Happy Birthday, Little Princess!

Our dear little girl poses here with her cake.

Her beloved father dubs her Princess of Sweetness.

A beloved brother presents a hand-made card.

Her beloved mother made the cake. Not too shabby for my first try at fondant.

A good time was had by all, especially by the Birthday Girl.

Going Green

I am pleased to report that I finished the matching dresses for the girls and me, and we wore them to our church meeting on Sunday. This is not a great picture by any means, but it gives you the idea.

Here's a new picture of Elias that will replace his old one, which had shown him at the height of his infant acne.

Here are two we also enjoy a lot but aren't going to frame.

Waiting for fencing to start.


Also waiting for fencing.


Preparing himself for his lesson. The right frame of mind is everything.

Week In Feminine Dress

I've seen some "Week In Feminine Dress" posts on other blogs before, and now it's my turn, thanks to Tracy's invitation to her online friends to join her in this.

What is life like when you wear only dresses and skirts? Well, the bottom line is that it's more comfortable! Of course, you need to choose your dresses and undergarments wisely, but when you do . . . wow, it's great! It's cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter, provides more freedom of movement, and just makes you feel great.

Sure, I have a couple of skirts that I like only because of how they look, and they aren't that comfortable. But most of the time, I want to be comfortable in life, and so I like to wear skirts that are stretchy and/or full. And these are what I wear under them:

this for the summer (photo is a model, NOT me)

and this for the colder months. (photo is a model, NOT me)

Now here are pictures my kids took of what I wore all last week.

Monday: Here I am helping Boy Two with spelling or language. The black maternity skirt (I'm 3 months postpartum.) was a gift from my dear mother-in-law, and the sweater is one that I bought new at Kohl's eight years ago.

Tuesday: This is during our memory work time. (We're studying the Reformation this month.) The skirt was from Goodwill, and the shirt is a $5 T-shirt from Wal-Mart.

Wednesday: The skirt is too old for me to possibly remember how I obtained it, and the T-shirt is from my store.

Thursday: Getting ready to decorate our porch for fall. The skirt is a maternity skirt from E-bay, and the sweater is a hand-me-down from my mother-in-law.

Friday: Cutting some bread I made. The skirt is from Goodwill, the turtleneck is from E-bay, and the shell/vest is from Wal-Mart.

Saturday: Waiting in the gift shop at Ohio Caverns before our tour. The skirt is about 5 years old and from Wal-Mart, and the jacket/blouse is from Goodwill.

Sunday: Heading into a restaurant for lunch after our church meeting. The skirt is a hand-me-down from my dear mom. (Knowing her, she probably got it from a consignment store.) And the sweater was from K-Mart. It's only about a year old, so it probably wins in the most-recently-bought category of everything I wore this week.

Well, that's all. I had fun and hope you did too. :)

More Happy Days

Ready to leap into Boy Two's waiting arms.

One giant turkey leg is just never enough.

My boys.

Do everyone's children find ace bandages so fascinating?

Boy One begins training to be the next Dread Pirate Roberts.

In the waiting room.

Just hanging around during fencing.

Every time I turn around, somebody's kissing the baby.