sigh..

what can you say about a day at the beach with a wonderful friend? not much, besides that it was rockin'. I do have a funny story though.

so we get to the beach after lunch. As we walk towards the water, we notice all these pleasant senior citizen couples milling about, chairs facing south. okay, that's cool, no biggie. So we settle in, the kids start playing in the sand and emily heads out to the water (being most recently from NYC, she didn't realize the water was cccoooolllddd). I take advantage of the calmness, lay down, and close my eyes. Note: I'm facing north.

So then a couple of minutes later, I hear Emily running towards me. "Michelle! Michelle! I THINK A ROCKET JUST LAUNCHED!" and wouldn't you know it, I sit up, look south and see this:

That's no ordinary smoke, folks. that's shuttle smoke. Emily even saw the flames. and I had my eyes closed. facing the other direction.

missed the boat. :)

As Emily and I giggled about our "luck," one of said senior citizens stopped in front of us and said, "There are only 5 more launches, you know." As in, "try not to be sleeping, turned the other direction, next time!" too funny.

oh yeah, and later that day when we got back to the car, I saw that brandon had called. When I called him to see what he needed, he said, "Oh, I was just calling to tell you that there was a shuttle launch, and to be sure to look for it!" Of course.

Okay, here are some other fun shots:

We've had such a great time with Emily. She and I are food friends, she having gotten me the job at williams-sonoma way back in summer 2003. So while she was here, I made us hit every possible grocery store in sight. plus she brought us a SUITCASE from trader joe's, bless her. so we've had a great great time.

Tomorrow: We're Utah bound!

the beach...

Today, we went back here (zane and friend emily in the distance)..tomorrow, more pictures.

Thankful part 2

(ps--if this post makes you gag, just think to yourself, "well at least she's not showing off any more of those ridiculous bags!")

I've been having this thought lately; it is somewhere along the lines of, "Wow, I have never been happier than this." Arrogant, I know! but I can't get it out of my head.

So what is the matter with me? Are my kids still crazy and exhausting? you betcha. have I lost weight? heck no! Has Annie busted out with superior language skills? nope, not yet. Has my hair stopped being a complete enigma to me? Have I miraculously mastered cooking and cleaning and time management? Am I a perfectly adoring wife, and patient mommy? Am I buff? Have I started remembering friends' and extended family members' birthdays? The list of "no, not even close, still working tirelessly" goes on and on.

And yet, as I held my little lady's hand yesterday while cleaning up after lunch and listened to her giggles, I was HIT with her sweetness, her perfectness.

when my husband got home from work, I was HIT with how much I love him, how good he is for me and for our family. And as I think about other special people in my life, I can't help but be HIT by thankfulness for their goodness to me and my family.

it must be getting close to Thanksgiving; apparently, someone upstairs doesn't want me to gloss over it, like I do with every holiday.

So, believe it. I've never been happier than I am right now. check that, I'm hungry. :) but soon...

Here are some pictures from a recent play date. Here's to November in Florida, yo. and to annie's dimples and giggles. and to zane's grown-up-ness. and to me talking during pictures. and to that hair of mine...sigh.

bags 10 and 11

If any of you know my rockin' sister Emmygirl, you know that she is spunky, silly, and sophisticated. she's also adding to her list of defining characteristics "long legs" and "a long neck," neither of which I have for myself, but both of which will carry her into 15-year-old beauty and beyond (not to scare you at all, parents).

Anyway, last winter she let me make her a bag out of my own design (it was pretty caveman-meets-seamstress-esque) and she has faithfully used it for school every day since...so on this, her 15th birthday, I decided she deserved an upgrade. Enter my 11th bag of the year:
This one might be my favorite one yet--LOVE the bottom print by heather bailey, and the teal "long neck" strap goes perfectly..seemed fitting for this beautiful little sister of mine. happy birthday Emmygirl.

And, since this is the place for all things show and tell, here's brynne's bag from the bunch I sewed in October and showed you all last week. Brynne's birthday is hard to forget because it's also Halloween, and I hoped she'd be just the gal for this daring, ORANGE-TOPPED, anna maria horner-bottomed beauty.
Love both girls, love both bags. :) Now with Annie's speech lady leaving and me feeling like she deserves a HUGE thank you from us, can you imagine up what I might be busy with this weekend? is twelve bags enough for one year? then maybe I should get a life/find a new bag pattern to overwork?

me, get a life, what?

Thankful

It's interesting what you find "thankful tree worthy" when you're 5 years old. Treats, games, and transformers are right up there with Pops, Michelle (because that's my REAL name), and, bless this kid, Jesus.

What does my own thankful list include on this monday morning?

well, first, our speech lady. she just told us next week is her last week with the clinic. I'm a little heartbroken. I realize now that perhaps I'm more loyal to her than I am to the therapy itself. So, I'm thankful for Miss Shaun. (and hopefully her replacement will be sufficient too!)

second, music. I've been having amazing numbers show up for ward choir these past few weeks. call it Christmas songs, or homemade bread on performance mornings (made by a choir member), or rallies from the folks in high places (aka the rah rah-ers), but it has been incredible. I can't sleep at night; instead, I'm leading music and singing melodies and arranging medleys.

third, this kid:
He looked over my shoulder today as I google-read, and saw a picture of another family's thankful tree. "Mom!" he pleaded. "Can we make our OWN thankful tree?" We plan on adding to this initial bunch of leaves by adding fallen leaves as well. (it is still vall here, after all.)

If you don't see your name in this first bunch, never fear, I'm sure it will come out in the days ahead. And please, don't feel bad that he thought of transformers first. He is five, after all.

Sometimes, as is the case here, no news is good news.

hey. we are here and good. boring. busy. (but nowhere as busy as last week.) good. thank heavens for the lulls, sometimes.

and moment by moment, this little lady is growing up on me. she wants to play with zane as if she were his equal now, instead of his adoring but toddling sister. she is demanding and opinionated. she plays with play dough. she insists on high heels. she playgrounds independently. just wanted to document when it happened.

our upcoming weeks are busier, with a visit from a dear friend, then a quick trip to utah for a wedding. and although those times will be wonderful, I'm also trying to soak in this pace while I've got it.

go sew something!

Here are some of my handmade happinesses from the last couple of weeks (don't worry brynne, your surprise is yet to be revealed). I finished off my 9th and 10th birdie sling bag, I think. Plus another tiered babygirl dress. then some fun APRONS, including hayley's second (which will be for the servers at their reception, as I remember someone being confused) and one for a gal here hosting a cookie decorating party last week. So fun to introduce other people to "the world of good fabric."






My mom chided me for not including my head in the 1st hayley apron shot. (and here again for the 2nd.) it is because when I try and get a good one, it either comes out looking like this:

or like this:
see the problem?

anyway, happy monday to all! go sew something; it will make you grin (come on stu, you know you're into it).