Beautiful!

Mother Blessing and Henna painting.

Yesterday my friend, Trish, invited me to a Mother Blessing Ceremony to paint/henna mama bellies. I only did one belly...... others wanted their arms or hands painted. Here are a few pics:) Oh, and my friend, Barb, taught everyone to do some belly dancing.

Fun Times!!

Home Sweet Home Birth

Pretty girls all in a row.

My Friend, Kristen's little beauties (well some of them....Caleb, Kelsey and Baby Kara, are missing from this shot). From the left: Grace,Courtney, Hope and Heather.

Please note the ADORABLE crocheted, matching barrettes that Kristen made for them.

So cute!!!

I started crocheting about a month and a half ago and am OBSESSED. Kristen and her daughter Hope, have pretty much taught me the right way to do it. It's been fun having this new hobby (just what I needed....a new hobby) and sharing it with Kristen and her girls. Hopefully I'll have some of the stuff I've made in the last few weeks to show you:)

Operation Hope

 Jennifer and I drove down to Kathleen's last Friday afternoon to spend the night. She organized a sewing day to make quilts for the kids at Hope Hospital in Oak Lawn. A grand time was had by all:) Kathleen is an amazing hostess. I just love her little B&B :)

 Kathleen with her baby:) That machine sews super fast. I want one. Now.

The above is the quilt Sarah Brown-Parisi and Kathleen and I worked on. It's just a scrappy,wonky quilt. It was made solely with Kathleen's scrap. I love how it turned out.

Here is the quilt Jennifer FINALLY finished...I'm so proud of her! YOU are a quilter, my friend!

Snuggy warm:)

Welcome Kara Joy!!!

My very good friend, Kristen, has delivered her 6th baby! As usual, she did it in less then 2 hours. She gets started and there's no stopping that locomotive! Over the last several months I've had the honor of renewing my friendship with Kristen during prenatal visits. It has been wonderful! I would usually visit her around 11a and would end up staying for lunch and a crochet lesson (my newest crafty passion...thanks, Kristen!)...oh and eventually we'd get around to the prenatal visit;)

11 years ago, I was blessed to attend Kristen with her first baby, Hope. Since then, Heather was born, Grace was adopted, Courtney arrived, Caleb (the prince;) made his appearance, and then sweet Kelsey. Here are all of the them in a photo from Christmas.

Kristen wasn't officially due until February 7th, so when she called me at 915p, the evening of the 26th, I (of course) was fast asleep. At first I was a bit confused about why she might be calling (she usually delivers late), but then I snapped awake, threw on my scrubs and was out the door in less then 6 minutes!! No stopping for coffee or gas for that matter, I raced down to her house which is about 60 minutes from me (I got there in 45;) Knowing I didn't have a lot of time, I got Christina on the way as well. We walked into the house and less then 10 minutes later at exactly 1015p, baby Kara Joy was born! Kristen did a wonderful job! I'm so proud of her. Most people will say how lucky she is to have her babes so fast, but when they come so fast like that, it is quite overwhelming...its very hard to get a grip. Kristen handled the labor beautifully.

Here she is!!!

Shortly after Kara Joy was born, she started sucking her thumb. Adorable!!!!

Here she is being weighed. She's just a peanut! She weighed in at 5lbs 14 oz.

What a wonderful birth my friend had. I'm so happy for her and her husband,Jim (who is still trying to wrap his brain around being the father of 7 children!!!)

One more thing I want to add. Kristen came back into my life at the perfect time. I had been struggling mightly with some personal issues and altho I was taking these issues to the Lord, He knew I needed someone else to help me with my walk. That person was Kristen. Over the last few months we have emailed back and forth several times a week. She would point out some things I needed to look at in the bible and she also gave me huge encouragement to take everthing to God.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Kristen! You amaze me in so many ways.

Here are some words that Kristen honored me with:

I love little Kara Joy so much!  She will always remind me that the Lord brought joy into my life through a special friend Karen.  Thank you for jumping into a friendship with me and for your endless kindness (like all the home prenatal visits), patience (reading all my e-mails and listening to all my thoughts and feelings), understanding (even sharing your own struggles), encouragement (through your own comforting words and the Bible), and hope (life is better with a friend like you to talk to)  you've given me over these months.  You know what I just realized...this is one reason the Lord gave me another girl.  Everyone around me is having a boy...but I needed this baby girl...and to name her this name from the Lord (Pure Joy from the Lord) to remember all HE has done for me.  Thank you for letting HIM use you in my life...and I pray for a continued friendship.

Oh Kristen!!! I too pray for our continued friendship!! You have made me one blessed, honored and happy midwife. Thank you!!

Babies on Bellies.

I had some fun with some pregnant mama bellies this past week. Big thanks to the 2 ladies that let me practice on them:)
I used non-toxic markers for these 2 mamas but have since picked up some henna.

The 3 year old wanted a baby on her belly too, so daddy drew that one on:)

 This was my second attempt....not to bad!

I'd like to give away the next 3 belly drawings to whoever asks for them:)

Chicago Botanical Gardens and Fiber Art Show

 Pretty lily pads and purple flower....do I see an art quilt? Why

yes, yes I do:)

The pics don't do justice to how beautiful it was that day. I'd never been to these gardens before. I'm looking forward to going back next summer.

Above: My friend, Becky. I just love her!!

Below: A 9 patch!

The above quilt is made from 'found' items such as candy wrappers, buttons, paper clips, etc. There's a close-up  several pics below. Interesting. I've actually wanted to make something from candy wrappers...they're so bright and colorful.

Above: 1 inch squares appliqued down with ribbon sewn over to hide the seams. I thought I might try a smaller version of this project as I have so many scraps leftover from my applique projects.

Below: I like the frame over the picture giving it a window effect.

A farm for you, Aunt Kathleen:) You are welcome;)

Baby Torture

"REALLY, MOM???REALLY????? You're going to put this outfit on me and expect me to be happy about it???"

My friend, Kristyn's sweet babe, Harper. I'm thinking she wasn't up for a photo shoot that day...or for wearing a tutu:)

Soup and my friend Stephanie and bread.

This is my new friend and co-worker, Stephanie. She has joined Christina's practice, Genesis Family Midwifery, as a midwife and we'll be catching babies and teaching child birth classes together. Here she is at a birth we were at yesterday weighing the baby using the new scale I made for her.

Stephanie and her husband recently moved to Elgin. They're about a mile from me, so Steph and I have been driving to births together when we can. We've also been getting together to craft, plan our classes and lunch together. On Tuesday, she had made some butternut squash soup which was so yummy! I was quite inspired, so today I made some acorn/butternut squash soup myself.

I topped it with a bit of greek yogurt. WOW! It is so good! I have a loaf of bread baking right now and when its done, I shall have myself another bowl with some homemade bread.

hhhhmmm....I'm quite the homemaker today:)

Here's the recipe for the soup which I kinda made up as I went along:)

Cut one acorn squash and one butternut squash in half. Sprinkle with Pumpkin Pie spice(which is just a mixture of cinnamon,ginger and nutmeg). Bake face down on a tray for about 40 mins at 375. Bake til soft. When cool, scoop out squash and blend in blender or food processor with:

1/8 c brown sugar

1 c plain yogurt or sour cream (I used 1/2 c of both)

4c chicken broth

Heat and serve.

So good....and good for you! and pretty!

Thanks for the inspiration, Steph:) Looking forward to a long and wonderful friendship with you!

(1 hour later)

The bread is ready! The house smell magnificent!

My Study Buddy,Becky

 

This was us right before we sat down for our grueling 8 hour midwifery exam. We've been encouraging each other and studying together for the last year. I could not have done it without her.

 Love you,girl!