Get Acquainted With Tabitha Designs

Well, after a few years of putting it off and giving lame excuses when people have said to me, "You should try to sell the things you make!", I am plunging in and attempting to start my own grassroots business selling handmade crafts. I am very much learning as I go, but having a lot of fun starting "Tabitha Designs".

The thing is, Darin and I are adequately provided for, so I'm not doing this because I need to earn extra money. In fact, lately I've almost felt strange about all the material excess I truly have. But there has been a part of me that has just wanted to see if people might actually want to buy what I design/make. So I came up with a solution to my dilemma!

Tabitha Designs will be dontating 40 % of all sales to three charitable organizations that are pretty important to me: Ruth Harbor, The ALS Association, and Samaritan's Purse. When customers shop Tabitha, they may select which of the three to designate their purchase towards...

Click on the graphic below and take a peek at my under construction website for Tabitha Designs and let me know what you think so far! (FYI- I don't have any items listed for sale quite yet, but will be trying to get that in order soon!)

Also, you can follow Tabitha Designs on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/Tabitha_Designs

And for those of you who are Facebook users, after you take a peek, do me a favor and leave me a comment here to let me know if you think I should create a Facebook fanpage for Tabitha... I'm trying to decide.

Thanks, friends! : )

Back in the (Creative) Saddle Again

Shortly after having Collin, while I was in the midst of feeling VERY overwhelmed, hormonal and weepy, I had moments of feeling as if I didn't know myself anymore. And while my hobbies and interests don't define me (the forgiveness of my sins through Christ does), the fact that in my low moments I couldn't envision myself ever pulling out my knitting needles, sewing machine or ever hosting a fun party again scared me a little bit.

The fact that I've regained interest in these hobbies as well as gathered the energy to do them again, is significant to me. So I thought I share with you some photos of recent crafting and party hosting endeavors... : )

Baby shower given for my dear friend who is expecting her first child in March! (the first picture is rather dark and not very good).

A tutu for Lucy- just for fun!

Texas Tech themed bib and crinkle patch for Collin (pattern for the bib found in the book One Yard Wonders by Rabecca Yaker and PAtricia Hoskins, "Crinkle Patch" was my idea.

Fun new purse for me (pattern also from One Yard Wonders)

Too-small sweater for Collin : ) Pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

Too-big pinafore for Lucy, pattern ALSO from One-Yard Wonders

The sweet babes together in their made-by-mommy garb

Thanks for letting me share what I've been doing during Lucy and Collin's naps during these cold midwest months! It's been a lot of fun.

The Stevenson Sweeties

I thought I'd give the current "lowdown" on the babies. I figure that the out-of-town family and friends would especially appreciate it. Lucy and Collin sure keep me on my toes. This is a very physically demanding stage of parenting right now, but I love spending my days with them and think that taking care of them is a good way to get tired...

Lucy

Hobbies: dancing, playing with Collin, taking care of her baby dolls, chasing Minnie, looking at books, building and knocking down block towers, taking baths,being chased and caught by her daddy, watching "Baby Signing Time", playing with cousins and friends

Favorite Foods: cheese, strawberries, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, ham, raisins, cinamon toast, Mommy's cupcakes

Dislikes: being told "no", having Mommy pick her nose (yes, I do this, and if you're a mother, I know you do it or did it to your kids too), having her clothes changed, listening to Collin cry.

We can't believe Lucy is almost two! She has adjusted so well to being a big sister and plays really well with Collin except for the occaisional times she tries to stuff baby wipes in his mouth. She is the apple of her daddy's eye- she still thinks Darin's the greatest thing since sliced bread and just squeals in delight when he gets home from work everyday.

Here is Lucy dancing to "Cornelius"- the Apologetix's parody of "Cecilia"

Collin

Hobbies: GROWING! Our little mister is 18 lbs and 28 " long now!, playing with Lucy,drooling, giggling, cooing and babbling, chewing, rolling, climbing, trying to crawl, and EATING.

Favorite Foods: aside from still being my champion nurser, Collin likes sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots, and peaches.

Dislikes: baths, getting his nose picked, being in one position/spot for longer than ten minutes, being away from Mommy, being in his carseat.

Some interesting trivia on Collin is that he is cutting two top teeth right now, but not his front teeth. The two on either side should pop through any day now. Apparently, this is how Darin's teeth came in when he was a baby. I'm afraid he's going to look like a little vampire. Thankfully, due to the popularity of the Twilight series, this should only make him more endearing... like a baby "Edward".

Here is Collin's first experience with rice cereal:

There And Back Again: A Mamma's Tale

Last night Darin and I pulled our little "minvan that could" back into our driveway after spending Christmas in Texas with my family. When Darin and I were newlier-wedded we used to think our periodic drives to Texas were rather romantic. That's mostly because when Darin and I were "dating" each other long-distance between Des Moines and San Antonio, we calculated the difference from his house (now my house!) to my parents' home to be just a hair over 1000 miles. Since we both loved the song "500 Miles" in which the singer declares to the girl he loves that he would "walk 500 miles" and then "walk 500 more to be the man who'd walk 1000 miles to fall down at her door", we loved the fact that there was 1000 miles between our homes. So driving there together has always been... you know... romantic!

Well, now that we have a doggie, a toddler and baby in our family, the drive to Texas is a little different. Adventurous? Absolutely. Exciting? Sure. Romantic? Not so much...

Our plan of attack to get to Texas was to drive the 12 hours to Dallas (where my big sis and her family are) straight through the night to keep the babies sleeping as much as possible. Even with the numerous stops for fuel, to nurse Collin and change diapers, that leg of the drive went beautifully. We were albeit, extremely tired when we arrived at 6 AM, but my children were received by a loving Aunt, Uncle and three doting cousins so Darin and I could nap a bit. We had a blast staying with my family there for a couple days. It was awesome for Collin to meet his cousins and uncle-he'd already met Kelly when she visited us back in October!

Here's Lucy with her new pal, Shawnee, the newest four-legged addition to Kelly and Greg's household!

After a couple days, we contined our southward trek to San Antonio in broad daylight. All I'll say regarding the five hour drive, is that the portable two-screen DVD player we bought on black friday proved to be a great investment. Lucy tolerated the time in the carseat with the help of "Baby Siging Time" and "Miss Patty Cake". : )

Christmas in San Antonio was special for so many reasons. It was awesome to finally introduce Collin to my brother, as well as my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins there. Lucy had a great time playing with "Grandpa", "Mamma Gail" and "Uncle Paul" and seeing the other extnded family again as well. It was also special to spend time with the church family I grew up with and participate in the Christmas Eve service there.

Lucy checks out a present from Uncle Paul waiting for her on Christmas Morning!

Collin and Mamma Gail love on each other.

After a great time with family and mild temperatures in the 60s and 70s, we started our trek northward. An unforseen migraine and fever for Darin (that we now know was caused by strep throat!) caused us to forsake our ambitions of driving 17 hours straight through from SA to Des Moines and we crashed at my dear friend's home in Fort Worth overnight. The next morning we plowed ahead and drove the rest of the way home (12 hours), relying heavily on over-the-counter drugs (for Darin), coffee and more "Baby Signing Time" and "Miss Pattycake". We were all on the brink of insanity and over our threshold for fast-food and public potties when we rolled into Des Moines, but we made it.

Darin is unfortunately very sick and sleep-deprived and has had to spend all day in bed today. The babies and I were just happy to get bathed and spend last night and today at home with our regular beds, and familiar surroundings.

So, while this trip wasn't the "easy", light-hearted and romantic experience that Darin and I had in the first couple years of our marriage, having two beautiful children to make the crazy trip with is such a sweet dream-come-true, that it was absolutely worth the extra effort! We're so thankful for the safety that God granted us and the wonderful time of celebration with loved ones!

PS. -Wish we had better pictures to share. My parents and sister did a much better job capturing our time together on camera than Darin and I did!

Christmas

Yes, it has been a shamefully long time since I've posted. The longest I've ever gone between posts on the Knitting Hummel. With so many people using facebook, I've been keeping up with posting pictures there and just haven't taken the time to sit down and blog.

And unfortunately, I'm not even taking TOO much time to sit down to blog right now, but I at least wanted to spread a little Christmas cheer by sharing a picture of my and Darin's favorite Christmas presents (aside from the incredible gift of the Lord Jesus!).

We're packing up our minivan tomorrow night and driving to Texas to celebrate Christmas with my family! I can't wait to finally introduce Collin to my brother, brother-in-law, nieces, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!! Should be a good time!

Random

Maybe these random tidbits will give you a smile... as they have me recently.

• The other day I was immobilized on the sofa feeding Collin (as I often am) and heard Lucy in the other room "playing" with Collin's infant swing. Sounded innocent enough so I took my time with Collin and finally headed to the swing to check on Lucy. This is what I found:

• I drank water from a sippy cup all morning. We were out and Lucy was uninterested in her cup. I, on the other hand, was quite thirsty and didn't have my own water with me, so...



• Darin and I are thinking that Minnie the pup has come to terms with Collin's arrival and has given him her "stamp of approval". What do you think?

• Lucy has started to put her fingers in her ears during Collin's crying spells (which are much more frequent and of longer duration than Lucy's ever were). Not sure how she came up with the idea of doing this as I'm sure she's never seen anyone else do it. Pretty cute.



• Collin's has started to smile for the camera.

• Fall has arrived and we are all enjoying daily playtime in the backyard.
  
  
• Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Lucy's "Adoption Day" in court. We're so blessed by her presence in this family.
  

I've Been Needing a Good Laugh

And I just got one. Thought I'd share it with you...