Give me something fun to do - like a life of loving you

So maybe you guys have already heard of her, but I just barely heard Brooke Fraser's single "Something in the Water" and it's so cute and catchy I wanted to share.



Anyway. I don't get her hair, unless it's what's in the water... har har. Seriously, I love her voice though. Check out her other music, too! She's actually mostly a Christian artist. If you want to read about her, you can check her wiki article here.

a visit with Santa

Just a few minutes ago I heard some loud rustling on the stairs. It was Nathan's tunnel that goes with a tent he recieved as a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Swinford. Then I heard the voices...

Nathan: No, no, no! Go through the hole and tell me what you want. (pause) Because I'm Santa.

(more rustling noises)

Nathan: What do you want?

Rylie: Ummm... that one.

Nathan: I don't have that one. You can have a whale, a shark, a dragon...

Rylie: Ummm... that one.

Nathan: No. Would you like a pirate? A whale? A painting on the wall?

(silence)

Nathan: Okay. Now go back through the tunnel.

p.s. I still think he's handsome even with food all over his face (as well as in his ear, apparently). I'm such a mom.

p.s.s. I'm aware that Nathan can be very bossy. Rylie bosses him, too, though. We've tried explaining that there are only two parents in this household, but they don't always remember.

one more...

I also made a skirt for Rylie last night. I kind of wish I'd made it slightly more a-line and gathered at the waist, but it's my first skirt, all right? Live and learn. I actually have enough of the same material to do it over again, but I haven't decided if it's worth it yet.

Here's Nathan, doing his favorite thing.

Finally!!! (kind of)

I started making a shirt for Rylie several months ago (probably in the early spring) and finally finished it today! I took pictures of the cutting and piecing process but they're on our computer that's being fixed. The finished shirt is more interesting anyway, since Rylie is in it. I'm kinda annoyed with it, not just the amateurish sewing, but also the fact that the neckline is so low!! I should go back and fix it, if I can stand doing that part over again. Also, I can't get Rylie to stop saying "cheese", and this is what her face looks like when she says it.

So I guess the moral of the story is that I'm not done, and that my relief will be short-lived. Hopefully it won't take me too long to fix the sleeves so that they're closer together and the bodice is higher.
I kind of hate sewing. I like the idea process, but the actual work is so time-consuming and frustrating. Near the end when I was growling at my sewing machine for losing the thread again, Nathan said, "If your sewing machine is killing you, maybe you should stop using your sewing machine!"p.s. Ok I feel like I need to explain this picture of Nathan. He wasn't upset or anything, he just thinks he's hilarious. I'll admit it - he is.

Authors

The house was finally quiet. The kids were in their beds. Then I heard this as I passed their door.

Nathan: (repeating some question over and over but I couldn't tell what he was saying at first)
Rylie: Poe?
Nathan: Yes. Edgar Allen Poe. Do you have any Poe?
Rylie: No.
Nathan: You're supposed to say "go fish".
Rylie: Go fish.
Nathan: Okay. Now it's your turn.

I really wish I would have stayed longer to hear more... but I also really needed to get to where I was going. By the time I returned that way, I couldn't hear anything coming from their room.

the play room and Nathan's skills

So since I last mentioned it, I've organized the playroom. I took these pictures when it wasn't perfectly clean and when the sun was setting, but I think it gets the point across. Oh and you can kinda see the swords Jared made for the kids on the bookcase!Also, Nathan is getting better at writing and drawing! Haha I'm so proud. So is he. The first picture is the first time he's written his whole first name by himself. I still had to tell him a couple of times which letter came next, though. Actually that's something we're working on... he doesn't realize that the letters still have to go in a certain order. Or that words are generally supposed to be stay on one line. I don't think it's dyslexia, though.

p.s. the last picture is a family portrait. clockwise from the top: Rylie, me, Nathan and Jared.

Rare