Hi Daddy,
Today is your birthday. We celebrated the same way you would have, by going to lunch at one of your favorite restaurants. It was good to be together with family, and it felt like you were there too. I told the boys this morning that it was your birthday and that we were going to go to lunch. They jumped up and down excitedly and said, "Grandpa Louie is alive again?! He's all better? He gets to have lunch with us?!"
If only.
They miss you too. We talk about you all the time. The boys pray for you every night. It's sweet, and so genuine and innocent. I always wondered if they would remember you, but they do. I'm so grateful for that. I want nothing more than to keep your memory alive for them. I want them to know the type of person you were. I want them to know about your personality. Your wit. Your intellect. Your compassion. Your heart. Your love. You would have been one of their very best friends, I know that for certain. You could make everyone feel like your best friend. Everyone who got to feel that was honored. Your dedication and loyalty to those you cared about were so inspiring. I so long to be like you in that way. You made it seem effortless. It was just part of who you were.
I could surely use your friendship now. I'm not the only one, either. How deeply our entire family is missing you now.
I'm sorry I haven't written a letter for awhile. I've wanted to, but there are things that are sometimes just too hard to write about. Too hard to even think about really. I have a deeper understanding of why you were taken when you were though. God knows the plan for lives much more clearly than we do. I believe that strongly. Our family needed you fighting for us from the other side. Someone who cared as deeply for us as you do. Someone who would never give up on any of us. Keep fighting, keep pushing, in the long run I'm certain it will pay off. We'll do the best we can here, and you fight for us all from there. Heaven knows you're a fighter. :)
We're lucky to have known you. Our family I mean. We were blessed to learn from you, and to continue learning from you.
I was blessed beyond measure to be your daughter. In my eyes, there was no better dad for me in this world than you. You taught me how to be loved, how to be confident, how to laugh, how to trust, and how to tolerate. Pure love. If I can share those things you've taught me with even one person in this life, I'll know I've made you proud.
I love you, Daddy. Happy Birthday!
Amy
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
4th of July Tutu - with mini Tutorial
So this may seem a little late... you know, with the 4th of July being last week and all, but we were away for the holiday so I'm just getting this up now. Maybe it will be useful to you next year, or you can use the idea of it for another holiday!
Here's the 4th of July Tutu!
I actually made the white part of this tutu before my baby was born, in December. I thought it would be cute, all white with some ornaments and what-not for a picture. Problem. I tried to take the pictures myself, and I tried to involve my boys.
I had no idea how hard it would be to take a picture of three kids at once. How many times can you say, "Stop touching your sister. Hands to yourself." ? Kudos to all those photographers out there who specialize in capturing children. Saints, really.
Anyway, I never pulled the tutu back out again. I think I was trying to block the nightmares of us trying to get those pictures 5 days after the baby was born.
It felt like a waste, all that cute tulle for nothing. So as the summer approached, seemed like a perfect time to convert that white tutu into a red, white, and blue tutu!
I removed just a few pieces of the white tulle to add the red. For the blue, I took out about a quarter section of the white tulle, added all royal blue then glued on a few felt stars, just to feel extra patriotic :)
I know there are a lot of tutorials out there on how to make a tutu, but it really is so simple, I thought I'd add a quick tutorial here, for anyone who may be stopping by and might be wondering.
Start with an elastic measured to your child's (or the child it is for) waist. I cut it exactly to measurement (maybe even a smidge under), because the tied- on tulle seems to hold the elastic out to a larger spot.
Overlap the elastic by 1/4 to 1/2 inch, and sew.
Now it's time to tie on your tulle.
Measure the length you want the tutu to be. Then double that measurement and add an inch. You will be folding it in half, plus tying a knot. (For my newborn I cut it 18 inches, and that length still worked for her at 7 months. There is a lot of play length-wise with tulle)
Fold a piece of tulle in half and take it behind the elastic.
Put the long ends of the tulle over the elastic, through the tulle loop on the other side.
Pull tight.
There you have it. Continue that quick and easy process all the way around your elastic until you have a nice full tutu.
Don't forget to snap pictures of your little one all fancied up!
Oh, and as you can see, even 7 months later, we STILL haven't figured out how to take a picture of all three kids together. If someone out there has a tutorial on that, meaning - getting two 3-year-olds to hold still, not "over" smile, and a 7 month old to stay focused... LET ME KNOW!! :)
Here's the 4th of July Tutu!
I actually made the white part of this tutu before my baby was born, in December. I thought it would be cute, all white with some ornaments and what-not for a picture. Problem. I tried to take the pictures myself, and I tried to involve my boys.
I had no idea how hard it would be to take a picture of three kids at once. How many times can you say, "Stop touching your sister. Hands to yourself." ? Kudos to all those photographers out there who specialize in capturing children. Saints, really.
Anyway, I never pulled the tutu back out again. I think I was trying to block the nightmares of us trying to get those pictures 5 days after the baby was born.
It felt like a waste, all that cute tulle for nothing. So as the summer approached, seemed like a perfect time to convert that white tutu into a red, white, and blue tutu!
I removed just a few pieces of the white tulle to add the red. For the blue, I took out about a quarter section of the white tulle, added all royal blue then glued on a few felt stars, just to feel extra patriotic :)
I know there are a lot of tutorials out there on how to make a tutu, but it really is so simple, I thought I'd add a quick tutorial here, for anyone who may be stopping by and might be wondering.
Start with an elastic measured to your child's (or the child it is for) waist. I cut it exactly to measurement (maybe even a smidge under), because the tied- on tulle seems to hold the elastic out to a larger spot.
Overlap the elastic by 1/4 to 1/2 inch, and sew.
Now it's time to tie on your tulle.
Measure the length you want the tutu to be. Then double that measurement and add an inch. You will be folding it in half, plus tying a knot. (For my newborn I cut it 18 inches, and that length still worked for her at 7 months. There is a lot of play length-wise with tulle)
Fold a piece of tulle in half and take it behind the elastic.
Don't forget to snap pictures of your little one all fancied up!
Oh, and as you can see, even 7 months later, we STILL haven't figured out how to take a picture of all three kids together. If someone out there has a tutorial on that, meaning - getting two 3-year-olds to hold still, not "over" smile, and a 7 month old to stay focused... LET ME KNOW!! :)
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Junk Pile Chairs
I always love a good "trash turned treasure" story, don't you?
Enter, the junk pile chairs.
My father-in-law has a farm with his siblings not far from us. As with all farms, there are lot of random buildings filled with a lot of random stuff. A few months back they were cleaning out one of those buildings (I'll call it a treasure box) and my husband and I grabbed these chairs out of the dump pile.
They were wet, and pretty beat up, but the potential was totally there for something amazing.
So, we enlisted the help of a family friend who is a master wood worker to fill in the gaps, and sand down the wood.
We followed it up with a good coat of Minwax Dark Walnut Stain, left over from the coffee table, and finished them off with some lacquer, to protect from our children, and their toys.
They turned out even better than we had hoped. The combination of the metal with the wood is so industrial-chic (is that a real thing?), and I feel like we have two designer chairs sitting in our living room now. There are so many interesting details to these chairs that make them so appealing, like how the front two legs are wood, but the back two are metal.
We're happy with how they turned out, PLUS... they are actually super comfortable to sit in! Bonus!
One man's junk... ha! Our treasure!
Enter, the junk pile chairs.
My father-in-law has a farm with his siblings not far from us. As with all farms, there are lot of random buildings filled with a lot of random stuff. A few months back they were cleaning out one of those buildings (I'll call it a treasure box) and my husband and I grabbed these chairs out of the dump pile.
They were wet, and pretty beat up, but the potential was totally there for something amazing.
So, we enlisted the help of a family friend who is a master wood worker to fill in the gaps, and sand down the wood.
We followed it up with a good coat of Minwax Dark Walnut Stain, left over from the coffee table, and finished them off with some lacquer, to protect from our children, and their toys.
They turned out even better than we had hoped. The combination of the metal with the wood is so industrial-chic (is that a real thing?), and I feel like we have two designer chairs sitting in our living room now. There are so many interesting details to these chairs that make them so appealing, like how the front two legs are wood, but the back two are metal.
We're happy with how they turned out, PLUS... they are actually super comfortable to sit in! Bonus!
One man's junk... ha! Our treasure!
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