Life as Mrs. Emerson

Hoping that you and your family had a great time celebrating because Christ has risen!

This picture was taken the first day we spent an extended period of time outside.   As I sit writing this update sweet Evangeline is rolling and rolling all over the family room floor.  It will probably be just a few weeks and she will be full out crawling!  Ah!  I'm not sure that I am ready for the craziness that will entail.  :)  Time to buy a gate.   This month Eva has reached 19 pounds 9 ounces and is getting long!  She has just about outgrown her 9 months clothes and is ready for 12 month clothing. Eva is SUCH a Daddy's girl.  She will stop whatever she is doing and give him the biggest grin. She laughs and giggles whenever he enters the room.   To say that Evangeline is a delight to our family is an understatement.  We love her to pieces!  It really is hard to imagine life without her.  She loves playing especially with her brother or in the Johnny Jump Up.  At this point she can almost sit up on...

  Eli has been asking for months when Evangeline could eat real food.  I told him we would wait until she was at least 6 months old.  The day she turned six months old he kept asking to feed her.  I told him we had to wait until she showed all of the signs of being ready which at 6 months old she just hadn't quite reached.  After she was able to sit up he could give Eva her first bite of real food.  So here are a few pictures of Eli feeding Eva (with help) her first bite of food (unsweetened applesauce I canned).   Such a fun memory to watch Evangeline experience food for the first time!

I sewed two Easter baskets for my kiddos.  I decided to make fabric baskets after seeing some on etsy for $30.  I liked the idea of a fabric basket being easier to store or the possibility of my kids actually using them throughout the year in their bedrooms.  For Eli's basket I used some Peltex stabilizer inside and for Eva's I just used fleece as a stabilizer.  I prefer the look of Eli's basket but Peltex is a little expensive.  I wouldn't mind trying plastic canvas next time.  I had all of the fabric in my stash.  Eli's fabric was a Michael Miller print I purchased at an estate sale and Eva's fabric was M'Liss from Hancock's.  These were super quick and easy to whip up! No eating out for me last week!  The hubby was away at a conference for a couple of days so he did have to buy a few meals out.  I packed a lunch and snacks for him before he left.  He also stayed at a hotel that had a complimentary breakfast.  He saved l...

Last week was Eva's first time spending a long period of time outside.  It is finally warm enough to work on some yard work!  We planted loose leaf lettuce in our landscaping and yellow carrots in a pot.  I also dug up dirt along the side of our porch to plant sugar snap peas.  After we harvest the peas I will probably plant flowers in this area.  (Peas are a good natural fertilizer and should help the ground.)  I have thought about planting sunflowers in this area.  The ground is much lower than the porch in this area.  I thought it might be nice to have sunflowers popping up close to the porch fence. I mended a dish rag.  I donated items to charity and received a receipt for tax purposes.  I have a goal of getting rid of 40 bags in 40 days.  So far I have given away 14 bags of stuff to friends or charity. We attended Flower Buds at our local extension office. This is a free program offered for children ages 3-5 to l...

I really enjoyed reading a wide variety of books this past month.  I am looking forward to spending some time reading outdoors this month!  One of my favorite things to do is to stretch out on a blanket (and a pillow) while reading outside.  Does anyone else enjoy that?  Anyway here are the books I read in March: The Outcast by Jolina Petersheim:  I really enjoyed this modern day retelling of The Scarlet Letter.  It was so easy to get lost in this book that I found it difficult to put down.  I usually don't enjoy re-reading fiction books for at least 10 years but I could definitely see myself reading this one again in a year.  Such a lovely book about love and forgiveness set in the Amish/Mennonite world.  Want to know something neat?  I actually know the author (and that isn't why I liked the book)!  We went to college together and let me tell you when I think of Jolina I just think sweetheart.  I am not a bit surprised...

Sweet Evangeline This past week has been busy but filled with fun!  Here are a few of the things we did to save money last week: My top frugal thing from last week was probably the shower that I threw a shower for my sister-in-law to be.  This was my first time ever throwing a shower and wow did I learn a lot.  :)  It was a lot of fun but also fairly time consuming.  I am really excited to welcome Amber into our family.  Thankfully I was able to borrow tons of beautiful silk flower decorations from a friend who used the same colors in her wedding.  I also borrowed tablecloths from 3 different people so I didn't have to purchase any.  We did use paper plates and napkins but everything else was reusable.  We used real silverware and mason jars.  I taught myself how to make a Cupcake Wedding Dress Cake by watching YouTube instead of purchasing an expensive cake from the bakery.  You can see more pictures and details for the ...