Sugarbugs and Dragonflies

50th day of School!

2007-11-07T09:04:00.000-06:00

Today is the 50th day of Kindergarten for Kamilla! They are celebrating it at school with a 50s day celebrations! They are doing all sorts of fun things today, so I though that she needed to dress for the occasion! The poodle skirt and hair ribbons are made by me!!Enjoy the pics!

Halloween Outift

2007-10-31T09:32:00.000-05:00

Grandma made this outfit for Kamilla for Halloween. Didn't it turn out absolutely adorable? I added the black turtleneck and then put some extra ribbon on the cuffs for that 'little extra.' I also made the matching bow for her. She looked adorable today. She is so excited to go trick or treating tonight - she can hardly stand it!

Halloween Girls

2007-10-31T09:28:00.000-05:00

Annika as Little Red Riding Hood! Isn't she adorable!?

My two girls!

Kamila as a High School Musical Cherleader! She is obsessed! I even made her a hair bow with a "Troy" bottlecap!

First Day of Kindergarten....

2007-09-04T21:13:00.000-05:00

Three Words....

2007-09-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

A Newgirl.......

2007-08-15T22:55:00.000-05:00

The big cut....

2007-08-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

Here she goes!! Almost there! Tada!!!!

13.5 Inches!!!!!

2007-08-15T22:51:00.000-05:00

Today was the day!! Kamilla decided that it was time to cut her hair. Well, we decided together - we thought it would be a good move before school started. She knew she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. We are all very proud for her for this decision. Auntie Kim was very proud to guide Kamilla through this journey! It took 5 years for her to grow her hair, and less than 5 minutes to cut it! She's a new girl, and we'll miss her beautiful curly long hair, but we won't miss the daily fight over brushing her hair! Enjoy the picutres!
The consultation
Measuring up... Kamilla looks nervous.....

How does your garden grow?

2007-08-09T11:17:00.000-05:00

We decided to have our hand at a garden this year. It's a small one, but it's been quite adventureous. Mom and Dad tended the garden while we were in Norway - in fact, the garden was their idea. So far, we have been able to enjoy peas, beans, and a few radishes. We had to replant our cucumbers once because they weren't growing, and we also had to replant our radishes since they went to seed too early. We would have enjoyed some nice plump tomatoes by now, but we have a tomato theif in our yard. Our dog, Chloe, likes to sneak into the garden while no one is looking and swipe the yellow/orange tomatoes! We are waiting very patiently to enjoy some BLTs!!

To Honor You

2007-08-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

To Honor You
To honor you, I get up everyday and
take a breath
And start another day without you in it.
To honor you, I laugh and love with
those who knew your smile and the way
your eyes twinkled with mischief and
secret knowledge.
To honor you, I take chances, say what I feel,
hold nothing back, risk making a fool of myself,
and dance every dance.
You were my light, my heart, my gift of love
from the very highest source.
So everyday, I promise to make a
difference, share a smile, live, laugh,
and love.
Now I live for us both, So all I do, I do to
honor you.

Photos from the Garden

2007-07-27T22:44:00.000-05:00

Annika's Firsts

2007-07-20T08:33:00.000-05:00

This month has been a month of first for little Annika!! She took her first plane ride on July 4th. Everything went really well! She slept most of the flight, and for the most part was happy the whole time! There was a point when she was trying to fall asleep that she wasn't very happy, but once she fell asleep she slept for 4-5 hours! Hopefully the flight back on Sunday will go as well!! We leave very early in the morning, so it will throw off her schedule quite about, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

Annika has also begun sitting by heself!! She was a little wobbly before we left, but she got a lot of practice her and is sitting like a champ!! Just look at how proud she is of herself!!

Annika also had her first real meal while we were here in Norway! She hasn't been sleeping well through the night (it doesn't help with the time difference), so I thought maybe some cereal was in order! She really does like it - hard to telll from the picture though! She eats probably a tablespoon (mixed with water) at a sitting. She also likes to drink water from her sippy cup!!

She is growing up so fast, I can't believe she is already 6 months old!!

Here's Annika enjoying a bath in Farmors bathtub!!

Happy Birthday, Nora

2007-05-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

Today would be Nora's second birthday. We miss her so incredibly much. I hope that her birthday in heaven is as special as it would be here.

Happy Birthday Nora.

A Birthday In Heaven
© 2005 Written by Kris Smith

I heard you crying yesterday
And felt your heart-sent love
So I’m sending you this message
Now, from Heaven up above.

You’re wondering if I’ll celebrate
My birthday (way up here)
I know you’re missing me today
I feel your essence near.

God planned a special day for me
He told me with a wink
He’d ordered me a special cake
(It’s Angel food, I think)

I’m getting lots of hugs from God
He’s really good at that
And every time that I walk by
He gives my head a pat

Balloons will fill the streets for me
They float up through the clouds
And we have lots of clowns up here
That make us laugh out loud

There is a birthday carousel
Jeweled horses ride the wind
With music playing oh so sweet…
The magic never ends

I’ve made so many friends, you see
We laugh and play and sing
We ride our bikes and play jump rope
And sleep in Angel’s wings

We’ll have our cake and ice cream
And open gifts, surprise!
But we don’t blow out our candles here
Instead, they light the skies

Missing You Nora....

2007-05-15T23:30:00.000-05:00

"PRECIOUS CHILD"

Words and Music by Karen Taylor-Good

In my dreams, you are alive and well
Precious child, precious child
In my mind, I see you clear as a bell
Precious child, precious child
In my soul, there is a hole
That can never be filled
But in my heart, there is hope
'Cause you are with me still

In my heart, you live on
Always there never gone
Precious child, you left too soon
Tho' it may be true that we're apart
You will live forever... in my heart

In my plans, I was the first to leave
Precious child, precious child
But in this world, I was left here to grieve
Precious child, my precious child

In my soul, there is a hole
That can never be filled
But in my heart there is hope
And you are with me still

In my heart you live on
Always there, never gone
Precious child, you left too soon,
Tho' it may be true that we're apart
You will live forever... in my heart

God knows I want to hold you,
See you, touch you
And maybe there's a heaven
And someday I will again
Please know you are not forgotten until then

In my heart you live on
Always there never gone
Precious child, you left too soon
Tho' it may be true that we're apart
ou will live forever... in my heart

We miss you Nora.

Nora Elisa
May 25, 2005- May 15, 2006

Mother's Day

2007-05-13T09:12:00.000-05:00

Dandelions From Heaven

Mothers Day is coming...and I wanted to send you a sign...
Something you can tell others..."Is from an angel of mine".
So I searched the Heavens high and low for that perfect thing..
And low and behold I found it....and a smile I hope it will bring.

So when you look to the Heavens...and see the yellow stars in the sky...
Just think of me...your angel... in the Heavens way up high...
And just imagine those stars...are dandelions up above...
Yes! Dandelions are also in Heaven...,which you know how much I love.

So on this Mothers Day... when you awake and feel blue...
You will notice those yellow stars...are no longer in view...
So just look to the meadows and the dandelions you see....
Are the ones I've tossed down this Mothers Day from me!

And when you find a dandelion that has turned from yellow to white...
You're supposed to make a wish...and then blow with all your might.
For you will be blowing kisses... to me in Heaven above....
And I will be catching them and blowing them back...sent with all my love.

Please know that I am with you...on this Mothers Day...
And also in the days ahead...God and I will never stray...
We will be with you in the morning...when you wake and see the sun..
We will be with you when you say your prayers...when the day is done.

For God and I will never be...very far from your side...
For I can now be everywhere...and God will be your guide...
So...remember when you see dandelions...its your guarantee...
That I am alway close to you....

For dandelions are free to roam.....now just like me.
I will always be with you Mom....
Happy Mothers Day

Love, Your Angel in Heaven.

Ballerina GIrls

2007-05-10T21:07:00.000-05:00

Kamilla will be performing in her third ballet recital on Friday and Saturday. They had their dress rehearsal Wednesday night. Here is a picture of her and some of her friends at ballet. They are dancing to "Bibbity Bobbity Boo" from Cinderella. She is really excited - she loves to be on stage!

Happy Birthday Kamilla!

2007-05-10T16:01:00.000-05:00

My little girl is growing up way too fast!! This past Sunday (May 6), Kamilla turned 5 years old! Wow! It's incredible how fast the time goes by! We had a great time planning and putting together her pink poodle birthday party! It was a lot of work on mom's part,but it was well worth it! Kamilla and her friends had a wonderful time. All the girls wore pink, and were painted with a pink nose and whiskers, they wore pink poodle ears and made collars and cuffs to wear. Unfortunately, the rainy weather made the glue uncooperative and the beautiful gems that the girls glues onto their collars would not stick! Grandma tried to use a hair dryer to speed the drying process a little bit, but those little gems were quite uncooperative! The girls played 'doggie, doggie, where's your bone,' as well as a 'poodle puff' game. They also decorated cookies and colored poodles. Everyone had a great time swinging at the pinata too!

Family came over on Sunday to celebrate Kamilla's 'real' birthday, and Kamilla had a great time playing with her cousins. It was great to have everyone over to celebrate such a special day for Kamilla!

Nora's Legacy

2007-05-10T14:30:00.000-05:00

I heard this song today, and it made me think about Nora. The one year anniversary of her passing is quickly approaching - May 15th. It is a day that I am dreading and just want to skip over. But, this song helps me to think about the legaacy that Nora has left for all of us. We remember her as a bright, beaming little girl full of life and sunshine. Her smile could light up a room, and make even the grumpiest person smile. Her laugh was contagious. I will never forget how her fingers wrapped around mine and how she held me tight.

I am planning to launch a new project soon to honor Nora and her legacy. It is my hope that people will always remember Nora and be touched by her short little life. Her legacy will always live on.

Stay tuned....

Music Video:LEGACY (by Nichole Nordeman)

Music Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

Heaven to a 5 year old...

2007-04-15T21:15:00.000-05:00

The other day, me, Kamilla and Annika were driving home from the cemetary after visiting Nora. Kamilla was talking about Nora playing in heaven and eating cotton candy. (She says the clouds are made out of cotton candy). I asked her what she thought heaven looked like and told me the following:

Heaven is a beautiful, sparkly place. It is pink and purple and is fluffy all around, and you can eat all the cotton candy you want. There is a little window where the people in heaven can watch the people on Earth. There are rocking chairs there, and God sits and rocks Nora to sleep.

I asked her to draw a picture of heaven for me when we got home. The above picture is her picture. You can't see on the picture, but she added glitter around the edges to make it sparkly. The brown "l's" in the middle are the rocking chairs, and God is standing at the left holding Nora in His arms. You can see the window at the top of the picture.

I like to hope that Nora is being rocked peacefully to sleep every night in a fluffy sparkly heaven made of cotton candy.

Latest Projects

2007-04-15T08:46:00.000-05:00

Finally, I think spring has arrived! Unfortunately, I got hit with a nasty spring cold! Hopefully it will go over in a couple of days!

Here are my latest loom knitting projects!
The first hat was made on the blue loom loom, I tried my best at ribbing, but wasn't happy with the results. I was up late trying to finish it for a baby gift that needed to get to it's recipient, so I didn't want to frog it and try again! Hopefully, I'll get it the next time around!

My husband says this bear has "personality." I don't know if that's his polite was of saying that it is ugly or not! This one was a challenge though! The knitting and pattern itself was pretty simple, but the forming of the face took quite a bit of time! And in the end, I still didn't get it quite right! This pattern in from the Provo Craft book.

This is one of the first hats that I made - I thought this yarn was pretty fun, it's kind of loopy and pretty stretchy, plus I found it for 99 cents a skein!

This bunny purse was really fun to make! I bought the pattern from loomknit.com and gave it to my 4 1/2 year old daughter for Easter. Again, the knitting itself was pretty simple, but the finishing took some time. The back has a little pom pom for it's tail, and the handle is an i-cord in the same color as the bottom.

Eggs, Bunnies, and Baskets

2007-04-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! The day was bright and beautiful, but certainly not as warm as last year. We truly missed being able to have Nora here this year to partake in all of the Easter festivities. She would have loved to hunt for easter eggs and fill up her basket.

Kamilla woke with excitement ready to search for her Easter basket! It wasn't hidden all that well, she found it pretty quickly! She loved her basket of goodies. She's a pretty lucky little girl - she actually got 3 Easter baskets this year! One from the Easter bunny (shhhh - it's really Mamma and Pappa), one from Grampy Bob and Grandma Jan, and one from Grandma Sally and Grampy Jake! She was in Easter basket heaven!

We had Easter dinner at my parent's house this year. We were lucky enough to have Grandma Mabel be with us. We had the traditional ham dinner along with scalloped potatoes, fresh buns, hot cross buns (more on that later!), fresh fruit, asparagus, and deviled eggs. It was a nice time by all!

Annika was very smiley in her blue Easter dress! And Kamilla was beautiful in her yellow was as well! (Bunny purse made by Mamma!)

Missing Nora on Easter

2007-04-07T09:44:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Easter sunday. I am afraid it will be a difficult day for our family. Last year's Easter was such a memorable day. The sun was shining and the air was warm. Kamilla and Nora were dressed in their matching green dresses, Mom was home from Rochester for the weekend and everything seemed perfect.

Nora became attached to a little yellow plastic egg that day. She clung to it where ever she went at my Grandma's house. It was wet with slobber throughout the day. She was so happy that day. She had a smile on her face while watching her sister and cousins search for Easter eggs outside at my Grandma's house.

Whenever I see a yellow egg at Easter, I will be reminded of my little Nora. We miss her every single day and wish that she could be her to hunt for Easter eggs herself this year. Kamilla wants to bring a basket to Grandma Sally's house this year so she can hunt for Easter eggs for Nora. I can imagine the smile that would be on Nora's face when she fills her basket full of colorful eggs. She would be running and laughing and playing with her sister and cousins.
We will say a special prayer for Nora this year on Easter. We have placed a basket of her favorite yellow eggs at the cemetary for her to enjoy. I know that she would love the little pink bunny too.

Nora's memorial will shine brightly at the church in which she was baptized and the church were her short little life was remembered. The memorial was created for her by David Badman (http://www.badman.com/), a local artist.

We miss you Nora.

Annika's Baptism

2007-04-07T09:34:00.000-05:00

Annika's baptism took place last Sunday. It was nice to be able to have Kim's parent's join us for her baptism. Annika had kind of a difficult morning and wanted her presence to be known in church. Meaning, she gave her lungs a good workout! She cried during the entire baptism ceremony - which isn't surprising considering she doesn't like her baths! Annika wore the baptism dress that my Grandmother made for me. I also wore this dress 29 years ago. My brother Rob, and his wife Kim as well as my other brother Wes, and his wife Tess are Annika's sponsors. It was a nice day with the whole family. We missed Nora very much, but know that she was there in spirit.

My Loom Knitting Projects

2007-03-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

This is the second hat that I made for Annika. I used it for her 3 week pictures. I thought she looked like a little snowbaby!

This one I made for Kamilla using the mock crochet stitch. The cast-on was a little loose, so I did a little stich around the edge. I also made the flower on the loom. I think it turned out pretty cute! I made a matching one for Annika as well. I'll post that one later!

This is the first hat that I made for Annika.

I made this hat for my niece, Bryn. I used pink fun fur on the brim, and a thicker yarn (can't remember which kind) for the hat and ear flaps. I used two strands and used the red loom. It was pretty tight for her, but it stretched enough for her to use it. This is one of my favorite ones, I was proud of myself since it was one of the first ones I made!!

2007-03-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

Kamilla (May 6, 2002)

Annika (January 10, 2007)

Nora (May 25, 2005 - May 15, 2006)