making merry : : sewing and serving

the inside of a Waldorf doll before the skin is put on

with her crocheted head cap on before I added her long hair

I meant to share our goings on today much earlier but  we got the opportunity to do something very good.  We were invited to go and feed the homeless and so took a break from merry making to serve our fellow brother and sister.    Reminders to our children that no matter what a person looks like, smells like, is dressed like etc, he is still as special to Our Lord as are we.  That everyone deserves to be treated with respect and has a God given dignity.  We talked about how close most people are to the reality of being homeless and how scary that can be for some and even how that makes some people look the other way in order to not deal with unpleasant things.   A great opportunity to discuss these things with my children.

We headed out with a troop of teenaged kids and the owner of a local pizza restaurant to hand out piping hot pizza cooked straight out of the truck.  Sadly, not many homeless people showed up and we left wondering, on such a cold night, where those less fortunate than us, would be eating tonight.

I have never discussed this here (or too many other places) but as a child, I remember what it was like to be hungry, to need a coat and not want to look cold so that my poor momma (who worked night and day) would not know that I needed a coat that I knew she couldn’t afford.  Those experiences made me who I am today and I worry that my children will lack empathy not ever knowing what it is like to go without.  I never want them to think that anyone is less of a person for their situation in life for it is not our job to judge, it is our job to help.  Poppa and I are discussing how we can be of help in this new community of ours, where can our children learn to serve.

Upon returning home, I jumped back into my studio to continue the gift making.  I am working on a new Waldorf dolly for Livie.  A smaller one that she can play with in a future doll house, my own pattern.  I probably should have done something easier since I have sewn and resewn her body a few times more than I wish to share.  I think I need to make her torso shorter, I want to make some changes to her knees and her feet are too big but believe me, she looks a lot better than her predecessors.  She is about as long as my hand and I just can’t wait to see Olivia’s face when she gets opens her gift.

She is going to be a Princess and the Pea doll and I found her a beautiful wooden bed at a thrift store some months ago for $1!!  Oh, you want to see the bed, oh but that is hidden away with all the Christmas presents so you will have to come by here on Christmas to get a peek.

I have a little Christmas morning surprise for the kids that I will make from the wooden dolls.  I have not painted one of these in years, do you remember when I used to paint the little people?  I found two links, I think the others have gotten lost when I moved my blog over from blogger.  You can see some from way back here and here.  I must have done hundreds of these sets back then and then just got burned out and put it away.  Thankfully I never get rid of anything and can use them for my special surprise.

Tomorrow, I will be crafting away most of the day!  Hope to see you around here.