Thank you!!!!! No Tumor!!!!

Thank you all for praying!!! Don just got home from the doc and the X-Rays are clear! No Tumor!!!! We are praising God for His miraculous touch! The growth appears to be a keloid. I had never heard of a keloid on hard tissue before, but apparently they can grow there too. Anyway, the doc is very relieved and we are VERY RELIEVED AND GRATEFUL!!!! Thank you for your prayers.

In His Grace,
Sivje

Please pray for my hubby

Please pray for Don. He has an appt. this morning with a specialist because he has a growth on his jaw. He is very afraid. Twelve years ago he was diagnosed with a rare, locally destructive tumorous disease called Ameloblastoma.  He had to have his jaw removed and then a new one transplanted, many surgeries to rebuild his jaw and then finally implants. The whole process from diagnosis to finally success with the right implants was over a 5 year period. This disease is so rare but recurrence is even rarer. After 5 years, with no new tumors, the chance of recurrence is less than the chance of diagnosis in the first place. 

Well, here we are, 12 years later and Don has a growth on his jaw. We lost our insurance when Don was laid off back in November. Don has been working every odd job he can find, but no full time work and nothing with insurance. Please just pray that this growth is nothing. Please pray that he is ok. Please pray for peace. Please pray for provision. 

Thank you so much.

In His Grace,

Sivje

Kylie's Birthday dress

This is a custom for a local mama who brought me the fabric and asked for a dress for her daughter and a doll dress. I love the simple style of this dress. It is a style that I made often for India when she was little and will be making for Ahnalin as well. Ahnalin insisted on putting the doll dress on one of her dollies and then tried to convince me that it actually belonged to her. Uh, nice try my sweet!

Smocked Treasures

I have not smocked anything new for a few weeks, so I thought I would post some of my favorites from last year. I need to get smocking for customs and Easter, so there will be new things soon.
This dress was a custom for a darling little girl on her 4th birthday. She loves princesses and was quite the princess in this dress. The smock plate was designed by my friend, and fellow "China Mama", Janet Gilbert. It is a recoloring of the design "Flower Girls" that she created for Sew Beautiful magazine. This dress was so much fun to smock, and now Ahnalin wants one for herself.
I LOVE this dress! Ahnalin picked this out for her 4th birthday and it turned out so lovely. I think I may make her one for her doll as well. I would love to make this dress again.
This is "Enchanted" by "My Treasured Heirlooms". I had the fun of being a pattern tester for this designer. I LOVE this outfit!

This was Ahnalin's Easter dress. I used the design "Chocolate Bunnies" from Creative Needle magazine. Oh, Ahnalin loves this dress. What a fun design to smock!

I will be posting something new soon. Keep watching!

If anything you see interests you, I would be happy to recreate any of these to your specifactions.

Best Friends dress

Just a quick post to show Ahnalin's Valentine dress. She calls it her "Best Friend" dress and it is very twirly! She loves this dress because it is easy to wear and is great for dancing around the room. I can make more of this dress if you like. I can make this dress in sizes up to 6 for $35.00 each.

Happy 6th D-Day India My Love

Jeremiah 29:11-13 says "For I know the plans I have for you'" declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

This is India's favorite verse. Her "Life Verse". And I do mean "Life".




Today is the 6th anniversary of the beginning of India's new life. Up until Feb. 11, 2003, India had been a relatively carefree, extremely healthy and gifted girl, completely trusting that God and her parents would protect her from anything. But on this day, 6 years ago, India was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She had stayed home with Nana from school after having a stomach ache for a few days and some other symptoms. Nana took her to a clinic in town where they drew blood and then told my terrifed girl that she was "deathly ill". My mother-in-law came to the furniture store where I worked and picked me up so we could take India to the hospital. Sadly for India, the clinic had drawn the blood incorrectly so all 6 vials had to be disposed of, and redrawn. It took 5 people to hold down my girl! But then we were told that she needed to be taken to Sutter Memorial hospital in Sacramento as our local hospital had no idea what to do. When India realized that she would get to ride in an ambulance, she was thrilled!!!!! She perked up right away and asked if she could sit in front and work the lights! She was allowed to do this and I thank God for those ambulance drivers deciding to give a scared little girl such a treat!

Other than that first time in the local hospital, India never expressed any fear about her diagnosis. We had no diabetes in our family so we had never worried this would happen to one of ours. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, unlike type 2. Type 1 does not happen because someone eats poorly, or doesn't exercise. There is no way you can tell a child that they brought it on themselves, as people often think of type 2 diabetes. So this was such a shock to us.

One of the immediate goals of a young diabetes patient is that the learn to care for themselves as soon as possible. India started to give herself her shots that first day in the hospital. It gave her a sense of control when she was so ill. She set herself to the task of learning everything she could about her disease, so that it did not take over her life. She never acted sad or afraid, nor did she get angry at us or God. The only time she was a bit sad when she was in the hospital, was when her school principal from Mount Saint Marys school came to visit her with a huge box of letters, notes, pictures, valentine cards, candy and presents from the students of the school. He came on Valentines day, and she was not allowed to eat any of the candy that was sent. Oh, and they were not allowed to bring the balloons she had been given into the hospital as it was a "latex free zone".

Don and I struggled, cried, screamed and then settled in to learn about the illness. It took us a lot longer than it took India. She made us promise that we would not give up on adopting a little sister for her because we were fearful for her life and the care she required. Don felt very strongly that somehow, God's plan for India could only be accomplished with her being so dependent on Him because of this illness, that somehow He would be glorified through her condition.

And India accepted this.

Over the past 6 years, India has learned a lot about herself and her illness. She has not let her illness interfere with her dreams. She has incorporated her challenges into life goals. I will share more about this soon but for now, I will just say that I am so very, very proud of who my beautiful daughter is becoming. She is amazing!

And I do believe that even in the face of diabetes, we can say that God's plans are for her good.

OWWWWW!!!

Ok, I am whining. Just bare with me. Or is that bear with me? I don't know. I am in pain so my grammar is bad. or poor. whatever. Anyway, a week ago Sunday, when I was singing, my lower, right, back molar started to break off in chunks. Yeah, while I was singing the line "And by the Grace of God, we will carry on" from the song "Forever", on mic, on the platform, first service. So, I had no choice but to "carry on" through that service and the rest of the services. Anyway, I ran around trying to find some orthodontic wax to poke into the hole in my tooth so I could get through the services. God definitely had plans for that morning as the services were some of the best I remember and I am grateful I got to be there. But my tooth hurts.

Yeah, it is now 8 days later and I still have not gotten it fixed. We can't afford it. So, I am being the mama and "carrying on". Please pray that I can find a dentist who will let me make payments, or maybe give me some kind of discount. We are living life pretty close to the bone right now, so we need all the prayer, and discounts(!) we can get.

Sorry for the whine. I am just hurting and need prayer.

In His Grace,
Sivje

22 years ago yesterday.....

My hot rockin hubby and I went on our first date. ahhhhhhh...... I can't even find any photos. We were heading to the cast party after the final performance of "Plaster Saints" at Bethany Bridal....er...Bible College in Scotts Valley, CA. The party was taking place at the home of the college president, as well as one of his daughter's who was also in the play, Jenny Foth.

So, it was our first date. We had not officially even been on this date more than 30 minutes. When Don came around the car (a white, 1967 Mustang, thank you very much!) to open my door (oh...my white knight!), I looked him in the eye and demanded, "Are you going to kiss me or not?" YES! I demanded that first kiss! And he obliged, albeit a bit nervously. So our first kiss took place on our college president's front lawn. Thank you President Foth! A minute or so later, when we went into the house together, several people grabbed me to "warn" me about Don. You see, he wore rock and roll t-shirts and played electric guitar, and had already graduated from Bethany. So some how he had developed a reputation as being "Wild" and "Bad". He does not remember doing anything wild so he feels a bit cheated. But we feel it is particularly funny that they were warning me about him, and I demanded the first kiss.

That was 22 years ago. And he still plays guitar and wears rock and roll t-shirts and I still demand kisses.

I love you my hot rockin man!

My angel girls

Ok I know this is a photo from Christmas morning, but let's just pretend that I am not posting this in February. ok? Every year we give the girls a new nightgown or jammies for their present on Christmas Eve. This year, since they are on to us anyway, I decided to let them help design their gowns. I had a bolt of white flannel in my fabric stash and knew that would be the base for our creations. India chose a smocked style and picked the smock plate as well. This was especially sweet because this gown is the first thing I have smocked for her.
Ahnalin chose a round neck style and picked a gingerbread embroidery design and red rickrack. They both looked like angels.

Cowgirl Ahnalin

The beginning

So.......my first post on this blog..........What to say?

I sew. Alot.
I smock. Alot.
I do some other things too.
I love my family.............more than sewing! I love Jesus even more than my family. But to me, a perfect day is one in which I hug and kiss my perfectly wonderful family as they walk out the door to do something fun, and I get to stay at home in an empty house where I can turn up the stereo and sing at the top of my lungs, while I just sew and sew, maybe with some smocking, cooking, Doris Day movies, and maybe a friend or two to do these things with. Then, after a day of creating fun garments, yummy treats or other treasures, my wonderful family comes home to enjoy my creations and we spend cozy time together. I don't often get to grab these days of bliss, but they are fun to dream of. More common in my life are days of normal family life. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, mom taxi service, church, reading, appts, rehearsals, ballet lessons, homework, details, hugs, blood checks and breathing treatments, etc., etc., etc., and then after everyone is in bed I get to sew. Awwwww bliss!

A note on the name of this blog. It is who I am, made from both of my parents. My daddy always called me "Goosie" and my mommy taught me to sew. I am Goosegirl.