The time has come!!  Answered prayers:  The Lord has provided a violin and a teacher for Phoebe!!  She is using a precious 1/8 size violin.  Lessons start Wednesday.  We can't wait!  









Let the music begin! 

Last Friday we had 6 kids!  We took care of the four S kids while their parents had an anniversary night away.  I was surprised at how at ease I felt the whole time, even before Eric got home from work.  It was really lots of fun!!

Before Eric got home, the 4 "little" ones played together pleasantly while the two older guys and I played Farkel.  That was a blast. 

Eric had some great ideas...  The first was to take them OUT to dinner (and leave the mess there!) 

Phoebe and Lydia sat facing backwards in the station wagon.  You know they got a kick out of that!


The middle row:  Jonah, Malachi, and Jesse


And Isaac was stuck, sandwiched between the adults in the front


The perk of being subjected to such torture:  Isaac was able to watch "Boundin'" on my iPod.    Not too shabby!


Here they all are at Wendy's.  This guy says to Eric, "Hey, man.  Are they all yours???" 
Eric replied, "Nope, two are mine.  The other four are loaners." 

Eric's next awesome idea:  take them to the park after dinner.  They had a blast and they wore out all their energy on the monkey bars and swings.  No pics from the park, but here's one from when we got home:

Notice the two sets of boots.  The two four-year-olds are still in the cowboy boot phase! 

After showers and all that, we had family time.  It's so nice to see 6 kids trained to sit still and quiet!


Eric read from an awesome book called Polite Moments.  Then we had prayer.


The girls and went to bed and the boys...  tried on all of Eric's wrestling medals! 


And just looked really cute.


Next morning, we all had Fruity Cheerios (Did you know they are healthier than the honey nut variety??)




We never turned on a video til about an hour before their parents returned!  Pretty good, huh?  Then Joe and Debbie took us out to lunch, which was really nice! 

Having 6 kids would definitely be a lot of work, especially the baby stages.  But a 10, 8, two 6s and two 4s was pretty fun. 

We'd do it again!! 

I've finally finished a sewing project!!  Here's Phoebe's dress and hat (Butterick B5019):





The neck is a little large (I noticed that someone else who blogged about using this pattern said the same thing), and the inside attachment was a little tricky for me at first.  But all in all, it was pretty simple to make.  I was a little apprehensive about using bias tape for the first time, but it turns out that sewing with bias tape is very simple. 

I hope to finish Jesse's button-up shirt today!  I started it in mid-June, but late-June and all of July were so busy.  Poor guy...  his sister's garment was started and finished before I picked his up again.

Mom is here and she has made a poodle skirt for Phoebe.  I think just the fact that she's been here has given me the confidence I needed to complete Phoebe's dress and hat.  Sometimes I need a little hand-holding to launch myself into uncharted waters. 

Back to the sweat shop!!