Mikayla's Soccer Pics

Out of Desperation...

So, I have been very, very frustrated lately shopping for my girls. I have been in that place before, but as they get older it just seems to get worse. What is it about the clothing industry that makes them think that we want to dress our still growing daughters like...how shall I say this tactfully? Well, you get my meaning, and I'm not a whack job about it either. My girls wear shorts in summer, and jeans all the time, but I do try to keep their backsides, and chests covered. I just despise those low rise jeans! And have really despaired of ever finding another shirt for Mikayla that isn't cut too low. In her age group, it is the cool thing to get a really low cut sweater and wear a camisole thingy under it, and then the bottom of the cami has lace and they let it hang out the bottom rather than tucking it in. Trouble is the camisole thingy doesn't cover much more than the sweater. Thank Heaven that winter is coming, if you get my meaning. Anyway, out of desperation, I went looking for easy things that I could possibly make for the girls. I found several blogs and sites that had tutorials for some skirts. So, with more than a little trepidation ( my sewing adventures have been more misadventures than anything else), I headed off to find fabric. Low and behold, I hit a great sale at Joanne's and bought enough material for four skirts. Terry has our motor home parked quite close to the house, and has it fixed up with electric and water. He went and put a space heater out there and set up my sewing machine. So now I even have a sewing room. I finished Lanie's first outfit without too much trouble. The next skirt is a lined drop waist that falls a bit shorter right at the knee. Mikayla is liking the look of this one, so she is next. I have no idea how I am going to tackle the shirt problem for her. For Lanie all I had to do was find a plain shirt and add a coordinating something( I think it's called a renoculus...why is beyond me.) But, it looked too young for Mikayla. IDK...any suggestions? So, here are some pics of Lanie in her new skirt and top.

Fall

Although Fall is always a busy time for us with school and programs starting up, this Fall seems to be the busiest on record to date. Terry signed all three kids up for soccer this year, and although we have done soccer in the past, this is the first year that all three of them were old enough. Alana has participated in a summer soccer program that was two weeks long, but now she is old enough for the rec dept traveling soccer team. Last year, Nathanael opted out of any sports. We probably should have pushed harder, but didn't. So now we have Mikayla on the High School JV team, Nathanael on the Jr. High team, and Alana on the traveling team for Lincoln. So far, she has played Dover, Medway, Millinocket, Howland, and Lee. Mikayla and Nathanael ride the bus to their games, but parents have to bring the rec kids to their games. So we have been in the van a lot this fall, not just to get Alana to her games, but to scream, and yell, and hoop, and holler for the other two, as well. Add piano, voice, trumpet, flute, and two different bands. Add to that two different youth groups, a college trip for Mikayla, and field trips for Alana's Maine studies( we are putting together an awesome lapbook with her Maine notebook pages that she has done. All you homeschoolers-lapbooks are really fun to do and help kids retain what they learn. It's very hands on and Lanie love it!), and a Pastor's kids retreat( a fun get together for pastors kids all over the state held in Lee). OK, now add homeschooling, and all the church stuff. It's no wonder that we are feeling a bit run down right now. Nathanael and I are battling sore throats. Hopefully, that doesn't get any worse. The kids have had official soccer pictures taken with their teams, so I hope to get those posted as soon as we get them. When soccer season is finished we hope to take a two day trip down to visit with friends in Scarborough and go to their church to see the Steve Pettit evangelistic team. We are hoping for some rest and fun with friends. I have some of the Pettit Teams music that I have downloaded for my ipod, and love it! It has a touch o' the Irish in it. They use folk instruments for accompaniment. I have never heard the guy preach, but have heard good things about it. You can hear some of their music if you go to sacredaudio. com. Hopefully, before it gets too much colder we can head out to camp to get the boat in. Can you imagine the frigidness of the water right now? This happens every year. We get busy and forget that the water gets very cold rather quickly in the Fall. Then we have to go get the boat out of the lake while our feet and legs go numb. :) For some reason, I don't think that will help my sore throat at all. Well, at least I can say that I updated my blog.