Friday, April 29, 2016

Introducing...


Our precious baby brother, Caleb Courage, joined our family early this morning...
He weighed 5.1kg...the biggest of any of our babies!

Caleb is a darling, healthy little fellow and oh!  We all love him already...
My heart is filled with joy and thankfulness for this wonderful blessing...our first brother!

Please keep my dear mom in your prayers, sweet friends, as she recovers from a difficult C-section...the Lord was truly with her and my dad during the whole operation...we are so thankful for the prayers that have carried our family...we serve a mighty Lord and King!

~
Stay posted for more pictures coming soon...

All my love,
Kelly~Anne

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Thursday Thoughts...


"Remember this, 
that very little is needed
to make a happy life."

~ Marcus Aurelius

~
Thursday blessings, my dear friends!


Painting by Mary Cassat ~ Five O' Clock Tea

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Autumn~ness



Autumn, that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influences on the mind of taste and tenderness, that season which has drawn from every poet, worthy of being read, some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.  She occupied her mind as much as possible in such like musings and quotations…”

~ Jane Austen


~
Autumn has well and truly arrived in our lovely part of the world and my heart swells with joy as I ponder the pleasures of this wonderful season…

            ....Beautiful crinkly brown and gold hues of the leaves that grace the trees are a happy part of Autumn…don't you think...? 

Autumn is a season for cinnamon and spices, for gathering firewood and pinecones to see us through the chilly winter…

...A season for the orange and brown pumpkins that grace the stores and for baking bliss...

A cup of steaming coffee always tastes richer and more comforting in the autumn…especially if honey and cinnamon are added…

Autumn is a time for watching to see when the first oranges and lemons appear on the trees,
and a season for preserving its tangy goodness in jars of beautiful marmalade

Letters are lovely in the autumn…somehow the imagination comes alive with the arrival of cooler weather…what could be pleasanter than taking pen to paper and journaling thoughts for a dear friend to read…?

Autumn is a a season for bringing out cosy knitting and embroidery projects and snuggling up to watch delightful time period movies...

A time for venturing into the garden in search of fresh peas for a hearty meal and a time to sow spring bulbs and flowers…

 …Above all, it is a time to thank God for the bounty of summer and the provisions stored in the cupboard and freezer for winter…

Yes...this wonderful season has arrived in all its glory and I delight in its rich beauty!

What do you love most about the season which you are in...?  {{Smiles}}

~
Blessings, dearest readers!


"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..."  ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

{P.S.  We still await the arrival of our baby brother, sweet friends...thank you for your continued prayers and love!} 

Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Nursery Reveal...


Welcome, friends...I know you are all very eager to meet our precious little brother...

We continue to excitedly anticipate his arrival and pray for a safe delivery, and in the meantime, there is a special place I would like to show you...

It is something we have been working on for the past few weeks, and although more or less finished, I know we will continue to add new handmade items and decorations here and there...

This is the first baby boy to be welcomed into our family, and we are so delighted to be using reds and blues instead of pinks and whites this time around!  It is a whole new experience, to be sure!

The theme for our baby boy's ''corner'' is sea, and we have used all our favourite fabrics...  We actually spotted them at a material shop over a year ago, long before we knew we would even have a baby boy, and we purchased some for heartmade items... 

Well, when we discovered that after six girls there would indeed be a BOY joining our home, we just knew these gorgeous sea-themed fabrics would make the perfect nursery items...and we were right!  {{Smiles}}


It has been absolutely splendid being able to sew baby things once again, and this is the first time I have been quite so involved...  Despite having almost no budget to work with, it has been amazing to watch everything come slowly together, and to see how one can create such lovely things with only a few supplies and a whole lot of love.

Baby's nursery (not sharing his name quite yet...) is simply a small corner in my parents' bedroom, but it is a special one...  My dad painted the walls white and put up a shelf with knobs underneath to hold the few decorations we wanted to put up, and he also repainted the cupboards that we had painted pink back when Rebekah was born...(see here)

I made the curtains and cot frill from white calico and trimmed them with red gingham.  I also hand-stitched a red running stitch along the bottom for extra handmade charm.



The decorations are simple as well, but they match the sea-theme beautifully!  When we decided to use these fabrics, I just knew I wanted to make a whale softie or two for Baby's cot!  I have subsequently made a couple more for my shoppe (see here)...


I covered ever so many wooden hangers in coordinating fabrics...I used the red check, blue bubble, light blue and navy blue star as well as the main fabrics, the whales and boats.  My mom knitted a few covers as well using moss and plain knit stitch (not pictures).

 

These hangers turned out fabulously and prevent the baby clothes from catching on the wood...they also look much better than plastic ones, wouldn't you agree?



I made a ribbon taggy ball with fabric remnants (similar also available in my Etsy shoppe) for Baby to play with later on...for now it looks sweet up on the shelf!



One of my first projects was actually this mini bunting... The red bias ties in beautifully with the red gingham on the curtains and in the quilt.



This big traditional jointed teddy bear actually had a spot on our market stall before us girls decided he should be given to our baby brother instead.  And doesn't he look ever so cheerful up there?

 
Nancy re-painted and re-covered the wooden box we used for both Rebekah and Sofia.  It was looking a little tired and well...a little too pink!  She used the whale fabric for the inner and strong hessian twine for the cord.



I made these two little drawstring bags, but Nancy did the crocheting of the edges and strings...so gorgeous, don't you think?  The one little bag contains cotton wool balls and the other, baby socks...maybe I will make one or two more for some other baby goodies...or perhaps a larger one for laundry. 

 

Now for my favourite part...the quilt!  This was the last item on my list of things to make...
 I didn't intend to make it quite so big, but we had a duvet inner from Sofia's camp cot, so I decided to make the quilt into an actual duvet cover which can be used for a good two or three years, that way we didn't have to use bias on the edges or pay for fancy top stitching to be done...



I had great hopes of doing a quilt design such as a 'Yellow Brick Road', but after much consideration, Mom and I decided the fabric designs were really too busy for anything too intricate.  Plus, I also saw some adorable simple block quilts on Pinterest...and so I made my piece (pun intended) with a block quilt - I absolutely love how it turned out...
  

I spliced denim in between the quilting fabrics as I wanted to use it on the edges and as the backing of the duvet.  This worked remarkably well and added a very ''boyish'' feel to the quilt!  Wish I could sleep under it...looks so cosy, doesn't it?!  {{smiles}}

Nancy created a beautiful boat picture with fabric scraps and buttons, and I used fabric scraps to quilt the sides and make a lovely cushion...



Lastly, we found a few adorable wooden decor items at a local gift shop.  The anchor and boat hooks, as well as the little boat picture frame form a collection of sea-themed decor...


...I have forgotten to tell you a little about this special wooden cot...it was in fact my dad's cot when he was a baby...and then it was mine...  A few of my sisters used it as newborns too, and hopefully Baby will use it for his future little ones.  It is a stunning wooden cot, and is in great condition...all it required was a lick of paint!



...And so we come to the end of our tour of the nursery.  Ah, I can't tell you how eager we are to see this little boy face to face.  What will he look like...?  Will he have darker hair like Rebekah did as a baby...?  Or will he be fair like the rest of us at birth?

One thing I do know for certain...this little one will be welcomed into this world with so much love and joy...
He has six delighted older sisters who prayed for him to join their family for years and who talk to him in utero each day...
As I shared in this post, we did not think we would be at this place in life again after my mom miscarried three babies in a row at 12 weeks.  Those past trials and seasons of sadness make this time a time of great jubilee and rejoicing for us as a family and as children of God. 

Here are some ''before'' pictures...

 The nursery ''corner'' ~ before 

Gabrielle helping to fill in cracks in the wall...


 Beth filling in cracks in the wall...how happy they were to give Dad a hand!

~
As I write tears fill my eyes as I think of the graciousness of God - that He chose to answer this prayer leaves me in absolute awe.  
 He is our loving Father, but many times His answer is not what we are looking for...replies such as these are difficult to bear and are often met with great frustration and sorrow on our parts.   
But He is with us through our grieving and I believe He weeps with us in our pain...

Thus, we are humbled that the Lord would see fit to bring yet another life into our family, and we pray that this child will go forth and be a light unto the nations for the glory of God!

~
Dear friends, I am so glad you could join me for a peek into our baby's nursery...hopefully my next post will be a birth announcement!  Thank you for your prayers, your love and for sharing our joy - it means so much to us, and we are delighted that this baby will be greeted with such gladness!

Many blessings on the rest of your week...

Monday, April 18, 2016

To A Sweet Little Lady ~ On Her Birthday

Today a very special little lady in our family celebrates her ninth birthday...

Miss Gabrielle is now a precious nine year old who can bring sunshine to so many through her beautiful, captivating smile!

Her heart is small and true, and she has a precious, sincere faith in the Lord.  
It was Gabrielle who particularly shed many tears each time another baby was miscarried, and it was she who faithfully prayed for the baby brother we are about to meet...  God answered the earnest prayer of this little girl, and her trust in Him has deepened...

Ever since Gabrielle began reading a few years ago, her free time has been spent with her nose buried in a book.  Books are wonderful friends to her, and she takes great pleasure in adding useful facts to her store knowledge...
Apart from her love of learning and literature, she has an incredible aptitude with babies and small children.  Her sole delight is in entertaining little children and making them smile - isn't this glorious in such a wee girl?


She is ''mommy'' to her dolls and takes particular care of their every need or want...her dolls are her children!

Although her interests may change as she grows up, she has expressed a desire to study midwifery when she is a bit older, and loves asking questions to do with babies...  Pregnancy and the gift of life fascinates her.  I believe this is a God-given gift, and if this is indeed her calling, the Lord will keep her inspired and motivated as she matures...

I could write much more about my Gabrielle...I say ''mine'' as she was the baby that at the tender age of ten, I carried around in a sling whenever I could, and devoted hours to.  She was my real love doll - a cheerful baby with gorgeous golden curly hair and big blue eyes and dimples that were too adorable for words...

I can still picture the day I met this little sister for the first time, and how much I enjoyed being able to cradle her in my arms after watching her grow within my mother's womb for nine months - something that seemed like an eternity to me.
Gabrielle and I have always been close, although over the last two years or so, we have drifted somewhat as I have become so busy with my little business and other interests.  
Little girls become little ladies in such a short space of time, and Gabrielle has grown up in the blink of an eye!

My desire is to draw nearer to this sweet little lady and discover her beautiful heart.  Oh, I love this sister of mine!  The girly girl...the ballerina...the blue-eyed princess...the entertainer of the family...the giggling little miss who will often drive me to my wits end...  But she is a treasure, and today is her birthday...her ninth birthday...

Please would you join me in wishing this sweet nine year old a wonderful birthday?

...And now for some pictures of Gabrielle through the years that I have shared on my blog, in no particular order...

 ^ April, 2016 ~ Gabrielle and Rebekah

 ^ Christmas, 2013

^ October, 2015

 ^ November, 2015 ~ Gabrielle and I dressed up for tea...

 ^ February 2016, Gabrielle and Rebekah

^ April, 2014

^ 2014

^ 2014

^ 2014

^ 2014, Gabrielle and Beth

^ 2009, Gabrielle and Beth

^ 2009, Gabrielle and Beth

^ May, 2008 ~ Beth, Mom and Gabrielle

^  April, 2007 ~ Two year old Beth holding baby Gabrielle

^ January, 2015

^ January, 2015

^ June, 2015

^ November, 2015 ~ Gabrielle and Beth

^ June, 2015 ~ Gabrielle and I

^ February, 2016

^ February, 2016

Friday, April 15, 2016

Gorgeous New Items in the Shoppe...

Hello dear readers...happy April to you!
I know that many of you are enjoying the arrival of Spring, whereas here in the southern hemisphere, Autumn is being welcomed with open arms!
Truly, the cooler days are a gift after a very warm summer, and even my garden is growing ever so beautifully with the rain and cool days we have received lately...

Although I have not been the most consistent of bloggers over the past month or so, my hands have not been idle...  Ah, quite the contrary in fact...

My sewing machine (or rather my mother's which I am blessed to be using till I purchase my own) has been whirring almost every day, and I am glad to announce that our baby's nursery, or rather ''corner'' is complete and that all I set out to do in regards to decor is done!
Stay tuned for a reveal post coming soon...{{smiles}}

In between taking care of the smooth running of the household and doing some delightful pleasure sewing, I have also re stocked my little Etsy shoppe with a few lovely new items!  What a joy it to send packages of love across the world to sweet customers!  

And because I simply love what I do and enjoy bringing a smile to a person's face through my handwork, I have added a couple more items to my shoppe as well as one or two new things...I hope you will pop over and take a look...

https://www.etsy.com/shop/HeartmadeSouthAfrica?ref=l2-shopheader-name

You will find...

Whale softies for baby boys and girls...




Sets of two padded fabric hangers...


Ellie softies...


 A patchwork cushion with cross stitch motif...




...and ribbon taggy balls!


Can you tell I am enjoying making baby items at the moment...?  {{smiles}}

~
I am sure you must be wondering whether our baby brother has made his grand entrance yet...not yet I am afraid!  We are so eager to meet this little fellow, but babies will come when they're ready...{{smiles}}  I look forward to sharing his birth announcement very soon...:)

In the meantime...I have a special gift to you ~

When you make a purchase of $25 or more and enter the coupon code APRIL16, you will receive $4 off your entire purchase!  This coupon code is valid until the end of April and is especially for my blog readers!  Visit HeartmadeSouthAfrica on Etsy HERE!

Blessings dear friends!