All Four Of Us In A Single Shot!

It doesn't happen often.

I mean, we very rarely are in the 

same place at the same time,

when we are dressed in decent clothing,

makeup on and hair brushed,

and,

at least appear,

in our right minds.

But yesterday at our new church,

Sebastopol Christian Church,

I grabbed a new friend

and handed her my phone.

I threatened my family 

with mayhem if they made 

anything less than the most

charming and lovely 

smiles.

And there you have it!

Look closely at the hand on India's leg.

It's mine but it looks like it is hers,

only the fingers are opposite of what they should be.

It makes me laugh!

And I am pretty sure that 

India was saying 

"TAKE THE PICTURE ALREADY!"

Ahnalin refused to sit up straight 

and actually smile.

But hey!

There we all are now. 

Whew!

Now.....back to my sewing.
Unless I finish India's Christmas dress,
she will likely be dress-less on Christmas day!

Happy Sewing!

Dresses for Cherish and an Angel

This little dress is for my precious, 

adorable, 

and in-every-way-wonderful niece Cherish.

I want to see her in it so much!

You see, it is red and white

and reminded me of 

Olivia the Pig, 

 so of course, I had to add 

some Black Rick Rack.

And,

well, 

I loved it so much,

that I had to make one for a little

girl whose tag we picked off 

the Angel Tree at First Pres. Church. 

So this one is for a precious little girl

who I will probably never meet.

And Ahnalin found this "Sonya Lee" Little Peoples set

that we had gotten for her when she was little.

But she only ever played with her wood blocks

or her babies, 

so it was still in the box.

She decided to give it to the 

little Angel Tree girl. 

I am proud of my sweetie for thinking

of this little one.

Well, and then Ahnalin

decided that she wanted a dress

JUST LIKE the dress for her
Christmas dress!!!

But, I had to shake things up a bit....

So this is just a teaser of Ahnalin's dress.......

When I fell in love with this fabric

a few years ago,

I bought the rest of the bolt!

It has been in my stash

just waiting for me to decide to cut into it.

It's Michael Miller Iron Work

and I even have enough left over 

for another dress or two!

I need to take photos of Ahnalin

in her dress before

she gets "Christmas" all over it.......

And yes, 

I did. 

I made ANOTHER Rapunzel costume!

You see, 

next summer we plan to 

visit Cherish

and her Mommy and Daddy

and Ahnalin is dying to play dress-up 

with Cherish. 

I decided to simplify Cherish's Rapunzel 

dress and chose not to use grommets for

lacing the bodice. 

The ribbon is actually sewn in place

for the sake of comfort and simplicity.

The lace overskirt used every last inch

of the purple embroidered lace.

(well, I do have a skinny bit left for a doll dress...)

I machine sewed the hem so that it would 

be sturdy for 3 year old dress-up action.

The lace is vintage hem tape

that had a price tag of 65 cents on the wrapper. 

I love using my stash goodies!

So, one of the red dresses and the little Rapunzel

dress are on their way to my precious niece 

for her birthday and Christmas.

And the other red dress and the Little People

are on their way to another little angel.

And one more red dress

will be posted in a day or so

on my wild Ahnalin.......

Next project........

I get to start on India's 

Christmas dress,

which will be made from a gorgeous

length of vintage Pendleton wool

given to me by my Hot Rockin' Hubby's 

Aunt Dona Vee. 

After that.....Christmas Jammies

and then some mittens, hats

and slippers from felted cashmere sweaters.

And......Ahnalin wanted some new
doll clothes for Christmas!
Yep, I think that Santa can fulfill
that request....

Oh fun!! 

Happy Sewing!

Sivje

Candles, Cocoa And Change

Tonight we lit the Shepherd's Candle of Joy.

We love Advent Sundays in our family.

They are my favorite tradition of the 

Christmas season!

We usually use a brass Advent wreath or 

a red cutout metal Swedish Advent wreath.

But this year, we are using the wood and greenery

wreath that Ahnalin and I made at the Advent Festival

at our old church. 

( More about this below.)

In this picture, we were singing

"The First Noel".

I can't tell you how much I love this picture.

I love love love love it!

Every Sunday night of Advent, 

we read the Bible verses,

sing the songs,

pray the prayers,

and light the candles.

Then we enjoy dessert and 

salted maple hot chocolate.

Last week, we had chocolate cake

and the same salted maple hot cocoa.

Do you see my darling Christmas Goose china?

I love it!

And the first Sunday of Advent,

we had dark chocolate brownies

and salted maple hot cocoa.

And yes, I have lots of different Christmas china.

All of my dishes for the rest of the 

year are super practical,

but I love my wonderful Christmas dishes!

And in case you were wondering,

the "Salted Maple Hot Cocoa"

is my own concoction.

You see, I had been very, very committed

to the Anti-Inflammatory diet, 

and had avoided all sugar, wheat, corn and potatos

for months.

But pure maple syrup is allowed occasionally. 

And I loved the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

at Starbucks, so I wanted something similar for me!

So, here it is!

Salted Maple Hot Cocoa

Serves 4

4 cups milk

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt

3/8 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup boiling water

whipped cream 

(yeah it has a bit of sugar. I don't care!)

cocoa powder to sprinkle on top

In a medium sauce pan, heat the milk on low heat.

(Be careful not to scald or burn the milk or you get a yucky

brown film on it.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder,

salt, maple syrup, vanilla, and boiling water until foamy.

Carefully blend the cocoa mixture into the hot milk.

Pour into 4 mugs and top with whipped cream.

Sprinkle a bit of cocoa powder on the top of the 

whipped cream. 

YUMMY!!!

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And the change I was referring to.........

Well, we have loved our time at Santa Rosa

First Presbyterian Church,

but we are so excited for our next adventure!

Last Sunday was our final Sunday at First Pres,

and this morning was our first Sunday at 

Sebastopol Christian Church!

Don is the new 

Director of Music and Worship

at SCC! 

We had such a fun time 

in worship with our new fellow

singers and musicians. 

We can't wait to get to know new friends

and serve in new ministries.

God is so good!

And the best part is that 

we will still be able to see

our friends from First Pres because we 

are staying in Santa Rosa!
YAY!!

I am so grateful to God 

for the gift of His Son

and the gift of worship.

Happy Advent!