmed it up and had christian tie it for me (I am incapable of tying a tie).  But because Seth is a boy and I am paranoid that he will get caught on something while wearing the tie and also because I want him to be able to put the thing on by himself I added some velcro.  It was really really hard to go ahead and cut the neck part of the tie right in half when it looked so nice and was all done, but I managed to make my fingers obey me.  I cut it at the back of the neck and sewed in some velcro and he is well on his way to self-sufficiency.  He unloads the dishwasher, too!

I couldn't leave Abigail out of the valentines day fun, so I made her a pair of leggings to go with a sweet little jumper that I just finished making from some fabric I scored on clearance at JoAnn's ( I heart birthday gift cards...like for REALS!  My inner bargain shopper gets all amped because my birthday is just after the Christmas stuff goes on major clearance!).  I used some of the softest pink knit fabric that my friend Ashley sent me in my Texas birthday box and I have to say they are the softest leggings Abigail owns.  She LOVES them!

I started with a pair of leggings that fit her well for a pattern:

Then I cut out some hearts for the knees and a ruffle for the leg openings:

I attached the hearts before sewing the side seams together so I could get it under my machine more easily, but I bet it wouldn't be too hard to just attach some hearts to a pair of existing leggings too. 

Then I sewed the side seams up and added a band of elastic and ta-da!

Easy peasy little leggings for my sweetheart (ha! get it? okay sorry...I'm a cheeseball) on Valentine's Day.

Another thing happened Last Night...

We found a mouse in the kitchen.  Yes I know that I run the risk of giving people the impression that my house isn't clean by admitting that BUT this was too cool to not share.  So don't judge me alright? :) 

So, in my clean kitchen, Christian is studying and hears something which turns out to be a mouse scurrying across the floor.  Why a mouse was running across the floor with the lights on with someone in the kitchen right there making noise, don't ask me.  But he was.  Christian got all caveman and went for something stick-like to impale the thing with (long story short, he actually rid one home we lived in of mice with a curtain dowel and a few kids from the youth group javelin style...anyway).  This mouse wasn't falling for it so C decided to put everything he was doing down and head to Home Depot for some traps.  I was kinda bummed because I didn't want him to miss out on good study time but he wouldn't be deterred.  He came back, set the traps and within minutes the mouse was taken care of.  It was a new addition to the house.  We found appetizing "evidence"of it underneath my sink (everything needs a good sanitizing now thank you mousey friend) but I am in the cabinet every single day at least five times and it didn't have the "evidence" even yesterday morning.  So we caught it early before a whole family of mice could move in and become a problem.

As I was thinking about it, it struck me....that's just like sin! It creeps in, sometimes without us even noticing.  And dude, the minute you know that it's is there, you've got to take care of it!  Get rid of the situation right away, before things have a chance to get worse!  C didn't sit there and say Ill take care of it tomorrow.  He got his tooshy up and went to Home Depot!  We have to be like that!  When we see that bitterness has crept in...take care of it right away!  When we see that discontentment has crept in...replace it right away with God's truth!  When we hear the pitter patter feet of jealousy scitter across our minds...we need to get up and take care of!  Take it to Jesus!  He will clear it out even faster than my man cleared out that mouse!

Last Night, I was reminded of Song of Solomon 2:15 "Catch us the Foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines..."  I just had that image with me of not letting anything run wild that can ruin what you are working towards.  For me those "little foxes"....the "mouse"...is usually my thoughts.  I'm going to try to lean more on Jesus so He can catch the little foxes of discontentment or worry or whatever.  No more "mice" running around this house!!!