a few of my favorite things….

Old school Steve Green… When Luke was younger, we bought him a couple of Steve Green CDs for kids – Hide ‘em in Your Heart. We have NO idea where the CDs are (they were well used in Luke’s day), but they came with DVDs as well, which Tobin LOVES. In the morning while I’m reading my Bible and praying, he asks me for his “Bible Time”…which means I put one of the DVDs in and he sits happily on the couch (usually with several of his many stuffed animal friends) and listens to God’s Word put to music, often singing along. It makes my heart HAPPY.

(of course it also makes me laugh… T is mesmerized by the DVDs, despite being very obviously made circa 1983, thanks to the wonderful clothing & hairstyles of the day. One of the song intros includes Steve Green saying, “Have you ever wondered why God…” Matt always interjects, “Have you ever wondered why you wore those orange shorts?”)
Learning to sew… Thanks to my birthday present from my wonderful mom: a new sewing machine. So far, I’ve done a bag (a practice one for me – the real deal will be a birthday present for my sweet niece Alyssa next month.)

An appliquéd t-shirt (actually 2 – one for Tobin, and one for my nephew Logan.) This is faker pants appliqué – and Logan’s has already fallen apart. Oops. I think I know how to do it right next time…

And I’m working on an apron for myself (bought the fabric with birthday money, so it’s been a sewing birthday from beginning to end.) It looks ADORABLE right now, if I say so myself. But I have to put the ruffle on the bottom and I’m having some troubles…
Really cute necklaces… In addition to the sewing machine and fabric to practice on, most of the rest of my birthday presents were NECKLACES. And I love each and every one of them!

This one from Luke – who spent his own money at the farmer’s market (he knew I loved this particular jewelry stand, it’s where I bought the necklace we gave my awesome step-mom for her birthday earlier this summer). What a SWEET SON! (when he told me he was getting my present at the market, I was pretty sure I was going to get magnetic rocks, since that’s his favorite thing there…but he did really well!)

And this one from my Zoo, straight from Zambia! (Matt says no one will know who I'm talking about, so I'd better tell you - Zoo means Susie. Whom I lived with for the majority of my 20s, and whom I'd still live with - or at least next door to - if I was in charge of the world. But you all knew that, didn't you? :D)


And this BEAUTY from my sweet sister Khymberly:
Yay!!
And lastly…at least for today:
I LOVE LIVING IN NEBRASKA. We have had 100+ degree weather for the last week or so, with very high (for Nebraska) humidity. It makes me wonder how in the world I lived my whole life in Houston, TX, where it never gets below 100 in August, and the humidity is so high it’s almost misty. This last week we mostly stayed inside, and I could hardly even stand to look out the window it was so hot. And now today…high in the 80s with a cool breeze. Glorious. I forgot how pleasant it is to be outside. Since we just have 2 more days of summer (school starts on Wednesday!), Matt smoked our dinner tonight on the grill, and we’re going to eat outside and then have a fire in our fire pit, with doughboys and marshmallows. I’m happy to be outside again. Glorious mid-western weather. I love it.