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we've made it through the week, and my what a cold one it was! when highs are in the negatives i don't want to leave the house. i am grateful for the new down coat i just bought with a fancy faux-fur hood. because as much as i want to be a hermit, life still goes on during a frigid minnesota winter.

jane is sitting up. and eating some rice cereal. tasting rice cereal? i'm not quite sure how much actually gets to her tummy. but we're taking it slowly around here. she's growing well and we are grateful for that.



things are quietly busy. we play. a lot. and go to bsf and small group and church and the grocery store. oh! and i have a freelance writing project to keep me busy. ben's business is steadily growing (did i tell you he started a business?) and we have much to thank God for.






since it might hit twenty degrees tomorrow (hip hip hoorah!) we are planning to head to the zoo. do you have big plans for the weekend? stay warm and bundled, my friends! unless you happen to be on sanibel island like my parents-in-law. in that case, wiggle your toes in the sand for me!

handmade holiday: dolls for the girls!

along with the hot cocoa jars, i made some other gifts this Christmas. the project started back in september with an impromptu trip to the fabric store. after spotting a few great fabric combinations, i decided to sew dolls for jane and her girl cousins as Christmas gifts.



i used the black apple doll instructions via martha stewart crafts that i had saved a long time ago in evernote (another plug for evernote! i find i use it much more than pinterest). the pattern was pretty easy to follow, but the thin doll limbs were a little tricky to turn inside out and stuff.

i squeezed in a little work during naps and such.



and the dolls were finished in time for Christmas! i made a fourth but gave it away to one of my nieces before i got a chance to photograph all the dolls together. jane's is the one on the right. my dad says jane has a "mona lisa smile," so her dolly does, too.

woohoo for sewing projects!

happy six months, little girl!

it was just six months ago that i was walking like jack sparrow trying to get through my contractions. but they brought you, and we are so happy!





praising God for your life. love you, little one!

adorable hat made by my adorable sister-in-law, lauren.

fall photo shoot

this past fall, our small group friends brad and lorna beth asked if i would meet them at minnehaha falls to take some pictures. it was a lovely october day and the trees still had some beautiful colors left on them. these are some of my favorite shots from the day.






























brad and lorna beth have become very sweet friends of ours and i can't say enough good things about them. we are blessed to have them in our lives.

from chaos to order . . . slowly.

now that we are finished with renovations, i have my share of "get organized" goals. this Christmas season made me painfully aware that my gift wrap supply situation was in dire need of an intervention. i've kept ribbons and bags and tissue paper from holidays and birthdays and baby showers hoping that i could use them again. and while that's not all bad, i wasn't being smart about it. i kept buying more because i wasn't sure what i had on hand.


getting it all whipped into shape was relatively painless. my first inclination when i have an organizing project is to run to the container store or target to get bins and labels and such. but one of my goals is to be more resourceful, and ben reminded me that we literally have a room full of cardboard boxes in the basement. so i grabbed two, cut off the top flaps, and got to work.

i got rid of a lot of bags, boxes, and tissue paper that were not in a reusable state. then i categorized into Christmas and non-Christmas and put the bags in order of size. i put "like with like" and it all fit together nicely. now when i need to wrap a present i can run to the basement, grab the appropriate box, and bring all i need upstairs in one fell swoop. oh, and wrapping paper rolls are in a tall rubbermaid container. now hopefully i won't be spending money to buy more tissue paper or bags when i already have plenty on hand.





on the subject of order: in bsf this year we are studying Genesis, and it is so clear from the first chapter that God is a God of order. he made order from chaos! and we are made in His image, so no wonder it feels so good to bring order to our lives. when the study guide asked me where i could ask for God's help to incorporate order in my life, it was pretty clear: our home! so that is one area i'm focusing on this year.

jane: five months

these pictures were taken Christmas eve. ben was around so he caught her eye. her personality is really starting to come out!