Her Name

means princess.

 And ten years ago today, I had no idea how fitting that was for the brand new baby girl I delivered. You see, not only was she a beautiful baby with a head full of dark curls

 and giant blue eyes,

but she was also the easiest baby I've ever known.

She quickly grew,

but continues to be a beautiful blessing to all who know her.

Happy Birthday my sweet Sarah!



Tutorial Tuesday

I made Molly a new summer shirt this week!

It was made from this shirt:

that my oldest daughter gave me to cut up. It was a more fitted style and I loved the subtle pattern of the white fabric and the pleats down the front! But there was a problem:

It had a hole in the front and a stain near one of the cuffs. (where did my daughter even get this shirt.....?) Anyway, it had great potential! :)

So, I cut off the top!

I left about 3/4 inch above what I wanted to be the top button so I would have room to sew that edge down. Next, I folded it in half and cut out the armholes:

I tried it on my daughter to decide how much to remove from the sides. I then trimmed equal amounts off both sides, keeping the same general shape:

Then I sewed and finished the side seams and removed the top button so it wouldn't be in the way!

Next, I serged all the top edges to finish them.

and ironed them down about 3/8 inch, being careful to leave room for the buttonhole!

(ewww... I need to clean my iron or something!)

A quick topstitch of all the top edges to finish them off:

Now it was time for finishing the armholes, sewing single fold bias tape to the right side of the armhole along the fold line,

ironing it to the inside,

then stitching it down!

Armholes finished! The body of the shirt all done:

Time to make straps! I decided I wanted to make straps with pleats to go with the style of the shirt. So I took the sleeves and cut 4 pieces of 7 1/2 inches by 3 inches:

Sewed them right sides together and turned them right side out. Freshly ironed:

Then, I pinned two pleats in each,

and sewed each pleat about two inches up and finished the edges with my serger:

Next, I attached them to the shirt. Last, I sewed the top button back on!

Modeling time! :)

Such a petite redhead!

(I'm not sure what she was talking about here!)

The back detail,

and here's her, "Mom, I'm freezing! Can we go back inside now??"

It will be perfect, when warmer weather shows up! :)



Hatching

This is the first sign that something is going to happen:

A little pip! YAY!

Later they start to crack around the first pip:

Then a bit more,

and some more!

Until they pop out!

Yay!

 It's exhausting work to hatch! :)

Here's what they look like after fluffing up and running around a bit:

And as I speak write, here comes chick number two:

Looks like a Buff Orpington! Five of the other six eggs have pips already! Now we are just waiting for the new babies! :)

(Sorry for the low quality pictures! It's hard to take good ones through the plastic top of an incubator while holding a flashlight! :) )

Lockdown

It's been 18 days since we first put our eggs in the incubator, originally posted here. After candling the eggs, we found only eight with chicks inside.

We took all eight eggs out and got the incubator ready for hatching. Time to put the eggs back in:

With water in the bottom tray for plenty of humidity, the eggs go directly on the wire. Now it's time for lockdown. No opening until they hatch!

Good luck chicks! We're excited to meet you! 



Friday Focus

This Friday I'm going to focus on my son, Joshua!

• Josh is the oldest mini Mack

• He was born about 4 weeks early
• He weighed 6 lbs 5 oz
• He is one of our two redheads
• Josh was an easygoing baby

• He attended a private Christian school from kindergarten until halfway through the 5th grade

Josh holding his baby sister, Sarah.

• Josh was home schooled for a year and a half until he entered the 7th grade

• Josh has a great sense of humor
• He loves Disneyland

• Josh is a senior this year
• He played soccer:

• He sings in the choir
• Josh has been in several dramas, including A Christmas Carol, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat and Antigone
• He's now rehearsing to be the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz
• Josh is the president of National Honor Society at his school

• He will be graduating as valedictorian with a perfect 4.0 GPA in advanced classes
• Josh stands up for what he believes in
• He loves his big family and would like to have his own someday

When Josh was 8 years old, a dog ran from behind him and knocked his feet out from under him. He sustained a major concussion and a skull fracture. He was bleeding from his  nose and ears and had to be life flighted to a special hospital. It was terrifying! Thankfully, he recovered quickly and had no lasting effects.

Josh is an amazing guy! I know God has big plans for my smart, loving son, and I look forward to seeing what they are! :)