.new year, new classroom.

Before I get into my classroom, I'd like to give a quick update on my dad.  He had surgery today to remove the tumor from his stomach. This tumor was originally thought to be benign, but upon closer inspection, we are being told it is most likely malignant.

However, there is good news. The dye test revealed no spreading of the cells to other organs, and the doctor is confident he removed all of the tumor and surrounding affected cells. Further testing needs to be done to reveal how aggressive the cells are splitting, etc. These tests will determine whether or not my dad will have to have chemo.

My dad lost 25% of his stomach today, and as bad as that may sound, it's so much better than the 80% we were given as a potential max. There are too many blessings here to dwell on the negatives, but I am still having to keep reminding myself not to worry because God has not given us a spirit of fear. Worrying does no good, especially since all the tests results could still come back negative for malignancy, negative for chemo treatments, negative for aggressive, etc. Even if these results don't come back negative, God is in control and He can still heal my Dad 100%.

I'm choosing to rest in the powerful arms of my Heavenly Father and leave my earthly father in His arms as well. There's really no safer place to leave our loved ones.

+++

Meanwhile, I am gearing up for a new year of teaching.

We had Open House today, and I met about half my class. The other half didn't show, but that's ok. The ones I met were very nice.

This year is different for me in that I actually have a majority of GIRLS! This never happens to me, and I'm so excited! Out of 14 total kids, I have 9 girls and 5 boys.

I wanted to share pictures of my classroom. It's set up very similarly to last year because I believe it's the equation that works best for my space. I have spruced up a little art center with a DIY chalkboard, but for the most part, the other centers are the same as last year.

I have a center for art, blocks, books, home living, fine motor/Science, and dresss-up.

My bulletin board theme is Dr. Seuss' "Oh the Places You'll Go."

I had a lot of fun putting my bulletin board together and hanging those hot air balloons from the ceiling.

Without further ado, my classroom:

 

.DIY dresses.

The creative bug bit me a few days ago (and, might I add, that is the one and only bug I enjoy). 

I wanted to make myself some dresses out of some Forever 21 fitted tees that I no longer wear and patterned polyester that my mom gave me from her stash.

I have a ton of DIY dress tutorials saved to my Pinterest board, but I wanted one which did not involve elastic. (I haven't exactly mastered the art of sewing elastic yet.)

I decided to go with THIS tutorial.  I just skipped the steps about pockets.

It helped that both materials I used for my dresses were stretchy, so they are very easy to get on and off.

Here is attempt #1:

This dress would've been perfect had I not cut my t-shirt off shorter that I needed to. That belt is covering the fact that the seam between the skirt and top is literally right at the top edge of the belt. This particular polyester is lightweight, so it flows perfectly without any extra bulk, despite being gathered.

Here is attempt #2:

This one turned out better in that I left my tee a little longer than I did on the first dress, making the belt wearable on a much more natural part of my waist. It's hard to see the print of the polyester in these pictures, but it is a khaki and white pinstripe. I love how Fall-ish this dress looks, and I can see it with a long cardigan and boots when the weather cools down. 

My only complaint about how this one turned out is that the weight of the polyester is heavy and not real flowy. I should have taken that into consideration and not gathered it much if any at all. The skirt sort-of stiffly flows out from my hips like a tent and makes me feel like I appear wide.

I'm thinking of adding khaki-colored lace to the bodice of the tee on my fall-colored dress, just to jazz it up a little.

If I wasn't in the middle of about 50 other projects right now, I could take what I learned from both of these dresses and make the perfect dress that I would feel comfortable wearing out and about.

In the meantime, I'm gearing up for the new school year, working on classroom decor, and sewing up inventory for an upcoming craft festival.

Fun, fun, fun!

+++ UPDATE, Y'ALL +++

I went ahead and put aside all the important stuff I need to be doing and made a 3rd dress. My first maxi dress. Here it is:

I used another lightweight polyester because they fall nicer and cut the shirt longer than I did either time. It worked!

Sadly, it took me hours to get the skirt cut right. Thankfully, I had plenty of polyester. The first time, I cut the skirt like a tube. Realized as I was sewing it, it would be skin tight all the way down and I wouldn't be able to walk.

Remedy? Laying out my polyester fabric and tracing a maxi skirt that I like. Fabulous! Well, not exactly. You see, I failed to double the polyester as I was cutting and only cut enough for the front or back of a skirt. Didn't have enough fabric left for another side.

Soo...I found another humongous piece to use for the skirt, doubled it, traced maxi skirt, cut out, and sewed it up.

Four hours later (slight exaggeration) I had my maxi dresses.

No more DIY dresses for while, I've decided. ;-)

.celebrations.

Summers go by so fast. I can't believe I only have a couple of weeks left of vacation. I'm trying to do it all before I go back to work: relax, blog, create, sew, stay on top of house work, decorate, plan for the new school year, spend time with friends and family, etc.

+++

A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor of hosting a baby shower for my friend Chrissy. She is having a little girl and is a big lover of animal print and all things girly and pink. Hence...

Chrissy's Leopard Print and Pink Baby Girl Shower:

I rented out my neighborhood clubhouse for the location. I'm so glad I did because there was at least 15 people there along with some kids. My house wouldn't have been near as comfortable. I used my Silhouette Cameo to make the Lynley Paige banner out of pink card stock and leopard print paper. The chalkboard was made from a framed yard sale wall art find. I just painted the glass with chalkboard paint. Then, of course, there were clusters of pink and leopard print tissue paper pom poms hung here and there.

The pink and white paper straws were my favorite touch. They were the first thing I ordered when I started buying decorations for the shower. I got them off Etsy (and have since ordered more, along with a vintage-style glass straw dispenser, for my own kitchen).

These girls are some of the best friends I've ever had. I can't begin to tell you how much I love them, how special they are to me, how blessed I feel to know them. This is Becky, Chrissy, me and Amiee. Becky and Amiee were my co-hosts.

+++

Another very special celebration took place yesterday. My family and my sister-in-law's family, along with friends, got together to celebrate my nephew's 1st birthday!

The party had a construction theme and was so cute. Lots of finger foods, snacks and yummy cake. Levi didn't quite know what to do with his smash cake until his mommy put his hands in it, those hands inevitably made their way to his mouth, and he kinda slipped into his own little sugar-saturated world from there. It was hilarious when we all sang Happy Birthday to him. He looked around the room with a look of shock/curiosity, like, how are all those people singing the exact same words at the exact same time???

Levi got lots of age-appropriate toys. Hubs and I got him some pretty awesome pajamas. We had to scoop him up and have my brother snap the picture fast. Levi is in that stage where he wants to move and gets fussy sometimes if you try to hold him too long.

 Levi's party provided a reunion of sorts. Some college friends were there with their new baby girl, so we all got to meet her. Also, my sister and her husband drove down from their home 3 hours away.

 

The house was full of people celebrating my precious nephew's special day. I think back to when Levi was first born. He is the first baby in our family, and he will always be special. He's happy, silly and somewhat strong-willed. It is impossible not to smile when you're around him for any length of time. I'm blessed to be his aunt!

.simple things are the best things.

I'm not lying when I say simple things make me happier than any big event ever could. This past week was full of simple things, unexpected blessings, and just plain old happiness. Even something that could've been a sour situation turned out to be the highlight of my week.

Lemon into lemonades.

The story starts last Monday. I had a hair appointment scheduled for 10 am. After waiting for my stylist (who is never late) for over 20 minutes, I talked to her on the phone and discovered she had written my appointment down as 1 pm. She told me she could be there in an hour, so since the salon is right off the town square, I decided I'd find some fun to get into around that cute little part of town.

I got to crash my friend's daughter's 3rd birthday party at the splash park. Then I realized I better eat something or I'd get dang hungry right about the time I sat down in that salon chair for my 2-hour session. As I got in my car, I racked my brain for the nearest fast food I might could grab and scarf down in a 30-minute time frame. I hate feeling rushed and/or flustered. It puts a sour taste in my mouth real fast.

This is where the lemons turned into lemonade.

A light bulb went off in my head as I realized all I really needed was right there within reach. I parked my car right around the corner from my salon and walked into a corner coffee shop of which I had yet to try anything off the lunch menu.

The cafe was quiet. It was a sunshiney day. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich, sat down all by myself in this charming old building off the square, and enjoyed a relaxing lunch.

I finished my yummy sandwich and chips just in time to walk down the bike-lined sidewalk into the salon for my hair appointment.

Instead of feeling perturbed that an extra hour had been "taken" out of my day, I felt refreshed and reflective, thankful to have experienced a lunch of solitude at a place I probably wouldn't have eaten at otherwise, but one I decided I needed to frequent more often.

Then, I got highlights.

+++

The following Friday was my husband's last softball game of the Spring season.

Simple, unexpected blessing? Saw a rainbow on the drive to the ball fields.

Yes, it's faint. But, by george, it's there.

Husband's team, known as Glory Days, stood together for a group picture. This is priceless.

+++

Third and final simple awesomness of the week occurred on Sunday.

First, I liked my church wear.

Second, we got some rain, which brought the temps down from the 90's to the 70's. After drought-like conditions for the past month, this cool rain was like manna from Heaven.

Hubs and I sat on his truck bed out in the driveway for a while and watched the clouds roll in, felt the breeze on our faces, and kicked our feet to the sound of the rolling thunder in the background.

The rain finally came and drove us inside, but that simple time spent outside together was a highlight of the weekend.

That night, we got to see our new solar lights in action.

It's moments like this we really take pride in our home and all the work we've put into making it cozy and welcoming.

I think every week of my life is full of little blessings, just like this one was. Maybe my problem is that I'm often too distracted to take notice and savor the simple moments for all they're worth. 

My new goal is to not only stop and smell the roses, but savor the scent. Capture it in my memory. Learn from it. And be grateful.

.independence day.

This year's celebration of the 4th was sort-of spread across the span of about four days. The Sunday before was red, white, and blue day at church. I had fun putting my ensemble together. My sandals were white. :-)

Sunday night, a big church in town put on a sweet fireworks show. We parked in a field across the way, threw a blanket in the truck bed, and enjoyed the show from afar. It was my nephew's first fireworks viewing of his life, and even though they awoke him from a dead sleep, he was only scared for a little bit then pretty much stared in captivation and wonder.

My brother's birthday is July 2nd, so we got together at his house for a BBQ on the 4th of July. We had fun eating, talking and hanging out in their back yard. Levi and my brother had matching outfits on. I swear my nephew gets cuter every time I see him!

Here is my brother's birthday cake that my sister-in-law made. Oh, so yummy!

The evening of the 4th, of course we had to see more fireworks or it just wouldn't have been right. So we headed back home to our small town and met up with some good friends to enjoy the show. The First Baptist Church hosts the extravaganza every year, complete with free hamburgers, hot dogs and homemade ice cream. Since you're allowed to sit on the field by where they shoot the fireworks, it feels like the best show we've ever seen each year we go because they explode right over your head and look so big. I'm still just like a little kid when I watch fireworks. I love them!

.twenty nine.

Today marked the first day of my last year in my 20's.

The big 2-9.

The day started early. Hubs and I were up and ready to go by 7 am.

Upon getting in the truck, I was informed I had a day of choices ahead of me.

I first had to decide between Cracker Barrel and Village Inn for breakfast.

I chose Village Inn.

He ordered pancakes. I ordered French Toast.

The day could've ended right there and it would have been considered celebrated, in my book.

After breakfast, we got back in the truck and I was given my next set of choices.

Spend the day in Eureka Springs or Tulsa.

It was tough, but I chose Tulsa.

On the way there, hubs told me to open the glove box.

Two new cd's for me. I was told to choose which one to listen to.

Surprisingly, I handled the pressure of these insanely tough decisions with calmness.

Matt Redman for the ride up. Aaron Shust for the drive home.

So we got to Tulsa.

And we shopped. One big flea market and a couple of big malls.

J Crew, Anthropologie, Fossil.

Ooh...pretties. I'll have, like, ten of everything, K?

We had planned to eat an early dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, but after a few Facebook recommendations from friends to eat at a Mexican restaurant called Ted's, we decided to go that route.

It was da bomb.

Now we are home, and we are tired.

The expected end result after a fun-packed day.

Thankful to my Lord and Saviour from whom all blessings flow.

This was definitely a birthday to remember.

.praising God in this storm.

The past few weeks have been stressful, but they are looking up.  I'm thankful I can say that. So very thankful.

Two weeks ago, I called my mom on a Thursday morning to see if she wanted to go thrifting. My Dad answered the phone and told me he wasn't feeling too good. My mom was in the background telling me to tell him to go to the ER.  I drove over to their place and by the time I got there, Daddy had decided he'd go in.

For the past 6 hours, he had not been able to stand up without almost passing out. He was weak, dizzy and scared. His worry-wart tendencies were amplified.

I drove my parents to the hospital, and thankfully they saw him quickly. After he was given a rectal exam and it was discovered that he was bleeding, the doctor determined he might have a bleeding ulcer.

A while later, he was taken for an endoscopy. The doctor came out to my mom, brother and me in the waiting room and informed us that he had found a mass in my dad's stomach. It was hard to tell just how big the mass was or whether or not there were in fact any ulcers because there was still quite a bit of food in my dad's stomach. They determined they would put my dad on a no-food diet and try again tomorrow.

In the mean time, my dad's blood level (hemoglobin count) had dropped from a normal 13 to a 7 (or 8; I can't remember which). He was started on a string of multiple blood transfusions.

In the middle of the night, 2:30 am, to be exact, my mom called me crying and said, "Martha, your dad is acting really strange and I don't know what's going on. There are a bunch of people in here. You might want to come down here to the hospital."

I got so scared, jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes. Just as I was about to leave, my mom called again and said not to worry, that he was better. He had sat up too quickly and almost passed out. His heart rate had gotten extremely high and his blood pressure had dropped at the same time. She assured me he was was ok, but I still drove to my brother's house to spend the rest of the night. My brother only lives about 5 minutes from the hospital, and my house is more like 25 minutes away. I wanted to be close in case my mom had to call again. I didn't get much sleep after that, but thankfully she never called again.

The next day, my dad had his second endoscopy. This one took about twice as long as the first one did. The doctor told us afterwards that the mass was about the size of a golf ball and firm as could be. It had a very small ulcerated area on it, which had been the source of my dad's blood loss. The doctor cauterized that spot to stop the bleeding then tried to lasso the mass in half to remove it. This is when he found out just how firm the thing was and that it was not going to budge for him. So the doctor settled for some biopsies. He reassured us that the appearance of the mass was very smooth, which led him to believe it was benign. Still, there was a lot of old blood in my dad's stomach which means he had been slowly losing blood for who knows how long.

My dad was in the hospital until Sunday morning. He had a total of five transfusions up to that point.

The next Wednesday, I went with my parents for the follow-up doctor appointment to get the biopsy results. My dad was still super light-headed and weak and couldn't walk down the hall without needing to sit down. They drew blood again to check his levels and we got the confirmed news from the doctor that the tumor was in fact benign, but he still wanted it removed for further testing.

The next day, my parents got a call that my dad's blood count had dropped again and that he needed to come in for two more units of blood.  He was in the hospital for another 24 hours or so then released.

This is where we are now. We are so grateful to God that my dad's tumor is benign. His blood count seems to finally be stabilized, and we are simply waiting to hear from the doctor about when my dad will be admitted again to have the mass removed.

Praying all goes well during and after that and that the Lord continues to bless us as He has been throughout this whole process. It broke my heart to see my parents suffering, but my love and admiration for them both has grown so much throughout all of this. My dad is so kind to all the nurses and keeps them laughing. He has kept a positive attitude throughout it all and my mom has stuck by his side every night he's had to stay in the hospital. I'm seeing a change in my dad; he is realizing all he has been taking for granted and wanting to live life more.

I do believe the trials we go through here on Earth bring us closer to God, allow our faith to be strengthened, and teach us to view life in a way we never would have before.

Trials ultimately give us a chance to praise God in the midst of a storm. What an amazing way to worship.