Just try to not say "Awwwww." I dare ya.

It's so fun having a little girl! We all adore this little one. She's a funny girl, making us all laugh every day.

The boys often bring books over to where Heidi is sitting. Yes, just sitting. She's almost 9 months old now, and she still doesn't know she could crawl if she tried. She doesn't even put any weight on her legs if we try to stand her up. She's content to just sit. Maybe because everything she wants is brought to her by her loyal big brothers.

 

Wait, did I say she was content to just sit? I meant to sit and grab everything. Elijah nicknamed her "Grabzilla." Ha! Those big eyes and smile tell it all.

The other night we had lentil soup full of spinach. I told the boys about Popeye and his amazing ability to grow super muscles after eating spinach. After supper, the boys grew their own big muscles. But they were made out of rice heat packs instead of spinach.

Personally, I like these even better than bunny slippers.

Miscellaneous family pictures from the last few weeks:

You still here? Thanks for stopping by.

This little baby....

is just growing up too fast.

6 months old already.

She's a thumb-sucking, big brother-adoring, attention-needing, music-loving dolly.

We adore her.

Cousin Fun

The boys got a special treat today --- they got to play with Miss Aspen most of the day. It was even warm enough to play outside for awhile. What a strange, warm winter it has been.

Composition notebook cover

Shane put in an order for a leather composition notebook, with a spot for index cards and a spot for business cards. Together we came up with a design, and he wanted to see pictures of the process.
So, first things first. I started started with gathering all my supplies. Here I have leather, of course, a block of scrap wood (the softer the better; this is a pine 2 x 4), a clear ruler, a pen, scizzors, my trusty Victorinox SwissTool (like a leatherman, only better) with a leather awl on it, the notebook to be covered, artificial sinew (waxed thread), leather sewing needles, a box cutter razor blade, hole punches, etc.

Then I took measurements and figured out a pattern,

drew it out on the wrong side of the leather (suede side, in this case),

and cut it out.


After I rounded the corners ever so slightly, I chatted with Shane for a few minutes on the computer about more details. While my attention was elsewhere,

McKay did this.

So I cut out a new piece.

My least favorite step is poking all the holes. I don't know why I don't like it, but I don't. It's a lot better with my SwissTool than it has been with any other awls I've used, though.

Then I measured out the designated spots for the index card and business card slits, marked it on the leather,

punched holes at each end so the slits can't possibly "run",

and cut the slits. (It's probably time to apologize for the poor quality photos. The lighting wasn't very good inside the house, and I wasn't about to do all this outside.)

Abram's least favorite part of leather working is the stitching. I kind of like it. And kind of don't. I don't know how to explain it. It's satisfying and enjoyable, yet it takes waaaay too long. So I love it at first, then hate it by the end, I guess.

When I get to the end of the line, I start stitching all the way back.

Then I tie a good knot, trim the threads and melt them so the knot can't come undone. Abram had to teach me how to tie a good knot, because my stuff used to come undone. Aaack! That's the last thing you want to have happen when you've put so much time into a project.

Now this was my favorite step. I put the notebook inside the cover, and... Blammo!

You go from UGLY notebook

to beautiful leatherbound journal that will last a lifetime (and completely refillable for under a buck).



Very satisfying.

I hope you enjoy it, Shane!

Our lovely Christmas

We started out the Christmas season by picking out a beautiful tree from the Ashley National Forest, now a Felsch family Christmas tradition.


Then we topped it off by eating naughty foods,

like pumpkin pie (made from a pumpkin from our garden), apple pie (made from apples from our orchard), and creamy pear pie (made from pears from our orchard),

decorating the tree and our home (how do you like this Christmas garland? Can you tell how I made it?),

dressing up as something different every day (okay, every hour)....

... and then dressing up baby sister,

(oh my!)

making Christmas cookies of all shapes and sizes (Abram arranged this plate of cookies.. isn't it beautiful!?),

spending quality time together as a family (this picture was 100% candid/not posed. They're always kissing Miss Heidi),

being rock stars,

reading together,

reliving the Nativity,

and playing with our toes!


And when the Christmas Angel came, oh! it was so magical!

(and, of course, it was so fun to open our presents!)


(Happy Holidays!)

Love,
Abram, Maggie, Elijah, McKay, and Heidi