Tara's Quilt - Prewash

I finished this one and here it is - before the magic of the washer and dryer.

It is my first venture into using up leftovers - it is for a cousin due to have a baby any time now :)

Cooper's Nativity and a Happy New Year

we hope you had a wonderful Christmas...  we enjoyed being all together.


before Christmas, i had been cutting out some vinyl with my cricut and had some scraps laying around.  cooper put them to good use...  I saw this on a wall in my craft room...

Coop explained that this is Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and that the stockings are for Heavenly Father and Jesus.   awwww - i thought that was so sweet.

here is what is up on the design wall right now -

you can find the pattern here.  at this point i am planning on a light grey binding and a soft, pink flannel back.  this is for a friend who just had a baby...

here's hoping you all have a happy new year!

i'm still here...

Yes indeedy - I am still here, just zipping right along. 

Actually, I feel SO much better than I have in a very long time 

(this is when you hear the Hallelujah Chorus ringing in your ears)... and happily, we are still remodeling. No complaining, it's just that all of our living room furniture is scattered all around the rest of the house (not to mention books, radios, etc.), 

so my attention has been focused elseware. 

Unfortunately, no recent time spent in my messy sewing room (well protected by my Coop - seen above). 

Hopefully in the VERY near future I will be able to show you what we've been up to.

Does anyone else forget to take a bunch of before pictures, 

or am I the only one, halfway through the project to think, 

"Oh no! I forgot again!"?

Please assure me that I am not :)

Hope all of you are enjoying some fabulous weather. Have a wonderful day :)

I'm off to mow the yard...

gee i'm glad that cows can't fly... and other random thoughts

birdie, birdie in the sky...

why'd you do it - on my van side view mirrors...

not to mention all the other neighbors cars and people who visit us!

This is the offender - now known as either "poop bird" or "doo doo bird" in these parts.  We are remodeling and can't park in the garage right now.  I took my van to the car wash and felt so much better, BUT he/she has already started up again!!!

On the random thoughts side of things... Did you know that if you hold up a water bottle in front of your face, you can get a cool picture like this?

Our #2 son had some french toast and found this on his plate - untouched photos - I promise...

Cool, huh?  (Or is it small things amuse small minds? :)

Lastly, but most important - a HUGE thank you to all those that have wished me

My surgery went well, but the verdict is still out as to whether or not I am done with all this.  People were so very kind to our family.  Lots of yummy food - and even an ice cream cake (pictured above).  My daughter asked if I could be "sick" a bit longer.  I had not done much in the cooking department the last while, so everyone was very grateful, but I think most of all me.  Thanks so much.

A Day in the Life of...

Cooper.

Well, I thought I would let you know how Cooper's day went yesterday. He is definitely my "never a dull moment" boy.

He started off the the day with a toaster pastry - so you know it had to be a good day ahead...

off to school (which always seems really long to him) and then home to be a helper!

Here he is helping Dad fix the piano bench

Jason and I got involved in a conversation and then a few minutes later, Cooper in a very excited voice said, "LOOK!".  I looked over to see this

This is our kitchen... below the chalkboard - an area I painted again not too long ago.  Cooper found a bicycle hook we had bought for the garage and decided this would be a great place to hang his coat and back pack up after school. Apparently he didn't think too much of the one I have for him already - in a very nonvisible spot.  I think the cat felt the same way I did about it...

Note to self - spackle and paint... again...

I do like the way his little creative mind works - always trying to come up with a solution to a problem.

I've been trying to talk him into a haircut for a couple of weeks now.  As I was giving Peanut her second bath of the night (it really smelled like she found quite the pile outside and rolled out in "it" quite thoroughly), 

he showed up to show me what he had been doing upstairs...

Remember how he looked earlier?

He was really excited - A REAL "ninja" haircut he called it.

 

 

So, I got to give him the haircut I had been wanting to for quite awhile now... although it is a bit shorter than I had planned on...

After family prayer I guess he was feeling pretty good, so he decided to show us his "stash".

This is a bed riser that was sitting on the floor in our bedroom.

He lifted it up, very pleased with himself. "Ta Da!"

Oh boy, what a day!

A Good Reminder as We Begin a New Year...

Here's to Families at Christmastime

What-Matters-Most

giving thanks

EEK!

Harrison - our fearless, spider catching kid came in the kitchen one day. He had been vacuuming the front room and had a scared look on his face.
"Um, Mom... there is a HUGE spider in Dad's room. I see a big leg under Dad's chair."

I thought - oh great. Harrison is not a scaredy cat at all about this, so it must be a totally enormous spider. I do not like spiders!
I said, "Go find Dad."
Well, I thought it must be a huge wolf spider.
I waited in the kitchen (no way was I going to see what was in there).
Well, it was this...







Phew!
Amanda brought this feather thing home from school. I can handle that kind of "spider" any day :)

Do you have strange green eyebrows and a bee on your head?

Cooper did!

Another Year Older...

She wanted breakfast in bed :)





Grandma Denise makes the most BEAUTIFUL cards! (And the Canadian money is always really cool looking :)




A new journal to record all the cool stuff that will happen this year.


We're SO grateful she is ours!

She's such a daring AND darling girl!

It was Reading day at school the other day and the kids could dress up as their favorite character. Amanda's favorite book right now is this:



So this is what we came up with :):

Brenda's Quilt

Have I ever mentioned what a wonderful Mom-in-law I have? She is so supportive and one of my best friends - yes, I do know how blessed I am :)
I made her this quilt for her birthday. I had planned something a bit different than actually came out in the end... but at least I tried an actual plan this time. I usually just wing it.
I found the fabric at Hancock's - I LOVE the dragonflies.

Eric come to visit!

We had the most wonderful family living here - and then they moved...
Cooper's best buddy was Eric. Cooper has talked about him pretty much everyday since they left ...
Not too long ago we were in the basement and I came across a picture frame and Cooper asked if he could have it. I asked him if he wanted to put a picture in it, like a picture of Jesus. After a bit of thought he said, "No, a picture of Eric."
Well, we had a surprise visit from Eric last weekend. Needless to say, Cooper was thrilled :).

Welcome home!

This is what Harrison and I came home to the other day...
Peanut, our beloved pooch, got hold of a trash bag. Big sigh. I had just come back from the doctor with Harrison - he had a raging strep throat. Has anyone else had multiple viruses/bacteria multiplying in their home the past few weeks??

Sweethearts

The long awaited night finally came and Amanda and her Daddy headed off to the Sweet Heart Dance!





They had a great time and topped the evening off with some ice cream :).

i don't think the next one can come soon enough.

Tip of the Day

I believe I have been suffering from the norovirus (aka a yucky intestinal bug) the past couple of days - and it made me realize how great it was when someone shared this tip with me...



It is so much more convenient than trying to rush to the bathroom. Any good sized bowl will do and any good trash bag (just make sure it has NO HOLES!!!) Line the bowl and hand to the person in need :) It is a life saver with kids!

If you didn't already know this, hope it can be of help to you someday.