Life as Mrs. Emerson

I am so pleased with how it turned out. I finally finished sewing the above dress for my five year old cousin Anna a few weeks ago.  I think it might be the only thing I have sewn all summer!  According to her chest measurements she needed a size 3/4 but I made a size 5 (her current size) so that she would be able to wear it for 2 summers.  It does look large in the picture but the style of the dress is long and modest. The three pleats on the bodice would show up much better in a solid fabric. I used a light weight seersucker fabric called Tutti Frutti that I purchased from Hancock Fabrics.  It was easy to work with.  I thought this dress was fairly easy to sew but I do have a lot of sewing under my belt.  The cover of the pattern says easy but this pattern is not for the beginner.  It includes a zipper and pleats for view B which I made.  The pleats really were not that difficult to sew but this was my first experience with them. I ended up just measuring the pleats instead

The happy hubby insisted on taking my picture on my first day of school.  If you have noticed a small lull in my writing on the blog it is because a new adventure has begun in our family.  This mama is going back to school!!!  The end goal is to become an ibclc lactation consultant.      Brandon and I have thought about this as a possibility for our family for years.  I have always been interested in the health care field and I am really passionate about breastfeeding so this seems like the perfect fit. This semester I am taking two classes: Anatomy & Physiology I Lecture & Lab Nutrition & Wellness The nutrition class is all online and I attend the A & P class twice a week in the evenings while the happy hubby hangs out with the kiddos.  So far I have spent  10 hours on Anatomy & Physiology homework/studying and 2 hours on nutrition since classes began on Tuesday.  On my first day of A & P the tutor for the class said that it usually takes abou

Evangeline enjoying one of her many hikes this past month! Evangeline's 10th month has been filled with fun!  We went on vacation, attended the Ohio State Fair, and spent lots of time building memories and enjoying our summer!  I can't believe she is going to have a birthday soon.  She weighs 20.5 pounds which means she has actually lost almost a pound from last month.  (Eli did the same thing once he became mobile.)  This is due to the fact that she is on the MOVE!  Eva Grace is always going, going, going.  She crawls everywhere and she cruises!  We keep watching and waiting for her to walk.  They are the best of friends!   Elijah and Evangeline continue to spend more and more time playing together every day.  Such a joy and delight to this mama's heart.  Eva has started trying to talk to Eli and I wouldn't be surprised if she comes up with a really fun nick name for him.  (I used to call my brother Bubbers.) Eva took her nap in this position one afterno

Evangeline with Daddy at Kentucky Lake. Our sweet Evangeline is such a delight to our family and seems to bring joy to everyone around her.  This month we have enjoyed being outdoors with her more.  She loves to be worn by both mommy and daddy.  We love the flexibility and freedom that baby wearing brings.  We were able to enjoy a nice long 2.5 mile hike this past month. All smiles watching Eli & I roll out pretzel dough.  Evangeline continues to enjoy sitting with us at the table for meals but does not enjoy eating anything!  We recently tried a little juice just for fun since I know it serves no nutritional value.  She liked it okay but we will not be allowing her to indulge in it except on the rare occasion.  Evangeline continues to dislike any form of food, cheerios, etc.  She continues to nurse every few hours and has yet to drop any of her feedings.  (I know by this point Elijah had dropped down to fewer feedings but I really don't mind.)  Selfishly I do wish tha

Royal Burgundy green beans we picked this week from our garden.  We have been able to harvest a substantial amount of produce from our garden the past few weeks.  Check out the PURPLE green beans that we grew!  They turn green when you cook them.  Elijah thinks they are just the coolest thing ever while the happy hubby just thinks I am silly.  Thankfully I can already notice a decrease in our grocery budget and an increase in the number of veggies we have been eating.  I planted an entire row of summer squash so it will soon be coming out of our ears!  We harvested squash and green beans from our garden.  We ate green beans with three meals this past week.  My mother also canned 3 quarts for us.   I ordered a subscription to Old House Journal for 4.50.  Honestly I haven't read this magazine before but I figured that it was worth a shot.  (I used fun money to purchase it.) I renewed library videos via the telephone in order to avoid paying a late fee.  One thing that has re

Early Prolific Straight neck Squash   We are really enjoying the harvest season of the garden.  Our garden was planted about 2 weeks after the first frost date so it has just started to really produce.  I thought it would be fun to share a few pictures.  No judging please because I took the pictures before I weeded.  :) Eli is the official squash picker of the family!   It is so much fun to just walk out to our garden and pick food to cook for dinner.  It does not get any fresher than that! So proud of our hard work!    We have enjoyed eating squash at least 4 times per week.  We have enjoyed it in bread, sauteed, as a casserole, and as zucchini fries. Black Beauty Zucchini  A sweet friend bought a squash cookbook for me and I can't wait to try out some of the new recipes!  Last year I also made Zucchini Pickles which I might make again. We are growing tons of fresh basil in our garden!  I started adding fresh basil to my paninis sandwiches and to a lot of ou

July Reads Women of the Word Jen Wilkin: I'm sure that every true believer of Christ would say it is important to study God's Word but most of us could also say that it can be hard to know where to start.  Today it is so easy for women to get discouraged reading the Bible as they deal with various frustrations and time constraints.  Personally my biggest challenge during this busy season of life is the time constraint.  I simply don't have as much time as I desire to study my Bible but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a rich Bible Study experience with the time that I do have available.    Wilkin offers a clear plan to help women study their Bible deeper in order that they might treasure Christ even more.  I have read a few different books on reading the Bible and this book was so refreshing.  The author presents the 5 P's of Bible Study: Purpose, Perspective, Patience, Process, and Prayer.  Overall this book was great and I am sure I will be passing it