Some sewing therapy...

Dan's dad arrived on their original flight on Tuesday Aug. 2.  Dan could only take two days off while his parents were visiting, and he decided to wait and take them on Aug. 5 and 8 for a long weekend.  His dad worked most days as well, so even though we had visitors, we had a pretty quiet week.  Ken and Jane got some laps in at the mall and took the big girls to play there on Aug. 3.

Getting more alert!  Aug. 3

Jane watched Megan and Brooke for me on Aug. 4 so I could put the finishing touches on Candace's blessing dress.

Jamie, Owen (her baby loving boy), and Candace--they kept me company in the sewing room while I worked, Aug. 4

The finished product

I know many people thought I was taking on too much to make her dress.  But it was something that was important to me.  Megan was blessed in the dress I was blessed in--made by my Mom those 27 years ago.  Brooke was blessed in a beautiful lacy dress and bonnet that was almost entirely made by my Mom 2 years ago (I helped pick out the fabric and cut out a few pieces and voila!  Mom did the rest).  I've always wanted my girls to each have their own blessing dress that they could then pass on to their children.  I knew if Mom were alive, she would have first tried to convince me to use one of the dresses she'd already made.  But if I'd insisted, she would have then been happy to tackle that project with me.  That's just the Mom she was.  Practical first and foremost, but supportive.
So there I found myself--1 1/2 weeks away from the blessing just starting the dress.  It was one of only a handful of sewing projects I've ever done completely on my own.  In the past, the vast majority of my sewing was done at Mom's house.  She had her machines always set up and if I cut it out (her least favorite part), she'd do the sewing.  She'd teach me, but I was usually busy with my kids and it was just easier that way. 
It was so therapeutic for me to work on that dress.  I sat there cutting it out with the scissors Mom gave me (that I'd never EVER use to cut paper), fishing through the sewing box she filled for me, using the machine that was a gift from her when I graduated from college--it was almost like being with her.  I finished it off at her house, using her serger by myself for the first time since she sat beside me just a few weeks prior teaching me how to thread it.
I chose a very simple pattern and when it was done it needed a little something, so I looked through her sewing closet and found the perfect lace to finish it off.  It's not perfect, but it's good enough--and only my Mom and I would probably notice the flaws.
Thank you Mommy.  Thank you for teaching me how to sew.  I love it.  I've always enjoyed it, but it makes me feel close to you like not many things can.