Easter Princess

Every year, my mom made Easter dresses for my sisters and me. I need to get my hands on some of those pictures--I remember going to the store with her, finding pretty dresses on the rack, and Mom would take home a sketch of what we liked. Then we went to the fabric store, found a pattern and fabric, and on Easter morning we had shiny new dresses ready for us.

So this year I wanted to make a dress for my sweet baby girl.

I was excited the night before to have it ready to go.

 Add a pair of pretty shoes, a little barrette, and that gorgeous face--and I was really excited about it!

After church, Alina was patient while I took a few photos.

By the time I brought David into the pictures, she was done with the camera. She wanted to move on to her after-church bottle and nap.

This dress is a pre-cursor to the sealing dress I'll be making over the next few weeks. I definitely learned a few things--like silk fabric is too delicate for all the moving around of a small baby. 

When I was making an outfit for David's sealing, I kept putting pressure on myself to have it perfect. After all, it was for the temple. I wanted every stitch to be just right, all the raw edges to be covered, seams perfectly aligned. I kept getting frustrated with myself over my lack of perfection, when the Spirit taught my heart an important lesson. Going to the temple is not about being perfect. It is about striving. As long as I was offering my best, that is good enough for the Lord. So I'll approach Alina's temple dress with the same purpose of heart.