One of the things Hannah received from Santa was a Harmunka doll. It is basically manikin with a slot in the back you can tuck strips of fabric into so that the front will make out fits...just like a fashion designer.
Hannah LOVES this thing. I went rummaging through my scraps and found her some more material to get creative with...no way I'm paying $5 for more scrap material...I have tons of that.
Here are some shots of her latest fashion line:
Watch out world...who knows where this will go to....
I love them...I do...Am I too cheap to have them done...well...um yes...more like have to make due with the money we have and monogramming is not on top of the budget list...
But tonight I found this awesome little way to embroidery names on things....I am so going to try it this next year!
I found the cutest tutorial. If anyone knows me and my sewing they know I LOVE to make things from sheets...there is so much material there and I LOVE to find a great deal...usually Target is my place for both.
I was doodlebuggin' around on the computer today and found this great blog...called While they sleep...and it has the cutest skirt...that I can't wait to make...so what if I have no fitted sheets for the beds...we will all have lots of skirts!!!!
Chad was so excited to make his first fire for us this winter. He worked so hard (we didn't have any kindling but had plenty of shred material (I know, I know-its not good for the fireplace). It looked so beautiful!
Here is a picture of the girls in their snowman pillowcase dresses too. I guess this will probably be the last year I can dress them like this...Hannah is "much too old " to wear these (she thinks). I love how "Little House on the Prairie" the look.
This is the first year of many we’ve been able to write a Christmas letter.Just like most of you, we’ve been busy, busy!
We are still home schooling.Hannah is in third grade and Mikayla is in second grade.Autumn just celebrated her second birthday and thinks she is in school too.
Chad is working at MS Valley Title and is very happy there.He has just recently moved over to their Canton courthouse and loves it.It puts him traveling 45 minutes one way to work, but he says it is worth it!
Chad has recently been very busy preparing for Pinelake’s (our church) Christmas Music program called Best Gift.By the time this reaches you, Chad will have performed in 5 performances in one weekend and many, many rehearsals.He has one short solo part and is singing in an ensemble. I am so proud of him being brave. I will be helping with the interpreting in our Friday performance. Chad is really enjoying his new found friendships with all his choir friends.
Chad has also started hunting again this year.He is very excited about it.He has even taken Mikayla out in the woods to hunt.She loved it too.Chad said she was the perfect little hunter, quietly watching and waiting for a deer to approach.
I am still signing at Pinelake with other interpreters as well as teaching Sunday school every now and then in the Deaf Ministry. I am very involved in our ReACHE home school group.I was just appointed to their board to take over the communications area.I basically created; run and update the ReACHE website and YAHOO group, as well as put together a newsletter quarterly for our members.
In June, I also started a website for our community called RankinKountyKids.com.This website is a database for fun things to do in and around our community (in our county) for parents and kids.It has been fun to put together, as well as a challenge to learn different types of HTML and CSS code on my own.
I’ve also been busy, busy teaching myself how to sew and knit on a loom.I’ve been able to make lots of fun things this year. Pillowcase dresses and twirly skirts have been fun to make.I’ve made several hats and scarves.As you can probably tell, I have a hard time sitting still.
These are hats for We Will Go ministry downtown.
Birthday gift for my niece.
The big girls went to sewing camp last June and had a blast!They both learned to hand sew and sew on a sewing machine.They made bags, skirts, purses, pillowcases, hair scrunches and many other things.They’ve sewed several times since then and have even sewed some Christmas gifts for family.
Hannah and Mikayla with the group of girls showing off their pillowcases and skirts they made during camp.
They have also started Karate this year.Mikayla picked it up right away and LOVED it.Hannah was a little more apprehensive about it, but is doing GREAT.They plan to test for their first belt after Christmas.Chad is taking karate with them.
Hannah went away to her first summer camp last May.She was gone for a week. It seemed like eternity for the rest of us.We couldn’t wait for her to return home.She had a great time.She also stayed with Nana and Pappy (Chad’ parents) and Misty and Marty (Chad’s sister and brother-n-law) this year.She is a girl who likes to travel.
Hannah also started her own little business making bubble magnets.It’s been lots of fun helping her in her creative ventures.I suppose it runs in our family.
Mikayla is more of a homebody but thrives in her environment.She has taught herself how to do handstands and back flips.She is doing excellent with her piano lessons.She will learn to play something, memorize it very quickly without having to look at the music again.She is one of those that tries something once and has it.
Autumn has learned sign language this past year using her Signing Time DVD’s she received for her last birthday.She signs all kinds of animals, foods, vehicles, emotions, and daily life signs.She is very shy with the camera so I’ll have to hold everything she has learned in my memory.
The girls are doing very well in school.They are involved with several co-ops this year.One is American History that meets once a month.So far they’ve learned about Christopher Columbus and William Bradford.They’ve even been geo-caching. Another Co-op they do once a month is PE.They get together with our home school group and play all kinds of school yard games and learn basic skills for different sports.Finally, the last co-op they are involved in is one that we do every other Friday with a dear friend and her daughter.We study different artists and try to recreate some of their techniques in an art project, they have piano lessons, learn praise and worship songs in ASL, and do review and a project from our Astronomy curriculum we study during the week.
A very exciting thing that happened this year for both Hannah and Mikayla (and us) is that they asked Jesus in their hearts. Hannah was baptized in February and Mikayla was baptized in November. It was very exciting for our family!!!
Mikayla's baptism
Hannah's baptism
As you can tell, we stay very busy but our life is blessed and we are thankful for God’s mercy, faithfulness and guidance in our life. We’ve lost much in the last few years, but have pulled together and grown closer through it all.We pray that you will have a great Christmas and especially a wonderful new year.
You can see what we do all year by visiting our blogs:
We'll I was putting too many side items in my homeschool blog so I thought I would start a new one. Hum...what will this one include:
1. My Sewing Projects: Some of you know that my 2nd Mom passed away August of 2008. This was an intense summer of care taking for her as well as my children. Her cancer came quickly and took her quickly. The sting is still very much here. Anyhow...I inherited her sewing machine and have began to do little projects here and there. Each time I use her sewing machine , I think...she would be so proud. I've always wanted to sew but lacked the confidence to figure it out on my own. So there ya go...
2. My ramblings about life, crafts I insist on making, and just ongoing projects I am tackling because life is too short to wait til tomorrow!
3. Whatever else evolves here...who knows what the Lord will give me to say!
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