End of the Year Violin Concert-2012

 White shirt? Check.
Navy pants or skirt? Check
Dark shoes?  Check
Teensy weensy violin?  Check
Bag of Pretzels to share?  Check!!!

On stage with the "big kids"

Rest Position

Good form.

At least he looks good!

Ready for cake and ice cream!

Luke age 4

Bevins' Baby Dedication, Mothers Day, Mysteries and Commitments

 We had the privilege of dedicating Bevin today in the presence of our friends, family and church congregation.  I cannot even begin to put into words just how thankful we are as parents to participate in this special milestone today!  I don't mean to sound like a broken record here (on this blog, Facebook, etc) but we are beyond BLESSED that Bevin was ever born.  You can read more about her mysterious story here.  We believe that we witnessed a miraculous healing in her pregnancy and birth and that her story has a higher purpose.  A purpose that is as mysterious as her healing.  We don't even know as her parents what to expect from her! 

 It was around this time last year that I realized that I was pregnant with baby #3.  It happened like this:  I felt pregnant and I took a positive pregnancy test.  A pregnancy test that sat out on the counter for the days and weeks ahead.  We were a bit overwhelmed at first.  Phil and I had just been discussing that may be "2" was our magic number!  It seemed like the practical thing to do.  I grew up in a family of 4 and loved it!  I knew no other way.  Our emotions were a combination of excitement and fear.  Isn't that how most parents feel whether this is a first pregnancy or more?

I was confused because I had actually taken a positive pregnancy test back in March.  For a few days we thought I was pregnant (until this point I had never taken a negative test) and we were in a little bit of shock.  Were we ready for 3 kids???  I was so shocked that I set up an appointment with the midwife that I had not yet met but they didn't want to see me until 11 weeks into the pregnancy.  We really didn't talk very much about it and a few days later I took another test and it was negative.  I thought that was kind of strange and then started my regular cycle 2 days later right on schedule.  I just chalked it up to a faulty test and we both breathed a sigh of relief.  Around this time is when we really started to feel comfortable with 2 as our number.  And the mystery surrounding B begins...

In April I canceled my appointment with the Midwife (it was set for the beginning of May) and my regularly scheduled cycle came again like clockwork.  I was looking forward to the summer and all of the fun things that we had planned like using our zoo membership, my summer Bible Study, and our trip to Madison Wisconsin and other fun summer adventures!  Then in the beginning of May, after being super careful all month not to get pregnant, I just felt pregnant and I took another positive pregnancy test.  I was really confused so I bought some more tests and starting taking them everyday for 4 days.  These tests stayed pregnant and it appeared that this time I really was pregnant.  I set up another appointment with the Midwife.  Again, they didn't want to see me until 11 weeks.  The receptionist saw on my patient history that I had previously canceled an appointment and wondered if this was still the same pregnancy?  I told her no but then started to wonder if it was the same pregnancy from March or not?  I decided that I had watched too much "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" on TLC and decided to tell them about the March pregnancy test when I went to my first appointment in June.

Everything about this pregnancy seemed "normal" so much so that I was SURE that I was having another boy!  I felt like this is just what I do.  I do not get morning sickness, in fact I did not throw up once throughout all three pregnancies.  My "sickness" was more in the evening and it is mostly exhaustion, it takes me a while to start showing and then when I do it really "pops" out, my babies come early and they are all boys...

The day of my June appointment I felt terrible.  I had started in the day before with a super sore throat.  Combine the sore throat with the ailments of pregnancy and my appointment couldn't come fast enough.  I was hoping that they could suggest some relief for my issues (sore throat and a extremely dry patch of skin on my hand) and have answers for the positive pregnancy test from March.  I would NEVER get to talk about any of these issues though because the moment that I met the midwife she had bad news for me about our "routine" ultrasound.  Everything that I had planned to inquire about was out the window!  They didn't even consider me a patient until July so I never asked about the whole March thing.  I kind of forgot about it in the midst of other fears.

I didn't think about it again until she was home from the NICU and I have never really told anyone about it until now.  Doesn't that bring some suspicion to the fact that she was born 5 weeks early?  I have to wonder if the 2 are related at all?  I may never know but this story just adds to the mystery of B's existence.  It also furthers my suspicion that there is a REASON that she is even here!  I really feel like God wanted her to be here.  He healed her in ways that defy modern medical science and He is already using her testimony to tell His story.  I have come to believe that God can use our own stories to tell His story.

We would have had Bevin dedicated no matter what (we dedicated Lucas and Micah) but I felt more urgent this time around.  Almost like feeling convicted that this is a special baby and that God has big plans for her life so I better make the commitment to raise her as a Child of God ASAP!  We believe that this dedication is a commitment to raise her up in the church and teach her about God.  It is not a baptism and it is not a guarantee that she will go to heaven.  We believe that her personal faith is her own choice not ours as her parents.  We also see this as us giving her back to God to use in His perfect way to further His kingdom.  God has given all of our children to us as a gift and we commit to offer them back to Him to use for His purposes! 

Love her smiles!

Today was a public commitment to raise her up in this way and expose her to God and allow her to be used by Him but before today God has already been using her story to encourage others!  Before she was even born her story has quickly become the most popular posting on this blog and as of tonight it has been viewed 617 times!!!!  I am thrilled that her story has potentially touched many more people than I would ever even know.  I was even presented the opportunity to share Bevins' story to a group of middle school girls at a local private school! 

Bevin looking at grandma.

Shortly after Bevin and I shared her story in the school, my small group of High School Junior girls (of which I am a co-leader) and I made plans to meet and pray together outside of a local abortion clinic.  The abortions are performed on Thursday mornings at this particular clinic so we met together outside the clinic on Wednesday night with other folks from the community (that we didn't know) that had gathered to pray.  I felt compelled to have her there with us that night to pray outside the abortion clinic.  It felt completely right that she be there to represent and be a symbol of the babies and lives that we were praying to save.  It was an emotional experience for me as her mother having been given the option to "do the humane thing" and abort this sick and chromosomally deficient mass of tissue, this BABY that I was holding as I fervently prayed out-loud and cried, mourned and ached for other babies that might find themselves in Bevins' position. 

So much personality!

We were also given the opportunity to share our story in an interview that we recorded with our pastor a few weeks ago.  That interview was shown today during both church services after the dedication and was actually the bulk of the service!  It is amazing how her story is affecting and encouraging people in all sorts of ways.  God just keeps bringing along opportunities to TELL HIS STORY BY USING HER STORY.  I know that this is my job and responsibility as her mother and I pray that I will not be a stumbling block in her divine calling.

Trying to free her feet from her massive skirt!

So what have I learned from all of these experiences?

Some things are just unexplainable period.  If God wants something to happen HE WILL MAKE A WAY!

ALL BABIES ARE MIRACLES.  No matter the circumstances surrounding their conception, all of the tiny little things that have to happen to create a healthy and alive baby are infinite.  Humbles me to my knees!

Whatever your lot in life, God has given you a platform.  Recognize it and use it to bring Him Glory!

Telling your story opens up a door of communication with other people.  Through the process of sharing my story so many people have come to me and told me their story!  This is what life is all about folks.  Sharing life with each other is part what brings us joy in being human as we go through life together.

Life is fragile.  There is no guarantee that I will even ever finish writing this post.  Whether we live 9 weeks in our mothers womb or 99 years on this earth that life can have meaning and purpose.

Big Brother Micah and Bevin

Make Your Own Enveloped Back Pillow - Tutorial

 Since the seasons are changing it is the perfect time to punch up your decor!  The "right" pillows can take a nothing room to fresh and fabulous within minutes.  Making your own throw pillows is super easy!  If you have access to a sewing machine and can sew a straight line then you are in business. 

 Step 1:

Pick fabrics that make you smile!

 Step 2:

This is the trickiest step (at least for me) because it involves math.  Measure your pillow that you are covering.  It can be a new pillow form or an existing one that your are recovering.  Measure from seam to seam and write it down.  Okay.  Now add 1" to the vertical measurement and 6" to the horizontal measurement for the back.  For the front piece add 1" to the vertical and horizontal measurement.  So if your pillow is 20" x 20" your back piece will be 21" x 26" and your front piece will be 21" x 21"

Got that?

Step 3:

Cut out your two pieces.  You can have both sides out of the same fabric or you can get creative and make them different.  There is no right or wrong way to mix fabrics!

Step 4:

Okay.  Now take your back piece and lay it in front of you.  Fold it in half horizontally and cut it straight down the middle.  Now you have two back pieces.

Step 5:

Take one side and fold over the edge 1/4" and iron and then fold it over again and iron.  You are making a hemmed edge and pin it with straight pins.  Stick your straight pins in horizontally so that they are easy to pull out as you sew.  Now repeat this step with the other back piece.

Step 6:

Machine sew a straight line along the edge of your hem.  Repeat this step on the other back piece.

 Step 7:

  Lay out your front piece of fabric face up on the table.  Make a mark on your fabric with chalk on the wrong side of your fabric if you have a damask fabric (like me) that is similar on both sides so that you know which side is the back.  Now lay the 2 back pieces on top of the front piece with the right side of the fabric facing down.  Over lap the back pieces.

Step 8:

Pin around the edge of the pillow and then sew around the entire edge.

 Step 9:

Once you have sewn around the entire edge pull out your pins. and snip off your corners.

Snip off the corners for sharper corners when you turn the pillow right side out.

 Step 10:

Turn your new pillow cover right side out and stuff the pillow form inside the cover.  And you are done!

Now wasn't that easy????

 Make another one!  Get creative...

 Make a statement!

I guarantee your pillow will be one-of-a-kind!

 So give your room some fresh new spring panache!

 

*You can even follow this same process with an iron and no-sew hem tape!

*The secret to success in creating a lovely pillow is using a high quality pillow form.  I am totally sold on pillow fills that are made from a mixture of feathers and down.  If you have a quality fill then you can get away with a lower quality of fabric.  I have found that if you make a pillow out of top of the line fabric it can look scrawny and shapeless if you use a lower quality fill.  So if you have to scrimp someplace do it with the fabric and not the fill.

Good luck!

Suzuki Violin (The Saga)

 Luke has been preparing for his "end of the year" violin concert.  Some of his violin playing has been adorable...and some not.  When he first got his violin he wanted to take it everywhere and show (and tell) everyone about all of the parts of the violin.  He is 4.  Not everyone wants to hear about all of the parts of the violin from a 4 year old although it IS amusing at times!  We have had our fair share of frustrating days but I do believe that he has learned something.  Luke has learned a lot of things in fact, considering he is 4 and he has only had a violin in his possession for 2 months!

He started his lessons in January.  You might think that I am crazy doing this with him with 4 week old Bevin tagging along?  I would agree, but I HAD to follow through with a commitment that I had started back in September.  You see, the whole premise of the Suzuki Method is that is that all people are capable of learning from their environment.  Which means that in order to learn the violin, it must be a part of our normal environment.  (Which it has not been.  Neither I or my husband have played the violin or currently play any musical instrument regularly for that matter)  So I learned how to play the violin first!  I was scared and when I found out that in order FOR ME to graduate I had to learn to play 6 variations of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on a full sized violin.  Who?  Big 'ole pregnant me?  Yes.  And I did it!  In fact, I finished my class and played my "recital" a little over a week before giving birth.  I was large and I KNOW I looked ridiculous but I did it and now I can play the violin.  It was way easier than I imagined and I learned the same way that Luke is now learning.

 So 2 times a week Luke has violin lessons.  Early in the week he meets in a Beginner Theory class with two other little girls his age and after that he has group lesson.  I participate in the group lesson with him.  All the moms do.  We play games and learn about the violin in a group setting.  Then later in the week he has a private lesson for 15 minutes!  It is not long but he is 4 and his attention span is quite limited so 15 minutes is the perfect amount of time.  Actually sometimes it is too long and other times too short.  Maybe a week after getting his violin he had his first "Play-in" which is a concert in the sanctuary with all of the big kids.  A big part of the Suzuki Method is about performance presentation and performing in a group.  He has discovered that he really likes to perform on stage with the big kids!

 He still has a long way to go and much to learn but he already knows something...and isn't that better than nothing???

Luke in "rest position" with his teacher.

 Part of his learning process is practicing the "bowing" in the air.  It is a very peaceful and silent way to learn:)

Luke with his best "bow hold"

 Before Luke even had a violin he would tell me that he already knew how to play.  I suppose that is partially true.  He first learned to clap the rhythms, then he learned to bow the rhythms with a stick and sponge (practice violin), and now finally he has them down on the real violin.  

It has been fun watching all of these kids progress!  We used to observe the little boy behind Luke in his lesson back in September when I was learning to play.  Part of the learning process is observation.

 Luke has his first real concert this Sunday!  He is pretty excited to be on stage with the big kids and gets to play along with 4 songs and practice bowing in the air for 3 songs.  I am impressed because we actually went to watch this end of the year concert last year and he didn't even want to go into the sanctuary.  We sat in the very back row and I practically had to pin him down to sit still.  A year later he is up on stage performing!

Pretty good form I would say for 4?!

Easter Egg Hunting

 Our egg hunt this year was at the neighbors house!  We have neighbors that live across the street that are a family of 5 just like us!  Well, not JUST like us.  We have 2 boys and a girl and they have 2 girls and a boy.  Luke has been learning about all the joys that come along with having a neighbor friend!  It has been TOTALLY fun to watch as a mom.  I love to listen to their conversations and play!  It brings me a lot of joy to see them having fun together. 

The line-up

The moms hid the eggs and the dads took pictures!

Micah had a blast!

Luke was frantically trying to get the most eggs!

Our neighbors live right on the water.

Goose nest

The loot.

Bunnies must like candy?