new

i am finally using mozilla firefox rather than safari and i was able to upload a picture for my header. after how many months? safari was terribly unfriendly to me and i am so happy to say that we have officially broken up.

i never really intended on my first header to be a photograph of an air raid. how did i go from a sweet picture of anna's little red keds to this? i'm not really sure. i had to think fast and get it done and there it is. and am i at all happy with the placement of that title? no way. of course not. but do i have time to figure out how to change it? it doesn't seem possible to do it with blogger tools. or am i wrong? amy? help? i guess i'll figure this out, too. but i am so happy with firefox because the little icon for adding a link is FINALLY visible and i won't have to type in the code. hurray!

today is warm and sunny and i am so so glad. but anna woke up with a fever and has been in bed most of the day. she did come out to eat a popsicle on the front steps and pick a few dried pod-like things from the enormous butterfly bush which is begging to be pruned. and now she's back asleep.

today is DAY 2 of OPERATION MAKE ELI FALL ASLEEP ON HIS OWN. it's going fairly well. just to know that he can do it gives me hope, even if it does take 10-12 trips into his room to resettle him. and it seems to have caused his naps to stretch out as well as the time in between. we've suddenly gone from 3 naps to 2 and maybe soon i will be putting him down to bed and not waking him for a late feeding. this means that i will maybe be able to get to bed before 11/11:30 for the first time in almost 8 months.

Easter weekend was lovely. we went to the georgia state sacred harp convention. anna had an easter egg hunt in a cemetery and eli crawled in the grass without eating too many sticks and leaves. we saw many people we love. i suppose it is high time to write a bit more about sacred harp but i'll save that for next time.

one week ago today, i spent the last hours i would spend on this earth with my grandmother. i am so grateful that i knew that these might be the final hours. i'm not up for recounting the entire story, but i will say that i am feeling very peaceful about her passing. God's timing was perfect, as always, even if there are a few pieces in the plan that still seem a bit mysterious. i was able to hold her hand and sing to her, pray with her, stroke her hair, kiss her soft cheek, and lay my head on her lap. she remained so still and quiet, but gave me signs to let me know she could hear me when i spoke into her ear. i have to believe that she knew i had come.

i grew up next door to my grandmother and spent many days out of every week with her. in all of my 32 years, i have spent every Christmas and every birthday with her. and so many days in between. we were alike in many ways and she has influenced me greatly. she was my biggest fan.

success (rice)

i decided against the zipper pouch. or it decided gainst me. i haven't sewed in a zipper in about 10 years. the last one went fine but now i'm feeling quite intimidated. the zipper package has directions, the pouch pattern has directions and the manual for my sewing machine has directions. they're all a little different and all for the same task. this i do not like.

so i poked around and found inspiration for making a rice pillow at wise craft. (i'm still learning the etiquette that pertains to the blogging world so i hope this is the correct way to go about giving credit where credit is due.) a little ironing and a wrinkly few yards of material that came from who-knows-where resulted in some fabric that i now want to make everything out of. i'm horrible about liking something so much that i don't want to use it. (or is it that i selfishly don't want to use it for someone else but never make things for myself?) i altered the pattern a little, making the outer cover removeable so that it can be thrown in the wash. i was really pleased with the results of this first attempt at making a rice pillow so i went ahead and cut out pieces for three more: one for anna (who also liked the results so much that she slept with the first one i made and requested one of her own as i tucked her in), one for an out-of-town guest who was coming to stay with me for three nights, and one to have on hand for a last minute gift (!).

one of the best parts of this rice-pillow-making experience was how i was able to work while my children were awake and either involved or otherwise being helpful (well, eli wasn't all that involved or helpful). after the pieces were cut out, i wanted to get right to sewing but it was time to feed eli. i put him in his chair and perhaps my longing gaze at the project, all ready to go, inspired anna to offer to feed her baby brother so that i could get back to work. so for a good 10 minutes, i sewed away while she dished out the sweet potatoes and he smiled from ear to ear at the attention he was getting from his big sister. later, after he was cleaned up and in bed, anna sat at my side, asking questions about how the sewing machine works and working the foot pedal for me. only a few stitches here and there were a little out of control. i love my little helper.