Life as Mrs. Emerson

The past month at our home has been exciting (despite the weather) because I have been learning to crochet!  It is like a new dimension of the crafting world has finally been opened up to me.  I am having so much fun and have already turned out a half dozen dishcloths.  A dishcloth has to be one of the best projects ever.  What a phenomenal way to learn and practice single crochet, half crochet, and half double crochet.  At the end of two hours of crocheting I have a finished project that makes a lovely gift.   I actually learned to make a chain and single crochet while I was a bored sophomore in college.  As a resident assistant I had to sit at a desk for hours upon hours.  A friend showed me how to single crochet and I had a nice time making a scarf.  A few years later I found myself living on a Lakota-Sioux Native American Reservation.  We lived so far from a town that we had to drive four hours to the west or two hours to the east in order to even find a Walmart.  If you

Last week I had a shortened list of goals because I spent the week with children who weren't feeling well.  I pushed aside my usual list of ten goals and instead focused on what is most important.  The children did a great job of resting and we read through an impressive stack of books.  I'm happy to say that they are both feeling better now.  Secretly I am hoping for another good snow so the children and I can go sledding!  (We stayed in last week when it snowed.) Here is my list of goals for the week: Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Attend two therapy appointments with Evangeline this week. 2.  Enjoy an at-home date with my husband. 3.  Finish reading The Bears on Hemlock Mountain and five chapters of the original Winnie the Pooh.   It is SO much better than the cartoon!   I would also like to squeeze in a nice long visit to the library. Homemaking 4.  Sew two baby gifts.   5.  Clean out Eli's closet and organize his dresser. Personal 6.  Continue

Our beautiful church covered in snow.   Frugal Things I Did Last Week is back by request!  A few of you have asked where my "frugal things" post have been and now they are back. Here are a few of the things we did to save money and enjoy life last week: I enjoyed having a friend and her daughter over for dinner on Friday.  We had so much fun relaxing at home AND she taught me how to make a granny square!  I made a simple Chicken Almondine casserole and my friend brought dessert. We enjoyed the beautiful snow from inside.  I pulled back the curtains and we watched it snow for hours curled up under warm blankets.  Eli ended up with an ear infection so we had to stay inside rather than play in the snow. We enjoyed reading through a large stack of books from the library and listening to audio books.  I also watched Call The Midwife Season 3.   We combined a number of errands in order to save gas and time.  I returned a number of items that we didn't end up usin

This year I scaled back a lot on the number of Christmas presents that I made.  This year I made about thirty Christmas presents.  I had hoped to make a few more for family members but I just ran out of time.  We really tried to focus on simplifying our Christmas this year.  There will be plenty of time in January and February to finish up a few projects on my wish list for the children! The above picture includes the gifts that I made for my Arkansas nieces.  I wasn't sure if the gifts would need to be mailed so I tried to keep them light weight.  I sewed two matching toddler infinity scarves using the frozen fabric.  The butterfly case is a diaper change case.  It can hold a few diapers and a pack of travel wipes for easy changes.   Do you remember a few years ago when the ribbon dancers were so popular?  This was another easy gift that I whipped up one afternoon.  I simply painted a dowel rod with two coats of paint.  Then I hot glued on two yards of ribbon.

Last week I found Eva saying, "Mom help.  I stuck."  It was just too funny not to take a picture.  We start school again this week.  Our Christmas break has been absolutely wonderful.  I am so thankful for the many memories that were made and the joyous celebration that we enjoyed celebrating the birth of Christ.  Now the time has come to think about putting away our decorations and resuming our usual routines.  Evangeline also resumes therapy this week.   Last Week's Goals: Marriage, Mothering, & Family 1.  Plan a fun at home date for New Year's Eve.  With young children in our home we honestly enjoy spending the evening at home much better than a late night out.  I'd love your suggestions for our celebration at home.   We ended up enjoying a nice time at my parent's house after a day of van shopping. 2.  Whisk the family off on a Day Trip to Columbus, OH.  We are looking forward to visiting COSI while we are there and possibly the Topiary Park

Christmas at Harmony Hill: A Shaker Story by Ann Gabhart: I picked up this light fiction read from my local library.  It chronicles the story of a young mother who finds refuge among the Shakers.  This book was honestly disappointing but I will say that my expectations were probably set just a little bit too high. Professionalizing Motherhood: Encouraging, Educating, and Equipping Mothers At Home by Jill Savage: I am almost finished reading through this book and boy do I wish I would have had the opportunity to read it during my first year of mothering.  Although this book was published when I was actually in high school there is so much to glean from this book.  I love the idea of thinking about motherhood as my career.  I thought the author had a number of great ideas.  At the end of every chapter she included a few "personal reflections" that were wonderful.  It would be so much fun to work through these questions in a small group, with a friend, or even alone in a