Little Blog in the Big Woods

Fabric & Friends.....the fabric store I talk to everyone about!

2012-02-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

It's official....I'm obsessed with this fabric store. It is a little less than 10 miles from home, has more fabric than the law should allow, holds classes, and monthly sales with free (fantastic) food. What's not to love?? So I thought I'd share some pictures from last week's trip.

The store is housed in an large turn of the century home.

Love this sunburst with the date of original construction!

They have a huge selection of batiks. This is just a hallway, but is filled from floor to ceiling with bolts of fabric. Every room has multiple finished or unfinished quilts hanging up for inspiration.

There are eleven rooms (I count the two halls too, because they are packed with fabric too) like this one, filled from top to bottom with fabric and many also have islands in the center of the room with more fabric!! It is seriously a sight to behold. They always have new inventory coming in but keep lots of popular fabrics on hand. There are two rooms with cutting areas. It does get a bit tight in the store during the sale weekends, but it is all good fun as we are all having such a good time. They even have a clearance room!

They also carry a large variety of notions, patterns, batting, even some dyed wool for needle felting. I so enjoy just being there. I love seeing people carring around half finished projects. You can feel the excitement and creative energy throughout.The amazing thing is that it is only been open since November of 2010.

I think of podcast I listened to recently that talked about how others can't be who they are supposed to be until we become who we are supposed to be. I think of the lady who started this shop. I'm sure it was a big risk to start a fabric shop in a tiny town in the middle of a deep recession. But she followed her dream and in turn is helping others fulfill theirs. How much fun and creativity has been brought to so many with this quilt shop!

I was finally able to get my friend to come with me last weekend. She had been looking for a specific fabric for her daughter's bed room. Of course they had it! She was so excited to find it and get started making things...I could see the wheels turning in her head. In fact we made plans to meet back there on Friday. The lady that cut her fabric pointed her to this quilt, which is using the pink version of the fabric (her's was periwinkle and much prettier I think!) So I have created another addict!! Ha Ha!!

Inside Jobs

2012-01-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Brayden helping Dad put in a new shower fixtures. He is Daddy's shadow lately.

If you live in a temperate climate as I do, you find that this month and next are the best times to do inside jobs. The holiday bustle is over and now there is time to catch up on many projects and hobbies that have gotten pushed under the proverbial bed. So I thought I'd share what is going on inside here.

-This is the time of year when I read more that usual, so far I have read "The Help", "Water for Elephants" and then watched the movies. I had to read the books first! Greatly enjoyed both books and movies. Currently reading "Traveling with Pomegranates" by: Sue Monk Kidd (She wrote "The Secret Life of Bees") Plan on rereading "7 Habits of Highly Effective Families" soon. Also catching up on magazine reading too.

- Sewing for home, I have made two sets of curtains, and am about to make a robe for myself (GASP!!) which never happens. My parents gave me a JoAnn's gift card for Christmas so I was able to get the fabric and pattern with it. Otherwise it would have been much more economical to just buy one, although not near as much fun that way. Need to make myself some more flannel hankies, cotton napkins and various other projects.

- Purging / reorganizing. Got two bags full of clothes to give to Goodwill. My closet looks so much better. Need to do the same in every closet & cabinet in the house.

- Planning some redecoration. Redoing the kids bathroom soon, new paint, vanity, lights, faucets, I'm making a shower curtain. Dragonfly theme.

-Need to pick colors for Brayden and our bedrooms. Hope to get all these things painted before garden planting time.

- Speaking of garden, I finally made a garden journal with pictures and variety preferences. Have been browsing seed catalogs and will order seeds in Feb.

- Thinking about a family birthday party for Brayden who will turn 6! in March.

I really don't mind this time of year (ok, check back around the end of Feb, I may be whining by then). There are so many indoor jobs that need to be done that are really pushed aside until this time of year. I like cozying up, catching up on some reading and watching a little more TV & movies than any other time of year. What are you doing this winter?

Thanks Jack Johnson!

2012-01-13T05:39:00.000-08:00

My kids in their Colts gear.

I love this song by Jack Johnson. I love his music, it is so mellow and joyful. I love the songs he writes about his children, because the echo my heart. Below are the lyrics to his latest single that I love. Thanks for sharing your gift Jack!

"In The Morning" By: Jack Johnson

So much love
The kids are laughing in their sleep
Swimming through their dreams into the morning
So peaceful all the stories that we're told
Lead them through the night back from the shadows
So much joy every little girl and boy
Even better when they wake up tomorrow
So much love
In their little mistletee
Gonna miss you till we meet again in the morning
So much peace in their pitter-patter feet
Any open eyes can see that minds are reaching
So much joy
I'm afraid to be swept away
Upstream there's a spring that brings in the new day

These are the gifts we keep
And this is the morning that we breathe
And then we see
These moments are the only gifts we need

And your crazy curly morning hair
Your maka piapia stare
Smiling down from the top of the stairs
You're so sweet
And your robot pictures spread around
I swear your feet don't touch the ground
Once it starts it don't slow down
But I don't want it to

And these are the gifts we keep
And this is the morning that we breathe
And then we see
These moments are the only gifts we need

Teaching Kids Self Sufficiency

2012-01-13T05:23:00.000-08:00

Brenna has been asking to learn to sew. I believe she needs to learn to hand sew before machine sewing. This is her second lesson, sewing on a button. She did great, but she does get very frustrated at times. Not sure who she gets that from ... ;^)

Brayden helping dad make venison sausage. He loves helping Dad grind venison meat too. He was obsessed with the meat grinder section of the Cabela's Bookie for the longest time.

Brayden with Dad going for a walk in the woods. It's still rabbit and squirrel season so Jeremy took his gun just in case...not that he should have bothered, with the kids scaring them off!

I look at the things that we are teaching our kids and they are the things that we were taught as children too. However most people don't know how to do these very basic things for themselves. I don't know about you, but I know that our world is an unstable place, the future is uncertain. If I can teach my kids how to feed and cloth themselves they will be ahead of the game even if they don't need to rely on these skills for daily life, they will know how to if they need or want to. I love to see the confidence on their faces when they are learning to do these things for themselves.

New Years in KY

2012-01-13T05:08:00.000-08:00

We spent New Year's weekend in Ky with my family celebrating Christmas. My Aunt called the morning of New Year's Eve and asked if we'd like to go to a Noon Year's celebration for kids at the local science museum. There was crafts, a magic show and at noon a balloon drop. The kids had a great time.

First balloons dropping. The kid with his mouth wide open is my nephew Jacob (LOL), Brayden is right in front of him.

Brenna with all the balloons she could hold. It sounded like a war in there with all the kids jumping on balloons and popping them.

My niece Anna & Brenna with the giant turnips my Dad raised this year. Some were as big as volleyballs!

My brother got my kids a remote controlled helicopter and boat. Of course we had to take the boat for a spin.

It was very mild while we were down, as you can see, no coats in January!! It was in the 60's!

Long after the kids had lost interest and went to play in the pasture, my Dad and husband are still playing with the boat.....boys never really grow up!!

Holiday Handmades Review

2011-12-29T07:27:00.000-08:00

You have seen in previous posts I did even more sewing this holiday season than usual. Part of that was because of the awesome quilt shop I live near now! My favorite finds there are the great variety of children's fabrics. I really fell in love with the "Dr. Seuss" fabrics and the Moda "Funky Monkey" fabrics.

These are travel pillowcases I made for my children from fat quarters. Could these fabrics be any more fun?

This is an ABC soft book that I made for my 1 year old niece. I found this wonderful tutorial at Obsessively Stitching.

The great part of this project was that I had most of the scraps to do each letter of the alphabet, anything I didn't have was a cinch to find at the quilt shop! I didn't have any zebra fabric so I zig zag stitched a piece of yellow quilting fabric. I hand stitched around each letter, other than that I really was a pretty quick project.

I made these iPod cozies from scraps of the funky monkey fabric from the kiddos pj pants. I pulled some vintage buttons out of my stash that I scored at a garage sale this summer. (In case you don't know, old buttons go like gang busters at garage sales, I was darn lucky to get these and at a great deal!) I always use brown or black hair bands for the elastic closures.

I found these funky monkey panels at the quilt shop and knew they would make a nice soft book for my 2 year old niece. I like the soft books because they are great quiet activity for church. I just did some highlight stitching around certain elements of each page (I didn't photograph each page, there were 8). Also new this year to my handmades....MY VERY OWN TAGS!! See bottom left corner of this photo! My friend Brook turned me onto these (and gave me a coupon!) tags found at NameMaker.com.

All I Want For Christmas Is You

2011-12-27T06:56:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve Brayden asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I replied, "All I want is you two." meaning my two kiddos. And you know what? That's just what I got!! My husband had a young artist that he had employed while he was at Brown County State Park. She is very talented and he decided to have her do a pencil portrait of our kids based upon this beautiful photo taken by our friend and talented artist Brook Rieman.

Photo By: Brook Rieman

Pencil portrait by: Shauna Neukam

This picture doesn't do this justice! What talent! Brenna said she could stare at it all day!

I got my wish! Thanks to my wonderful hubby! I love a good surprise and he sure did that! Thanks Shauna, you did a fantastic job!

2011 Christmas

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Making cookies on Christmas Eve, right after this we went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks at the theatre. That was a real treat for us as we only go to the movies once or twice a year.

We let the kids open one gift on Christmas eve. The sock monkey pj pants that I made looked super cute on them.

Christmas morning, B & B were thrilled with their Harry Potter brooms.

Brenna flipped over the Harry Potter glasses, she wore them all day long, even to Grandma's house.

Brayden in the robe I made for him.

The kids opening their school sweatshirts. Brenna didn't think I had gotten them and had asked if I could get them next year.

Is he not the cutest? Look at those little lips!

After the kids played for awhile and they watched the Polar Express (the only thing Brayden asked Santa for for Christmas) we headed up to Jeremy's parents house to celebrate some more. Here is Natalie (Noonie as our 2 year old niece Sophie calls her) our youngest niece who is 1 year old.

Maddie with the iPod cozy I made her and Livy in the robe I made for her. My little nieces aren't so little anymore!

Silly Drew liked his pirate robe!

Sammy looking "peaceful" in her robe!

Brenna is very excited when she opens her gift from her grandparents. Hogwarts Lego set!! Just what she wanted!

Brayden loved the gift from his grandparents too! A labyrinth! He is really into mazes so this was perfect!

View from our room at the Inn.

It was a fantastic Christmas day as usual! We had our traditional prime rib at Jeremy's family's house. Jeremy's parents also surprised all their children and their spouses with a night at a local inn. They did this last year as well and it was such a huge hit with us all! We loved it! This year we had rooms overlooking the lake with a jet tub and fireplace. We all hung out and played games and laughed and joked. Jeremy's parents watched all 10 grandchildren while we had our night out (ages: 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,11 &11). We are so grateful to them. It was a great day. Jeremy got me a special gift too! I'll share that with you in an upcoming post!

2011 Christmas Letter

2011-12-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

Our tree from outside.

Dear Friends & Family,

The theme for our year has been "transitions". Jeremy accepted a position at a fish & wildlife area in January and we moved to NE Indiana. He is enjoying the new job and is happy to be using his wildlife biology degree again. This of course meant that Brenna had to change schools in the middle of her Kindergarten year. She had a little trouble adjusting, but she settled in and enjoyed her new school and teacher. Brayden continued preschool at home and learned to read quite well.

Brayden started Kindergarten in the fall and Brenna started 1st grade. Brayden absolutely loves school and is soaking it all in like a sponge. Brenna took about a week to adjust to being a big first grader, but now loves it and is doing great in school, especially reading and spelling. I still have my forestry job however my field work had been cut back significantly due to my location (most state forests are in Southern IN). This allowed me to have lots of time with my kiddos during the summer, so I didn't mind. I've also been able to help out with some events and field trips of Brayden's and that has been a joy.

There were many home improvement projects on the house this year. We have put in the new windows, gutters, some doors and painted some rooms (many more to go). We undertook a lot of outdoor improvements as well. There was zero landscaping here, and you know that didn't work for me!! We also turned under the sod and put in a vegetable garden. The garden was quite productive and we canned and froze more than ever this year. We also had friends give us quite a lot of fruit and veggies from their gardens, so that added to the bounty as well. We didn't tap trees for syrup this year as we had just moved but, we plan to do it this coming year.

We also got a new dog this year. Gus, our 11 year old beagle is getting a little geriatric, so we thought it was time to get another rabbit dog soon so that Jeremy isn't without a hunting dog. We got Izzy in September from a vet school that had gotten her from a local shelter. She is definitely all beagle and Gus is enjoying having a companion after all these years.

While we do miss our friends in Brown County, the beauty and ambiance of that areas, we are settling in well here and are finding lots of neat places and people here as well. I hope I can adjust to the Northern IN winters!! I guess it will give me lots of time to catch up on sewing and reading! We wish the best for you during the holidays and year to come. May you see beauty and feel joy wherever you are.

Christmas Crawdad

2011-12-13T04:15:00.000-08:00

When the kids got home from school yesterday I decided we should go check out the pond that is behind the house. I had not been back there since it had frozen over. I was glad I remembered my camera as I was able to capture this sunset. As I was capturing this, the kids began to call for me so I went over to check out what they were so excited about.

Brenna said "Mom, a lobster!" No, actually it's a crayfish also known as a crawdad. But what the heck is he doing on the ice? Shouldn't you be buried in the mud somewhere mister?? He was moving, albeit VERY slowly. We tried to get a stick to rake him to us so we could put him back in the water (not that there were many open spots), but he was too far out. This somewhat distressed the kids, who wanted to save him. I told them we just needed to let nature take it's course. This guy would be a great meal for a raccoon.

I began looking to see if I could find any other crayfish crawling on the ice and we found this unfortunate fellow. Crayfish do not hibernate or become dormant in the winter. They move to deeper water do avoid freeze outs (like we see here) but become much less active.

Mama Elf is Furiously Sewing

2011-12-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

A little Blueberry Lemonade Smirnoff and "The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" is helping the elf stay happy and productive. Here are the workings for a little ABC soft book that I am using this tutorial to assemble it.

Putting the book together.

I am IN LOVE with the quilting shop "Fabric & Friends" in Roanoke, IN. It's only 10 miles from the house, they hold classes and have the largest inventory of fabric I've ever seen anywhere....puts the biggest Joann I've ever seen to shame. So of course I've been there a lot lately, espcially for the beginning of the month sales where they have free lunch (It's delish!!) I am currently most in love with the Dr. Suess and Sock Monkey fabrics. These are for some more gifts!

Pants I whipped up for my nephew.

Using this stinkin' adorable sock monkey flannel for pj pants for my kiddos.....LOVE!!

Enjoying my new Sufjan Stevens Christmas box set while sewing, keeps me in the spirit!! Completed both pairs of sock monkey pants yesterday!

6 of the 7 robes I've completed for my kids (nieces, nephews, and offspring). I'm DONE with all the robes!! They were actually very easy to put together. Think I'm gonna make myself one after Christmas.

I have enjoyed my Christmas sewing more this year than ever. I believe there are several reasons for this. 1- this year my machine isn't acting like satan and thus going to the repair shop during crafting season!! My new machine is so much better---Thank you Aunt Linda!! 2- I have my very own crafting space, so now I don't have to move all my things out of the way 3 times a day at mealtime. 3-I think my sewing skills are improving, leading to much less frustration on my part.

My friend questioned my sanity at the amount of sewing projects I had lined up for the holidays. But I feel like I'm pretty on top of it at this point. I still have some pillow cases to make out of the Cat in the Hat fabric, two soft books to complete and I'd like to make a few hats out of the extra fleece from the robes. I'd also like to make my hubby some boxers, but may run out of time.... I tend to keep adding projects up until right at Christmas time!

I'd love to hear what you are making!

Enjoying Christmas While They're Little

2011-12-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

I have been acutely aware of the fleeting nature of my childrens' childhood lately. Especially as it pertains to Christmas. I know there only a few more years where they will still believe, a few more years of magic and wonder. So we try to make as many memories during these times as we can. We've been listening to our favorite Christmas albums (Patty Loveless & Sufjan Stevens), and watching our favorite Christmas movies (Elf, Grinch & Prancer). Today we went to a nearby nursing home and saw Santa, a live reindeer and got to ride a "train". I enjoyed watching the residents reaction to the kids enjoying the Christmas festivities. You could tell it made their days to see the children's joy of the season.

After visiting Santa we headed to the tree farm to pick out and cut down a tree. It took us a while to find the right one, but the kids didn't mind as they were having fun (fighting over) pulling the cart. We didn't get our favorite species of "Christmas" tree (Frasier Fir, heavenly smell), this year as they were mostly gone except for the really tall ones, we were still pleased with our Scotch Pine. We visited stopped by with a quick visit with friends while we were in the area then headed home. We were too tired to decorate tonight so we will leave that till tomorrow. It's been a wonderful weekend of holiday memory making....this is what families are all about! Hope you are making lots of wonderful memories with the ones you love!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while!! It's getting a little Christmas crazy around here already. The kids and I headed to my parents for Thanksgiving last week and were able to spend some time with my brother, niece and nephew as well. The hubby could not go with us, as he had to work every day during the holiday. He was working put and take pheasant hunts on the property. I was not looking forward to the long 6 hour drive to my parents alone in the car with the kids. I don't do the DVD player unless it is a REALLY long trip. So I went to the library and found some books on CD that the kids LOVED! Squanto & the First Thanksgiving, Legend of Sleepy Hallow, Stuart Little, Junie B. Jones and A Magic Treehouse book. We made it to my aunt's house in Ky just in time for the meal.

Below are some pictures of the kids and their cousins on our family farm. It was an unseasonably warm day!

It was a great time with family. A great time to be home again. I also found that I think Junie B. Jones is hilarious....she caused me to spit my drink all over my car as we were driving home!!

The Roller Coaster That is Parenting

2011-11-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was both a doozy and great at the same time. I was looking forward to a laid back Saturday with my kids, Jeremy is working every weekend this month. We were going to hit the library after dropping off our Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes. While these things did get done, it wasn't nearly as easy as that. Our boxes were mostly packed. However I like the kids to pick a few gently used items of theirs to give to these children. Outgrown clothing, matchbox cars and stuffed animals was all I was asking, you would have thought I was asking one child to donate their liver (no names to protect the stubborn). The other child, easy going and compliant had no problem with this and found things in no time. The other, well, LOVED everything so much that they couldn't bear to part with it. Even if they had outgrown it and knew it would be given away soon anyway, couldn't even find one stuffed animal out of probably 50 part with. Let's just say that this behavior put me through the roof with anger. Fury, rage. This was partially fueled by the fact that this particular child had given us flack the two previous days about unrelated issues. Mostly I was just disappointed that my child was so selfish. So, I had a thought, sit them down to watch the video about this charity and they will see the great needs of these children....that'll do the trick. NOT! So, after a series of room banishments and chores, and Mom screaming like I maniac (not proud of it, but it's life) said child did apologize and finally picked an acceptable toy to give. Not 5 minutes after this the child asks to me to teach them to sew....totally out of the blue. I have not even attempted to push my craft onto the kids, but I do sew in front of them a lot and have made them lots of things. The child told me, "I've been watching you, and it looks like a lot of fun." Having a new machine that I don't have to curse at probably helps it look more like fun! So I began to show the child how to hand sew and they wanted to make a little pillow. I was so proud to see them so interested in learning and so excited as they were doing it. The pillow was completed for the favorite stuffed animal and another sewing lesson has already been requested. I have asked that all requests be put on hold until after Christmas....I'm booked!!

This is just a microcosm of day to day parenting. There are fast ups and downs and lots and lots of puke!! One minute you are enjoying a wonderful family outing, the next you are in the emergency room. One day everything is going as planned, the next is total chaos. One minuted the whole family is grumpy and out of sync, the next you are all laughing and enjoying one another. Really the whole ride is just crazy, mind numbing and wonderful. I wouldn't change it for anything, but I would really love a free one day pass to anywhere but here sometimes, but I'd always come back home. Mostly as parents we just have to keep it loose and expect the unexpected! Parenting blessings to you....your gonna need them!

Brenna turns 7!

2011-11-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

Brenna had her 7th birthday yesterday. We try to do what we call a birthday week, there is too much pressure for a birth "day". So Jeremy's brothers family was visiting last week from Ohio so we jumped on that opportunity to have a mini-impromptu birthday celebration for Miss Brenna. Jeremy's Mom, youngest sister and her two kiddos joined us for the afternoon. Here Brenna is with her Aunt Katie, and cousins, Maddie and Jackie petting a guinea pig.

We took everyone to Science Central, the nearby kids science museum. With a very reasonable membership we can go to any other MANY other simlar museums that are further than 90 miles away. There is one near my parents that we have taken the kids to before. This also comes in handy on vacations! And we were able to get all 6 kids and myself and another adult in for free. Only two adults had to pay...pretty great deal!

My adorable niece Sophie, looking up at the small hot air balloon.

Here is Brenna with Sophie at the water table.

Here's the story on this one. You are supposed to put your knees on the carpet line and bend over, with hands behind your back and touch the button with your nose (really sanitary!). Then have everyone with you do this. We were a bit confounded, we though that everyone would be able do it, so what was the point? Actually, we found the kids had more trouble than the adults. As Tara, Jeremy's sister, was getting ready to do it, her 2 year old, Sophie, ran right up there and laid down on the button. She is a mess!

Brenna had been saving a trip to her favorite buffet place for her birthday. This was the perfect time to go! So we put matches in her ice cream cone and sang to her. Everyone greatly enjoyed the multi-tiered chocolate fondue fountain! Brayden kept asking to stick his head under it! Here she is with her beloved Dewey (Jeremy's Mom), my nephew Drew and niece Jackie.

We would have loved to have a party where more of the family and friends could have attended. However it is every hunting season imaginable right now, therefore my husband has to work every weekend this month, so this was truly the best we could do, especially at a moment's notice!

Brenna as we sang to her last night. I made her this ice cream cake. She was holding her new Harry Potter legos (our first foray into lego land) that she picked out with the gift card from my brother and his kids. We also ordered some pizza and breadsticks!

My die-hard toothless Colts fan, with her much anticipated and asked for Colts helmet. Lets face it, if you are still a Colts fan right now, you are die-hard!

Brenna on the phone with her Mamaw (my Mom) last night in the robe I made her (per her request) coloring with the new crayons and paper Jeremy's boss & his wife gave her. Jeremy also made her the bookcase in the background a couple of weeks ago. I also have a photo book that I made coming in the mail soon. It is of her and her favorite stuffed toy, "Bo". I plan to blog about their special "relationship" soon.

The birthday girl also took in mini cupcakes to her classmates to celebrate her big day. She also when out for breakfast with Dad and Brother (while I stayed home sick with a tummy bug!) Brenna also got several Magic Tree House and Harry Potter book from both her Aunt Katie & Uncle AJ, another Harry Potter book from dear Penny. Candy, chocolate chapstick, money, cards, shirts, activity books, a Color wonder puzzle from Dewey & Happ (grandparents), Aunt Tara & Family among others. And several people also gave Brayden maze books on this occasion too, as he is very obsessed with that right now! Everyone was so generous and kind to our girl and boy, thank you all. She told me this morning that it was "the best birthday ever!!"

Frugal Landscaping

2011-11-15T09:38:00.000-08:00

The before shots of the deck this spring before I began my landscaping project (and before the snow piles had melted!). I dug the defining lines of the bed by hand with a shovel. Then Jeremy tilled up the area. I then had the back breaking job of removing the sod and smoothing the soil. We also added several loads of horse manure (free poop!) for fertility.

Side of the deck next to the patio a week or so after I planted it. All the plants that you see here were free! I rescued some of the plants from around a structure on my husband's work property that was to be destroyed. Other plants came from the woods and a neighbor of my sister-in-law!

This is about a month later when my sweet husband (who cares nothing for plants that will not give him food) helped me put in some landscaping border (also free!!!).

I buried some flagstones that were laying around here at ground level as stepping stones out to the fire pit.

The other side of the deck. Asian lilies are from my brother -in-law who grows them to sell.

Yay! Mulch!!

Side of the deck next to the patio late in the growing season. You can see the the horse manure did it's job, these impatiens got huge! I did buy them, a whopping 99cents for a 6 pack. However, most of the time these beauties pump out enough seed to give you plenty free plants the next year, that is if you are patient enough to wait for the impatiens!

I almost pulled this rescued Butterfly Bush up. It wasn't growing so I was about to trash it when I saw a tiny sprout. It took forever to grow but it sure was worth the wait!

Future plans include restaining the deck and adding lattice on the bottom of the deck. I also want to have some native warm season grasses, such as Switch grass or Indian grass, next to the stairs in several places and in the space between the house and the deck next to the air conditioner unit. It's been alot of work, but we have so enjoyed it. I have gotten many complements from visitors as well as my children. The butterflies and hummingbirds were appreciative too!

Another Day in the Life

2011-11-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

I did a day in the life post a few months back and I thought I'd to that again. So here goes...

6:15-6:30- Get up and get dressed
6:30-6:55- Do Classical Stretch workout (I LOVE PBS!!)
6:55- 7:30- Empty dishwasher, cook eggs and toast for breakfast & eat.
7:30-8:00- change out of workout clothes, put away folded laundry, help kids get ready for school as needed.
8:00 - 8:30- continue to help kids get ready for school, mostly coaching now. Read book to Brayden.
8:30-8:55- Drive kids to school and drive home.
8:55- 9:00- Start load of laundry and put some in dryer
9-9:30- check email, FB and read new blogs, mutter at ridiculously slow Internet connection.
9:30-12:15- Almost finished Brenna's robe for her birthday and almost completely put together a robe for a niece.
12:15 - 12:45- eat leftovers at lunch with hubby.
1-2:45- go into town to run a few errands. I was on the way home and I have yet to change my clock to reflect daylight savings time in my car. The clock said 3:30 and I freaked out and began to drive really fast as the kids were released early today and would be home at 3:30. Then I realized, oh.....I still have another hour....RELAX!!
2:45-3:30- Really needed to do some data entry for work today, but don't want to start now, only 45 minutes till kids get here, so I'll just keep sewing!
3:30 -3:45 Kids home, I look through their folders go outside with them while we let the dogs out to play in the yard. Izzy squeezes under the fence and runs (hauls ass actually) into the woods.
3:45-4:15- I run after Izzy calling for her, but she is long gone. I run back to the yard to have kids put Gus away and stay inside. I call Jeremy, who should be home soon to tell him to hurry cause we have an escapee. I then run back out behind the house around the pond when I hear her yipping. I run into the woods and finally find her but she is all hunt and will not have anything to do with me when I call her. In fact she deliberately avoids me. I finally catch her after at least 5 minutes of this and carry her back home.
4:15-5:30- Since the kids got out of school an hour earlier I wanted to take them to do something fun so I loaded them in the car and we swung by Dairy Queen and got some ice cream then we headed to the playground then came home.
5:30-6:30- Cooked pork burgers and made homemade oven fries and ate them.
6:30-8:00- Washed dishes, facilitated kid's showers, helped Brenna with homework and read to her.
8:00-8:30- Laid with Brenna. Both kids know that I LOVE to have my hair played with. They also both have figured out that the longer they play with my hair the longer I will lay with them. So Brenna was playing my weakness tonight. I enjoy laying with both kids at night, we always have great conversations.
8:30-9:30- Read and commented on documents for my forestry job.
9:30-10:15 Blog, check FB, watch Biggest Loser.
10:15-11:00 - Shower, prep for bed.

Happy Halloween & Roll Call!

2011-10-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

Photo by Brook Rieman

Happy Halloween everyone! We had a great weekend at a nearby park hanging out with family and attending the great events put on by the friends of the park and campers. The kids enjoyed the costume contest. They took 1st & 2nd place in their age division, the second awards they won for these costumes(Johnny Appleseed & Paul Bunyan), they won most original costumes at our friends party a few weeks ago (see above). The entire campground was then open for trick or treating, so they scored tons of candy, then attended a haunted campsite. A good time was had by all, although it was quite cold. Brayden especially enjoyed the grass maze that the park had made through the prairie, he is obsessed with mazes right now.

Also I wanted to do a roll call of sorts. I write this blog primarily as a way for family and friends to keep up with us. It also is a memory keeper for our family, I hope to print it to book form at some point. I see on the stats that I am getting some readers, but I am not getting many comments from you. I really would appreciate you taking just a few seconds to comment on the blog. So come out from behind the curtain and say hi!! I would love know who you are, your location and hear what post(s) you've most enjoyed, suggestions for upcoming posts and any questions or general comments. Thank you!

The Morning Checklist

2011-10-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I was at my wit's end. I had had it with mornings, specifically getting the kids off to school in the mornings. So I began to brainstorm on ideas of how to get them to do what they needed to do in the mornings without my constant nagging (which I HATE doing) and added stress. I thought that there must be a better way. I had heard of other families doing check lists so I decided to make my own. I put in in a plastic sleeve and set a dry erase marker next to it so that they could check off the tasks as they completed them. I added pictures to the list as Brayden is not reading words quite this big yet. I didn't want him to taking a lot of time sounding things out, that would contradict the entire point of the list.

The first few days I wasn't so sure this would work, the kids were excited about it and loved the idea, but were spending too much time lolligagging in front of the list, which I had taped to the bathroom door. I had to explain many times that this list is meant to speed up the process, not slow it down and that the point was to complete the task, not necessarily to cross it off. This seems to finally have sunk in after 3 weeks and they are doing great. They have been done early every day this week, over 30 minutes early!! (Ok, Brayden has been waking up at the butt crack of dawn, but still!!) I also explained to the kids in depth why this list was necessary. 1. Mommy HATES starting the day stressed, hurried and yelling. 2. Being prompt is important and Mommy is a stickler for being on time, when we are late she gets very crabby! 3. Told them the many ways in which being on time is important. Now they are doing everything with very little direction from me. I am so much lessed harried in the morning now and the last two days we have had snuggle and reading time before school!! I also have had time to get some chores done in the morning that I normally would do after I drop them at school. It has been a complete 180!! YAY!

Summer Sewing Review

2011-10-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

While this summer did consist of A-LOT of canning for me, I was able to squeeze in a bit of sewing here and there. So I thought I'd share it with you.

Matching skirts I made for Brenna and I for a family event, picture taken at Jeremy's folks.

Little birdy I appliqued for my baby niece's 1st birthday.

Two tie shirts I've appliqued for my boy. Machine satin stitched around them. He looks very handsome in these. Also made the same guitar tie for my nephew.

For some reason, unbeknownst to me, my child loves skulls and flames, so I indulged her.

Made a similar shirt for my niece. I hand stitched around these. My sewing machine skilz are not that awesome!!

Knee repair on Brenna's jeans. Found this idea on BlogHer. Fun!

I know I made a few other things as well that I didn't document, another skirt for Brenna and a mushroom applique onesie for a friend's baby. I really recommend keeping photographic records of your crafting with dates and details. This is especially important if you craft for gifts, keeps you from making the same thing twice for the same person!

You call that bed made????

2011-10-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

I always find it amazing how different children that have the same genes and environment can be from one another. Case in point.

How Brayden makes his bed.

How Brenna makes her bed.

This really describes them both well. Brayden likes things just so. He likes to know the schedule and thrives under that kind of structure. Brenna well, she is a busy girl, in body and mind and really doesn't have time to worry about things being neat or where they are supposed to be. She has things to draw, pictures to color, places to go explore. Now, I do have to say that her bed is up higher and is thus harder to make, but pretty sure that wouldn't change the over all outcome.

So I found it hilarious today when Brayden walked into Brenna's room, took one look at her bed and said in an exasperated voice, "Bwenna, look at all those bumps! Do you call that bed made?!"

Throughly Enjoying....

2011-10-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

Roush Lake

:: the bright crispness of the October sky.
:: the nip in the air.
:: the first blush of color on the trees.
:: the still lush green grass.
:: the abundant wildflowers.
:: beginning of comfort food season, hello chilli's, soups, stews and breads!
:: the planning of our handmade holiday gifts.

Wildflowers picked from the fields and pond side near our house, in a blue mason jar with my new corner cabinet in the background.

:: the awesome early Christmas gift my husband picked up for me at a garage sale!!
:: my new (used) elliptical workout machine!!
:: my monkeys climbing all over the workout machine.
:: my blue canning jars found at garage sales this year.
:: quiet time while kids are at school.
:: the Halloween costumes my kids have in mind. (yes, that is a tease!!!)

Izzy is showing herself to be a true beagle. However she listens pretty well and doesn't bark as much as Gus. Gus is enjoying the companionship after 11 years with no doggie pal. We rescued her from the Vet School, which got her from the humane shelter. And she was spayed, current on her shots, and micro chipped for a wonderful price of $0!!!!

:: how well our new dog, Izzy is fitting in.

:: a great visit with my brother, niece and nephew this weekend.

Brenna and Mr. Beasley, mini-dachshund (we all agree that he looks like a mini-blue tick coon hound).

:: their new doggie. We wanted to dog nap him.

:: Brayden's fascination with cattail seeds.
:: Brenna's love of telling jokes. (that are not funny at all to anyone but her!)
:: Brayden's current obsession with mazes. I see a corn maze in our near future!!!

School of fish in the chalk river getting on the school bus.

:: the elaborate chalk rivers my kids have been creating (sometimes with Dad's help) on the front drive and sidewalk.
:: LIFE!!!

Where did that come from?

2011-09-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Applesauce and apple butter that I canned last year, which Brayden's classmates helped me finish off yesterday!

Johnny Appleseed's birthday is a big deal in these parts as he is said to have died and was buried in Ft. Wayne, IN, not far from here. So of course both the kids have been learning loads about him for his "day", which was yesterday. Being a big fan of the apple, I told Brayden's teacher I would love to help with the celebration and would bring in my home canned applesauce, apple butter and dried apples for the children to try. She asked me to be in charge of the applesauce making station and I replied, "I'd love to, I'm a champion applesauce maker, just ask Brayden!". Here was her reply "He said so at lunch the other day. They served applesauce at lunch, which he declared was not as good as yours. :) " You can see why he is my favorite boy, that and he's my only son.

So I went and helped, the children loved using the peeler/slicer/corer and sampling the apple products. After the festivities concluded I went to eat lunch with my boy and girl. I walked into the lunch room with him to get my food and the lunch ladies all said, "Oh, is this your Mom?? She's the one that makes that good applesauce! I said, "Oh no, I hope he didn't tell you that yours wasn't good!" They said no but he did demand to know where it came from. I had to laugh. Of course he did. We always talk about where our food came from. He has very rarely eaten applesauce I didn't make. He is used to eating local....like from the front yard (where the garden is). So I can see these lessons are not being lost on my children. Brenna also feels this way about the applesauce and the spaghetti sauce as well. She'll eat it, but always comes home and tells me how much better mine is! To which I say, "Don't you forget it sister!!"

Switching gears....

2011-09-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

.....from this,

to this.

I stocked up an JoAnn's big sewing month sale. I got most of the material I would need to make most of the Christmas presents. Now I just need to get started. That is usually the hard part for me. Putting the other everyday tasks to the side and just sitting down to work on it. I always feel like I must do what needs to be done before I can do what I want to do. I see that this is keeping me from enjoying my days to the fullest. And although I need to do this sewing (whilst enjoying it) I also must continue to cook, clean, and keep clean clothes on my family. My son is down to his last pair of clean undies (how'd that happen?). Ok, now I've got to stop talking about it and do it!! See ya!!

{this moment}

2011-09-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

I am joining with one of my favorite bloggers SouleMama in her Friday ritual, "this moment"

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Front Flower garden progession

2011-09-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

We have lived here now for 7.5 months and I am pleased with the progress we have made on the flower gardens. There was nothing, nada, zip, zilch for flower gardens when we arrived. In fact the front bed had been filled in with hard pan clay and coverd with plastic and rock to insure nothing grew. In the back there is a nice deck but it too was bare. You know me, that wasn't gonna fly. If a house is to be a home to me it needs landscaping. So I'll share the progression of pictures for the front garden. Let me know what you think!

Right after the thaw this spring

After I removed the rock and plastic. I was super excited until I stuck my shovel in. Uggg hard clay.

In order to grown anything we needed to remove the clay and add some top soil. There was also a big concrete pad that the tv antenne formerly stood on. See square in soil on bottom right.

They were surprisingly able to remove the HUGE concrete chunk. Here is after the new soil was put in. Kids havin' a good ole' time playing in it!

Then the hubby got me a huge rock for my landscaping! My favorite anniversary gift ever!!

Rocks in place! Ready for plants!

Plants in!! Lots of Rhododendrons, azeleas, asters and sea trift. Also gonna put in some tulips and crocus. Got all the bushes for $5 or less. End of season sales rock!!!

Notice our shutters! Painted them and added the others that were not hung! It's looking much better around here! Back garden post to come!

Sisterly Love

2011-09-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

I pulled this out of Brenna's school folder yesterday and read it. I teared up.

What more could you want between siblings. I hope they always feel that way about each other.

Dinosaur Eggs @ Fox Island

2011-09-08T11:11:00.001-07:00

On labor day we refrained from laboring and headed to explore a nearby park that we hadn't yet visited. Fox Island Park is part of the Allen Co. Indiana park system. It is the largest contigous forest in that county, which is the county that city Ft. Wayne calls home. There are also a lot of wetlands here.

It had a great nature center, complete with a tree house inside! There was even a kid size nest inside a "cavity".

We headed out for a hike and of course, Bo, my 3rd child had to come.

Brayden's Sycamore bib.

The coolest thing we saw on our hike were these Giant Puffball Mushooms, which are edible. I had never seen these before and it really made our day!

Brayden patting the 'shroomage!

These aren't dinosaur eggs, they are puffballs gone to spore, don't eat them when they are no longer white! (Don't I have a cute husband??!)

Smart Food Movement

2011-09-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

Around here I've been doing a lot of this.......

Canned green beans and other goodies from our garden.

These are some tasty kabobs (my favorite meal this summer) that I have been whipping up on a regular basis. Most veggies straight from the garden and the venison right from our freezer.

We've been enjoying our heirloom tomato harvest. Orange banana tomatoes on both sides, Roman Candle to the left and Speckled Roman to the right. These all are very meaty with very little seeds, just right for canning. Orange Bananas are my favorite this year. They also peel very easy after a quick blanch.

This morning's haul. An entire 5 gallon bucket of tomatoes. I'd better get to work!

Food. Our whole world revolves around it. Yet in making it fast, cheap and easy to get we have lost our connection to it. If we would give thought, money and time to food and producing it the less time and money we spend trying to improve or remedy our health. It a little thing called preventative maintenance, y'all!

Our household revolves around food. Hunting, gardening, gathering, preserving, processing, cooking and enjoying it. It sounds a bit strange but it is part of our spiritual and moral practice. In raising our own garden we both save money not running to the store and we know that people are not being exploited picking and producing our food. We are not polluting the waters and soils with chemicals to produce our food. We know what is in it and how much effort it takes to take tomatoes to spaghetti sauce (what I am working on this very moment!) so we do our best not to let anything go to waste.

I just called the butcher today to tell him how to process our hog. This hog was raise by a friend and his children at their home and the butcher is a friend of my husband's dad. I feel good about this on many levels. The pig had a good life. It wasn't squeezed into a factory farm where he was just a meat machine. The butcher knows us, do you think that he will take more care with is work knowing that his product will feed a family he knows? We are voting for the local small business when choosing to buy from them. At this moment my husband is out dove hunting. Yes, enjoys the hunt, but we as a family love the dove meat as well. It will be particularly good wrapped in bacon from our hog with a jalapeno from our garden! These animals that we consume that my husband provides for us have lived free lives and didn't live in inhuman conditions. We try to thank these animals for giving their lives to sustain us, just as the Native Americans did. We try to waste none of what they provide to us. Same with the garden.

A few weeks back our friend told us to come get peaches from his tree. We froze 13 quarts worth. The kids ate straight from the tree till their little bellies ached! Another friend just gave us a bunch of green beans and we canned 24 quarts yesterday. Free fresh food earned simply by the willingness to work a bit. This type of lifestyle is not new to me. I grew up doing these very things as did my parents and their parents and many before them. I feel connected to all of my ancestors by honoring this way of life, what culture is now calling the "slow" food movement. Maybe we should rename it the "smart" food movement! We just call it the good life!!

Brayden Starts Kindergarten!

2011-08-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

My baby started school this week. I homeschooled both children for preschool, so I expected it to be quite a transistion for him. It wasn't. He took to it like a fish to water. Loved every minute.

It's Brenna's second year of school, she started 1st grade, hence the "1" finger. We expected her to do just fine since she loves school and everything involved. But she didn't do great, she cried, she didn't eat breakfast, she didn't listen for almost every morning this week. Yesterday she decided she was done and was much better. She had a little "start of school and leaving mom" separation anxiety. She also said she missed Kindergarten, her old teacher and her brother. She even did the full toddler clinging to my leg thing on Wednesday and the teacher had to pull her off. After that I made her walk in from the car. So this week has been really easy for Brayden but hard on the rest of us as we were worring about our girl. I'm sure she was fine within 5 minutes of us leaving but we were worried all day.

Brayden squirming and squealing in his seat as he sees the school on the first day.

Dad walking our babies into that big school.

Brayden in front of his classroom. There is only one name repeat in his class, Brayden, same spelling and everything. What are the odds??

Funny thing Brayden said last night, "They laughed at my butt when I was going pee!" Jeremy decided it's time to teach Brayden how to pee without droppin' is drawers! Brayden says everyone in the class are his friends and his two best friends are Eva and Jett. He says Mrs. Paff is the best and nicest teacher in the world. She's the same teacher Brenna had for Kindergarten when we moved here. We were thrilled to get her again. I didn't have to leave my baby with a stranger! Brenna got the teacher she wanted as well and is enjoying school once she calms down. She is doing homework right now with her Dad and exclaimed, "I love doing homework!" We'll see how long that lasts!

We were also ready for school to get back in session. We ran all over the place this summer and seemed to be only home a few days at a time in July and early August. It will be nice to be back on a schedule again!

I will try to post a summer overview with some pictures as I was way to busy to do that while the kids where both home. I left the camera at home on many trips, both intentional and not so there may be spotty photographic documentations. But there is no doubt we had a great summer!

Celebrate or Cry?

2011-07-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Just 2 Weeks till Kindergarten!!!

This really cool guy is heading to Kindergarten in 2 short weeks. My youngest is heading to school. I'm not sure if I'll cry or celebrate, I suspect a little of both will occur. We just found out yesterday that he will have the same teacher that Brenna had last year, so we were very excited. She is a wonderful teacher and already knows us so that makes the transition easier for all us us I think. I am excited/concerned to see what changes school will bring to my child. All the changes that school brought Brenna were very positive so, hopefully it will be the same with Brayden. He is SUPER talkative, especially to adults, so hopefully he can control himself and not blab all through school. He is also very sensitive and I really hope that doesn't make him a bully target. He also hates writing and coloring, so he's gonna have to get over it!! He is already a great reader, so that will be really helpful. I have spent so much time with him this year with Brenna off at school, he is such a sweet and funny kid and I will miss him a lot!!!

However don't think I'm not looking forward to and planning my much anticipated and expansive alone time. It has been almost 7 years since I had my first child and this will be the most time I've had to myself since then. The list is already being constructed. You know, the kids-are-at-school-and-you-have-hours-of-uninterrupted-time-to-do-whatever-the-hell-you-want list. And no, eating, bon-bons (whatever the hell those are) is not on there. Wanna peek at the beginnings of it?? I think there is a bit much work on the list and I may need to add some play items, suggestions are welcome!

- paint bedrooms and bathroom
- make curtains for entry way room
- make curtains for living room
- make a quilted table runner
- start making Christmas presents early
- paint shutters
- finish front landscaping
- volunteer at school
- volunteer at Acres (a local land trust organization)
- paint basement
- learn more about my camera
- print and organize pictures
- organize and declutter whole house
- maybe start an etsy/online store to sell homemade items?

I'm also looking forward to a little recreation browsing/shopping. I'm not a big spender or buyer, but I do enjoy looking and getting ideas at different stores and shops. My boy however is very anti-shopping (except at the local Hallmark store, where there is a really nice Thomas the Train set for him to play with!) so I have done as little as possible to get us by since moving here. It will be nice to get up to Ft. Wayne and explore the many stores up there without someone constantly whining, "When can we go HOME???" I also am just looking forward to having some complete and uninterrupted thoughts and devotional/meditation time.

So a new phase of our family life begins, the school years. I know it will bring many changes, fun, challenges and friends and for that we are very grateful!

Time stand still

2011-07-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those rare days where the joy of the household was as impenatable as the July sunshine. It was just an ordinary day, yet it was extraordinary. These are the days when I wish time would stand still and I could revel in the pure joy and innocence of my little ones, the lush fruitfulness of my garden the many blessings all around. God is so good. The weather has returned to a tolerable state, last week was so hot and humid that you would literally wilt as you walked outdoors. The new week brought somewhat cooler temperatures and less humidity, in a word, relief!

Brenna and Brayden made a "river" in the driveway with the sidewalk chalk. They got along great all day.

Love seeing the honey and bumble bees on the sunflowers planted in the veggie garden.

The cucurb family (melons, gourds, squash, cucs) are taking over my garden!

The work ahead of me. Many tomatos coming! Hello salsa and pasta sauce!

The watermelons are trying to bulldoze the fence over!

More pics of the cucurb vines...with my lovelies in the background.

So happy to finally grow some sunflowers!

Brenna trying to get at the blueberry pie!

We just all enjoyed one another yesterday. We even had to go to the store to pick up some school clothes (my kids loathe shopping, I'm not a huge fan) and the kids were so good in the store. Shopping with kids is usually quite a chore. Plus I found jeans for Brayden for $2.99.....SCORE! We came home and the kids played in the sprinkler then ran inside for ice cream. Can it get any better than this??

Summer speeding by

2011-07-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hey there, it's been awhile! It has been a very busy and fun summer. We have been going somewhere different every weekend. Loving the hubby having weekends off!

We have visited with friends who were having a family gathering at a lake cottage on Lake Webster. Mandy converted me to hoopism while we where there! I was sore around the middle the next day, but it sure was fun. Also had a great time swimming at the lake, oddly I didn't take a pic of the lake!

B & B were happy to visit with their old friends from Brown County. Brayden kept telling them he loved them. He's pretty sweet like that!

There was some mad crazy hoopin' goin' on there!!

The next weekend we went to Dunes State Park with Jeremy's sister, husband and kiddos, which was beautiful. We had a great trip! I forgot my camera and am still miffed, I can just imagine the great pics of the kids at the beach and the dunes playing in the merom grass. {Sigh} Oh well....

Last weekend I left the camera at home on pupose as Jeremy and I joined his sister and her husband for an adult only camping trip to Turkey Run State Park. (Believe me, that don't happen often!!) We did the 15 mile canoe ride down Sugar Creek. It had been about 8 or 9 years since we had done that last. Such a beautiful place we used to live in that area 8 years and two kids ago (you know, a whole lifetime!).

Between all that we have been gardening, running to swim practice every weekday for the past two weeks, going to Science Central with friends, summer reading, summer festivals, fireworks, fishing, picnics,........man I need a nap!

Take a morning stroll with me

2011-07-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Take a morning stroll with me around my yard. I like to check the garden everyday (usually more than once!) Here are my birdhouse gourds, they are going crazy!

This picture is kinda shady, but this is my veggie garden. Gets great sun in the mid-day.

Tiger lilys blooming in the woods right next to the yard.

Burgundy Lobelia cardinalis

Onothera (Primrose)

Thread leaf Coreopsis

White Asiatic Lily

My kiddos picking black raspberries in the edge of the woods.

Love the tendrils on the cucurb species

Fish pepper. I love the varigation! It is supposed to be a very hot pepper that has a smoky fish type flavor. It's our first time growing it so I'll let you know how it turns out!

Zephr yellow squash

Rosa satigra with a honey bee in the egde of the woods. I don't know how that bee could fly it had so much pollen on it's legs!

Another pic of the wild rose.

Poppy I planted next to the dog kennel to make it look a little more inviting.

B & B with the raspberries they picked. Brayden has to force himself to smile for the camera!

A day in the life

2011-07-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading 3 books (confirmation of my inherent nerdiness), not just have three on my night-stand, but actually reading all three. I don't normally do that but they are all so good. One is the Amish Cook and is comprised of "columns", they almost read like blog posts, from an amish woman and her daughter. There are recipes as well. One of the column formats that readers liked best is a "diary" where the breakdown of daily activies and times is given. So I'm gonna bore you to tears with my day yesterday. (I don't think it's boring, but hey, it's my life and I love it!)

6ish- Hubby's alarm goes off.
6:25- slowly rouse
6:35- Grab myself some blueberry scones for breakfast, that I made yesterday am. Eat with hubby before he heads out the door to work.
6:45- Quick check of email and Facebook and blog feed. Check out "Flower Patch Farm Girl" blog to get ingredients for the "lava lamps" I want to make with the kids.
7:00-7:30 do Classical Stretch workout on PBS
7:30- Enter my very small number of hours for work. Work is slow right now, miss the $ but love having lots of time to chill with my kiddos!
7:40- Brayden wakes up, mom steals snuggles and tells him (yet again) that he may not go to school in August to which he says "I HAVE TO!!".
7:45- Brenna wakes up, get breakfast of scones and cereal ready for them and go get myself ready for the day, I have a lot of cleaning up to do after being gone for a week and having new windows installed in the whole house! They are beautiful!!
8:00- Pick lettuce and admire my garden babies, baby squash, beans, peppers and tomatos coming on. Wash and chill lettuce.

8:15- Brenna is feeding Gus by "hide and seek" I ask her if she wants me to do that with her lunch when she is really hungry?! Come in and begin to clean, straighten and organize.
9:00- get kids to help me go through their toys and reorganize and donate some.
9:45- wash dishes, sweep and mop all floors
10:45- Let floor dry and read two of the books I'm currently reading.
11:20- clean bathrooms
12:00- Prepare, eat and clean up lunch and read newspaper
1:00- vacum all floors and dream of a nap
1:20- try to nap, hubby calls then and dumb credit card automated caller (I have no credit cards people when are you gonna get the memo???) Give up on nap. No one ever calls any other time except when I try to take a nap, which is really maybe couple times a month.
2:00- laundry
2:30- upload photos from vacation and read while waiting (connection here is painfully slow)
4:00- hubby arrives from work and drops me at library branch while he and kids feed his boss's dogs while he is away. I finish uploading and read some more and browse the library.
5:30- Arrive home and prepare supper, eat and clean up.
7:15- water my babies (flowers), let Gus roam around in the yard.
7:45-9ish- get kids ready for bed and lay with them.
915: Watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix. We are rewatching all the movies before the last one comes out and I am currently reading the 4th book "Goblet of Fire". That is my summer reading project this year.
11:30- Shower and head to bed.

Lake Cumberland, Ky

2011-07-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

My parents have a semipermanent campsite down near Lake Cumberland in Ky near Albany KY. They spend about 4 weeks a year there camping and fishing. We headed down for 4 days or so over the weekend and I just thought I'd share a few pictures from that outing. We also found out that our very good friends Brook, Corey and Lilly were going to be in the area as well for their family vacation so we were able to spend time with them for the first time since moving in February.

Creek upstream of 76 falls.

The kids, Jeremy and my dad looking at this....

beautiful, 76 falls

My babies are getting too big!

We met Brook and Cory at the Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery as they were heading to Dale Hollow Lake for thier family's vacation.

Lily checking out the trout.

Later that day we headed to B & C's cabin to hang with the family. We were taking a walk down to the marina here after an awesome meal of corn on the cob, steak and baked potatoes! Don't mind Brook here, she likes to touch herself!

Brenna's first trout catch!

Brayden's too, he's trying not to drop this slimy little guy!

We stopped by the Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park.

Here is the sinking spring next to his birthplace. It was nice and cool down here. We imagined him spending some time here.

Shoot!

2011-07-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

There is a shooting range at my husband's work. Several conservation organizations, Wild Turkey Federation, Whitetails Unlimted and another (sorry can't remember), put on a free youth shooting day that included all the shooting a kiddo would want to do, a free lunch and some great gifts and information. All Brayden could talk about for days was getting to shoot a "real" gun. I guess the BB gun just wasn't real enough! Brenna enjoyed it too, once she got over the loudness, even with ear protection it is still loud. It was a great day and a great way to spend father's day! They also made the news as a reporter/cameraman came down from Ft. Wayne channel 21.

Small Things That Make Me Happy

2011-06-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

My kids playing in dirt, barefoot....classic fun kid stuff. Also love how well they are getting along lately. Nothing is better to a mom than sibling harmony.

Brenna baiting her own hook!

Brayden fishing at the fishing derby held at Dad's work.

Brenna with a fish at the fishing derby.

Visits from friends, Lake and her mom, Wendy came to see us last week. The kids had a blast swimming, climbing, running, catching lighting bugs, sparklers and of course, eating!!

Lake brushing her teeth through the Nascar helmet!

Brenna's watercolor painting of Harry Potter, really good! They are super obsessed with HP right now. They play it all day. They even do Engish accents, it cracks me up!

Brayden catching a 7 lb drum on his brand new fishing pole he won at the fishing derby last week!

My cool estate sale / garage sale finds.

This is the best purchase I've made all year a small hummingbird feeder that suctions to our dining room window, we all enjoy watching the hummers eat while we are eating! Yesterday Brayden said, "I wish those hummingbirds wouldn't fight. They should just wait in line!" Give peace a chance!!

Got border and mulch around my garden around the back deck.

This super cool petunia my friend Wendy gave me. The name of the variety is Pretty Much Picasso.

Strawberry Pickin' Time

2011-06-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

My husband's boss has us feed his dogs while he is at his lake house, this time he told us to help ourselves to the strawberry patch. He may have regretted saying that!!

The kids are a big help, picking.....NOT!

We may have taken a few asparagus spears too.....shhh don't tell!

I honestly think strawberries are the most beautiful fruit.

Workin' on jam. I use the lite or no sugar pectin. I did use some sugar as these little babies were TART!

Boiling water bath to preserve the suckers!

This should last us all year! 7.5 pints.

Sing it!! "School's Out for the Summer!"

2011-06-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

School's out FOREVER!!! Well, I'm sure some days it will feel like forever. Actually they have already been up for 2 hours and they seem like very long hours, but in a great way! To celebrate having my girl being home for the summer I prepared, very frugally, a "Summer Fun" basket. I filled it with things like bubbles, cheap badminton set, a jump rope (can't believe we didn't have one already!) water color paints and brushes, sidewalk chalk, ice cream cones and Magic Shell, and tracing paper.

Summer Fun Basket

We wrote "School's Out" with blueberries.

Brenna, cupcake in hand at 8am (I'm not a horrible mother, she'd already had her oatmeal!). She'd lined up her chalks in a circle to have a "funeral" for the broken one in the middle!

Beauty is Everywhere (Just have to look harder sometimes!)

2011-06-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

The #1 question we get from people when we tell them we moved here from Nashville, IN, which is regarded by many as the most beautiful area in the state, is "Why would you move from Brown Co. to here???!". I must say I that I have felt those feelings too, especially before we moved here. But I believe that beauty is everywhere although it may be harder to find in some places, sometimes you just have to look at things a different way. When we moved here in February in the middle of one of the worst winters this part of the state had seen it was difficult to see the beauty, especially after months of seeing white. But I enjoyed seeing the beautiful barns and large lone trees in the middle of farm fields. As the weather has warmed and we have been able to get out and explore we have found things we just didn't expect to see here in NE Indiana.

Hanging Rock over the Wabash River near Wabash, IN.

Jeremy's Dad taking pictures of the kiddos on the top of Hanging Rock.

Dewey (what the kids call their Grandma) and Sammy with B & B.

View to the north of Hanging Rock.

Descending to the river under Hanging Rock.

Looking upstream.

Brenna next to one of the big rocks that has fallen off of Hanging Rock.

Nearby at Salamonie State Forest, couldn't believe how many waterfalls there were, and it's only about 20 minutes away from our house.

Kids playing in the Salamonie River just below the dam.

Hope to be able to find many other beautiful places here in Northern Indiana to share with you this summer!

Veggie Garden

2011-05-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

Jeremy breaking sod on our veggie garden back in April.

Brayden watching the action.

Monkies see monkies do. B & B digging their own little garden.

After a very soggy spring we finally got our garden in on Monday! Yay! We added 3 loads of horse manure to it to improve the fertility and reduce the clayiness. See my pretty Redbud and Lilac, wish you could smell over the internet, the lilac smells heavenly.

All planted. We planted 12 different varieties of tomatos and 8 different varieties of peppers! I also planted some birdhouse gourds!! Can you tell I'm excited to be gardening again? It was a long, cold, snowy winter. Hooray for spring and green things!

We used this wonderful and easy Vegetable Garden Planner from Mother Earth News. Super fun! Great record for next years planning as well.

Wasting my education

2011-04-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Photo by AJ Sobecki

I am so stinking domesticated. And oddly enough, I love it. I never thought I'd say that. I remember my mother asking if I would stay home with my kids. I said "No, I'm gonna get a job and work." Ummm....Sorry Mom!!! I started out on that track before my kiddos came along. I earned my bachelors in Wildlife biology then worked for about a year and a half . Then I went back to school to get my masters in aquatic science (water quality). This was a research assistantship which paid for most of my classes and paid me a nice stipend as well. Then we moved and I got a full time librarian job. I became pregnant and immediately wanted to stay home. My mind changed instantly. Luckily my current boss hunted me down during this time and offered me a part time job doing water quality work for the Division of Forestry. This has been a perfect job for me as I raised my babies. It has been very, very flexible, and allows me to both keep one foot in the professional world while being the kind of mom I want to be. Now I am able to mostly work from home, when it is convenient for us. The pay isn't grand, but the flexibility and ability for me to be a stay at home mom means much more than money to me.

Due to the economy many in this nation are on a razor's edge about the continuation of jobs, I am no different. Brayden will soon be going to Kindergarten, 3 short months!!! This opens up more time for me to work more, perhaps find a new job, and bring more money into the household savings and budget. However I am reluctant. First of all I refuse to send my kids off in the summer, I want and need to be there with them through those precious weeks. I had these kids to raise them and I don't want to outsource that job. They grow up way too fast. I want to have home cooked meals for them during the school year. I want to raise a garden and put it away for the winter, I want to make gifts and necessities for my family by hand. I want time to read a book, take a hike, to truly live. I will not be a slave to money, I never have wanted to be. I enjoy having extra money, but I also enjoy being frugal. It really can be fun, check out Katy at the Non-Consumer Advocate. The career paths that my husband and I took were never big money makers anyway. We got into natural resource conservation because that is our passion and money be damned. We knew we would never be paid what we were worth. Wouldn't I be still working for natural resource conservation if I chose not to drive to work and use more gas, grow my own vegetable and teach my children about all these things? Not to mention instilling our knowledge and love of the natural world to our children so that they treat it love and respect. I think that that is wonderful use of my hard earned education that has so prepared me for this moment. Not that I won't have a "job" for pay. I plan to keep my current position as long as the budget allows, and perhaps even look for another part time job in natural resources, ideally a work from home job. But if it doesn't work with our family's needs, then I will have to decline. Family first.

I remember when first voiced my desire to stay home (before my forestry job appeared) people said that I was wasting my education. Now that I have been at this job of mothering for 6.5 years I see that nothing is further from the truth.

Crafty Bdafty

2011-04-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason our family will add a Bd to the front of words to be silly. Crafty Bdafty, silly bdilly, stinker bdinker. You get the idea. Anyhooo, I have been doing several crafts lately that I wanted to share. I also have several to make as well with mother's day and teacher appreciation week coming up!! But here is what I have been working on the last few weeks.

Birthday shirt for my nephew.

Little man tie onsies for friend's babies.

Shirt for my girl. Tutorial from Calli at the Make It Do blog.

Easter bags for my kiddos, make Brayden's (on right) a bit too big!! he he! Also the white shelf was an ugly stained old thing I rescued from the basement and gave a new life in our entry way.

New Home & Spring To Do List

2011-04-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

The flower bed I put in last week. We scored some free plants to get it started. Bleeding hearts shown here, many more plants to come!

There is always lots to do outdoors and indoors in the spring. But there is even more when you have just moved into a house. Here is a partial list of the things we need to get done with the house and yard. It may be 3 years before we get everything crossed off, but at least we have goals, right?!

- Make drapes for entry/craft/computer room
- Make drapes for living room
- Paint entry room
- Paint Brayden's room
- Paint Brenna's room
- Paint our room
- Paint white portion exterior and shudders
- Paint Basement
- ~~Paint shelf from basement for entryway~~
- ~~Repair & paint celings where new light fixtures were hung~~
- Put in new storm doors (3) 2-done! 2/3 of the way there
- ~~Put in new back door leading to deck~~
- Put in new entryway door
- New faucets for kid's sinks
- New track lights for living room.
- ~~Power wash~~ and stain deck
- Put lattice on bottom of deck
- Make playhouse for kids
- ~~Establish~~ & plant veggie garden
- ~~Establish & plant flower garden around deck~~
- ~~Remove rock~~ and clay from front flower bed
- Plant front flower bed
- Paint basement
- Fix drywall in basement
- Install new windows
- Install new gutters
- Get more gravel for the driveway

But when the rain stops my #1 priority is to hang the hammock, because with all the work we need to do, we will need a place to take a short rest between jobs!!
Enjoy spring!!!

Thrifting Fun

2011-04-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

Well thrifting season has begun. And this year I will have a "new" partner to go with me, my hubby. With the new job he will work only a few weekend so will be able to go with me. I have already scored several good finds, a 50 cent pair of Gap capri's for me as well as a $1 pair of docker pants. He was a bit skeptical until he found a booth with a BUNCH of tools, then he was sold. He found several hard to find and useful tools for only $2 in all. At our town's city garage sale held at the fairgrounds on Saturday I scored this. I LOVE it!!

It's a piece of stained glass, used as a window valance, only $10!

A lady who is a stained glass artist gets these pieces from the glass factory, she said that this is how they roll out of the press, hence the irregular bottom shape. I plan on getting more of these from her when she has more of them. She also suggested putting some decorative beads on the hanging wire to dress it up a bit. Can't wait to see what other treasures I'll find this year!

Spring Break Part II, Tennessee

2011-04-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

We spent the second half of our spring break at my brother's, south of Nashville, TN. Since my niece & nephew's spring break was the week before we had two days to fill while they were at work and school. Anyone wanna venture a guess what we did??? HIKE of course!!

Henry Horton State Park, right on the Duck River. Most biologically diverse river in the nation! The kids were hopping around on all these cool rocks and we saw a black vulture walking away from us slowly. I told the kids that it was probably nesting nearby since they are ground nesters. Sure enough Brenna found these.

Black vulture eggs!

Stillhouse Hollow Falls (Isn't that a great name?!)

75 feet tall

When my bro got home we took a hike at this natural area near his house.

Jacob, Brenna, Anna & Brayden with the prickly pear cactus that grows native in these very dry cedar glade habitats that are common is this area of TN.

Old abandoned home, we found a rare wood, or pack rat hiding under an old door here. He was the cutest rat ever (and I'm not a rat fan!).

Then my husband spotted some cool old bottles under the house and stuck his hand under there to grab them and very nearly grabbed this juvenile timber rattlesnake! That was close!!

My only sibling, James.

I discovered the reason that this place is called Cheeks Bend. My husbands butt cheeks were bending when he saw how close the kids were walking to the edge of the bluff!

Loved this view from the bluffs, a huge field of native grasses.

Prickly Pear on the edge of the bluff.

We had a great time and weren't ready to come home! It was nice to get a vacation and time with family and friends!

Spring Break Part I, Kentucky

2011-04-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

Went back to my childhood home to visit my parents and other family & friends.

Brayden helping my dad drive the tractor.

Pictures from our trip to the Owensboro Museum of History & Technology.

I took the kids to the barns on our farm to explore, I spent many hours in these barns growing up.

Brenna holding a bird's nest she found in the barn. The grass is soo green!

With our visit with our friends Becky, Tim & Thomas at Pennyrile State Park, where Becky is the naturalist.

Can't believe this park is only 1 hour from where I grew up and I had never been there.

The two red-heads!

Exploring our new town

2011-04-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Sunken Gardens

Black squirrels are a common sight around this county.

Salamonie Reservoir

Forget Hallmark

2011-03-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

My tummy wasn't feeling so great today. Brenna came in this morning to snuggle and laid her head on my belly, I told her to please not because my tummy was hurting. She immediately ran to the craft room and made this get well card for me. I love it.

How my baby boy came to be

2011-03-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

I just remembered that I promised to tell the story of how Brayden came to be when his birthday rolled around. His story is much different than Brenna's but still quite miraculous in it's own right.

So we were in the spring of 2005 and adjusting to our new role as parents. Brenna was a very pleasant baby. She slept pretty well, ate well and was very happy. We were totally in love and in awe of this little person that God had given to us. I remember telling Jeremy around this time that I would be fine if we never had another, because we couldn't afford to go through the fertility treatments again.

In early spring I remember getting some really sharp pains in my abdomen, these persisted till I went to my doctor. He did an X-ray to see what he could find. He came in with the film and told me that I was full of poop! I told him that I didn't need a medical professional to tell me that, people have been telling me that my whole life! He wanted to some tests to see what was going on. I was having normal post partum symptoms; tired, losing hair and full of poop. Every single little symptom I had was in the "What to expect" books on things that happen in that first 6 months after having a baby. So I wasn't expecting the results the doc gave me at the next visit. He walked in and looked at me and said "I would have never guessed by looking at you but you but you have Hypothyroidism." He went on to check my reflexes, which were non-existant, this is also a clinical sign. He then told me the normal levels for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) is between 0.3-3.0, mine was at 136. Crazy high in other words. This is where it gets confusing. Hypothyroidism is where your thyroid is not functioning correctly and not putting out enough thyroid hormone. TSH is high because it is trying to stimulate the thyroid to work. He did some more test to tell my the cause of my hypothyroidism. The diagnosis was Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that ends up distroying the thyroid. This can be hereditary, and all my aunts and grandmother on my paternal side have thyroid problems. They were never diagnosed with Hashimoto's but I wouldn't doubt that it was the cause for some. I have recently found out that my uncle and cousin on the paternal side also have thyroid issues now too. So please inquire about your family history. Thyroid problems are fairly easy to manage, I just take one pill a day that gives me the thyroid hormone that my body can no longer make. But there can be life threatning complications if thyroid disease is not managed.

Also hypothyroidism is a big cause of infertility. Not that this information bothered me anyway, we kinda had issues in this area anyway right? So I thought it was odd when I began getting up to pee in the middle of the night. (My very first sign of pregnancy with Brenna). I let it go for a week, then told Jeremy, " I know I can't be pregnant but I am having the same symptoms." He said, "no way", of course. So while I was at the drugstore one day I picked up a test. Jeremy couldn't believe that I picked up a test, I mean he was sterile from chemo and radiation, right? This wasn't even a possiblity. So imagine our surprise when the little strip turned pink for pregnant. We were in shock. Disbelief. No way. Then realized we needed to call the doctor quick to see if the thyroid medicine would harm a fetus. He told us no, in fact that it woud be harmful if I didn't have the medicine. My doctor couldn't believe that I had gotten pregnant, as it would have happened before I had even started thyroid medicine and my thyroid levels very low.

We decided not to tell anyone until the pregnancy was at least 2 months along just in case there were any complications. Very soon after finding out I was pregnant and trying to get my thyroid regulated I came down with very sore throat and was told by the doc that I had mono. After doing some research about thyroid disease I found out that it isn't uncommon for people to get mono very near the time they are diagnosed with thyroid problems. I remember one of the nurses being very empathic. She said of all the things that make you very tired, early pregnancy, hypothyroidism and mono are the worst and you have all 3 at once. She could relate as she was a mom and had hypothyroidsm herself. I was tired, but it didn't keep me from going. After all I had a 8 month old to chase after. Brenna was starting to get very mobile at this stage. The doc and I decided that due to my health complications that it would be best if I stopped nursing, my body was doing enough. That didn't bother me too much, because I knew I'd have another one very soon. Nursing was one of my favorite parts of my children's babyhood. They were both good nursers and I had an easy time with it. It is such a relaxing bonding experience.

So you think we were surprised to be pregnant, you should have seen everyone elses faces when we made the announcement. We were at Versailles for our big family campout and decided that while everyone was there, even both sets of grandparents, it would be a good time to tell everyone. I'll never forget the shock on my parents face. Remember, we didn't think Jeremy was fertile. Well, apparently there was at least one good man in there!! I also remember my sister-in-law's reaction. She just couldn't comprehend it, she and everyone was astonished. A free baby, a precious gift from God! Against MANY odds Brayden made his way to us. We were surprised too, I mean Brenna was only 6 months old when we got pregnant and almost 8 months when we found out. They would only be 16 months apart!

Brayden started to make his way into this world on March 11 2006. I was in labor at home for 12 hrs, and we drove to the hospital (which was only 25 minutes away this time!) and had him exactly 2 hours later. He popped out started screaming, and showed us his beautiful dimples. We didn't find out the sex with him so it was exciting to have the doc announce, "It's a BOY!" They laid him on my chest, cord still attached and he promptly peed all over me!

I gave birth to both with no epidural. One of the nurses told me later that I was one heck of a woman. I told her thanks but I just was too scared to have that huge needle in my back. She said when I was pushing (there may have been some screaming here!) that a woman just coming in to deliver asked if there was a problem in my room. The nurse said no, she just is having a natural birth with no epidural. I'm sure that I convinced her to have one!

Having two that close together is like having twins. There was double diapers for over a year and a half. Other mom's who had children close together told me it would be very hard at the beginning but got much better, and they were right. As they have gotten older their being so close in age has helped greatly because they can relate to one another because they are developmentally so similar. Brenna was so young when he was born that jealousy was never a factor, which was a blessing.

So there you go, Brayden's story. I can say I truly have two miracle babies. They were both very wanted and loved.

All In

2011-03-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

Brayden (3) and I at Falls of the Ohio.

Brenna (4) & I at Columbus Hospital during her appendicitis ordeal, this was a whole day before she was diagnosed and taken to Riley for emergency surgery.

I admit, I'm not one of those girls who dreamed of becoming a mommy. Heck, I'm not even one of the girls that dreamed about her wedding day. But when the time was right we knew it was time to plunge into the waters of parenthood. I know being a mom is part of my journey and it is growing me so much. I am growing up right along side of both of you.

My mom was a full time mom. I remember saying to her one day, when she asked me if I would stay home with my kids, "No way! I'll have a job." While I do have a part-time job, that is mostly at home work, I am still what I would consider a stay at home mom. Crazy what your brain taking a bath in hormones and 20 digits can do to a person. I changed my tune as soon as I became pregnant, vowing to try to stay home. I have worked part time since you all where born and have been able to be with you most of the time. Sometimes I question if that really was the best thing for you.

What I mean by that is, well.... I'm far from super mom. I yell, less than I used to when Brenna's terrible 3's almost killed us all, I nod and pretend I'm listening when I'm really not. I say things I regret that you will probably tell your shrink about someday. I tell you I'm gonna fix that hole or read that book and if I do get around to it, it may be 3 weeks later. I get impatient when you talk incessantly, especially through my favorite song or when I'm on the phone, or get whiny. I plug you into the TV so I can have a completed thought or chore. I put housework before you. I think of so many fun things we could do together and I never actually do them.

Other times when I am present, in the moment, it's like a scene from "7th Heaven". I listen to your problems and help you work through them. We take hikes and I describe things to you, trying not to overwhelm you with my nature knowledge. I make your favorite meal out of the blue. I apologize for being a grump. Sometimes I even put aside my to do list just to do fun things with you. I tell you I love you and kiss you WAY too many times in a day. I tear up at little things like you reading to me, getting off the bus or saying I love you to your sibling. I make you presents and desserts.

You have both taught me so much, you are my teachers. And I hope that the positive list will get longer as our journey continues and the negative list will get smaller. I have grown more spiritually and mentally in the last 6 years than in my whole life and I know that we are just at the beginning. I pray for guidance everyday as well as peace and joy on this journey. There is nothing, besides my marriage to your dad, I take more seriously that being your mom. Know that I have put it all in for you.

The Kid's New Hangout

2011-03-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

The kids have a new "favorite place" as I used to call it when I was little. This hollow log is where I believe we will spend a lot of time this year. It's only about a half mile walk on a trail from our back yard. When the lake floods it washes up a lot of large woody debris. It also kills a lot of the trees that grow in this area as they are flood intolerant. So there are many logs to choose from. It looks like the area will be pretty overgrown with vines come summer however so we'll have to do most of our exploring during cooler, less green times.

Gus is fattening up after his adventure this winter.

Another hollow log, that is standing. I photographed this one in a previous post.

Set set over the lake, this is the life!!

Brayden's 5!

2011-03-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Wowsa, that took forever to post. I upgraded to the new version of blogger and found it rather interesting to work with. I'm sure I'll adjust. At least you can copy and paste pictures now!

All that interesting business aside, my little boy turned 5 on Saturday. His Grandma decided to have a surprise party for him on Friday night when we arrived there and it was fun for him. He acted shy and embarrassed but he liked it. We had a great train ride and trip the the Chicago Science & Industry Museum. So much train stuff there! We all enjoyed it and had a great family day.

Cake I made for Brayden.

The birthday boy and his cousins, Abby, Drew, baby Natalie, Sammy, Livy, Sister Brenna, and Sophie, Mom and Aunt Tara holding the littles.

Brayden sportin' the tie shirt I made him.

Getting ready to depart.

Brayden loved watching the scenery go by as we rode.

U-505 Submarine at the Chicago Science & Industry Museum.

Brayden getting two earfulls.

Abby and Brayden driving the sub, they accomplished their misson. I, on the other hand, got blown up!

Spoiled vs. Loved

2011-03-10T06:37:00.001-08:00

What is the difference between a child being spoiled and loved? Big difference, HUGE difference. I began thinking about this recently when I told a family member our plans for Brayden's birthday on Saturday.

Brayden is in love with trains right now. We have train cd's and books from the library, he has a whistle and engineer hat, and loves his train set. So we decided the best gift for his birthday would be to take him to ride on a real train. So we will travel to Jeremy's parents and board the Indiana South Shore Line. Jeremy granfather happened to be a conductor for this line! So several of Jeremy's family are going to go with us to Chicago and go to the Science and Industry Museum, which also has several train exhibits. We told Brayden that this was his gift. He is beyond thrilled, he is counting down the days. Of course we both made him something for his birthday too, but we will not buy anything except some ice cream to go with the cake I'll make. So when I told this family member about our plans for Brayden's 5th birthday he said half jokingly, "He's spoiled rotten." To which I took no offense because I know this person so well. His family never celebrated birthdays and anything other than a cake and ice cream is deemed extravagant.

This did get me thinking about spoiled vs. loved. A child that is spoiled is given lots of stuff, but not lots of time. Stuff can never replace presence. They are allowed to do what ever they want, and not given proper discipline. After all, discipline (not the same a punishment) takes time. We have to talk, talk, talk and be good examples and wait for all that to sink in and take root in our child's heart. A spoiled child is made to think he is the most important person, instead a part of a whole. Think of the spoiled children you know, and I'm sure you know some!, they are self absorbed and entitled. Pretty sure that isn't who my children are, although they have their moments!! I have just begun reading a new book entitiled "Raising Unselfish Children in a Self-Absorbed World" by Jill Rigby. Resources like this can help us make sure we don't fall into the trap of letting our kids becoming spoiled. Giving a child a fertile home ground in which to grow mentally, spiritually and physically is not spoiling them. It's giving them what they deserve.

Tooth pillow & T-shirt necktie

2011-03-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

My girl may be the last child in her class that has not yet lost a tooth. Of course she was 10 months old before she got her first tooth. She has one that is starting to get loose. I saw this tutorial for this super cute monster tooth pillow that will hold the tooth for the tooth fairy and hold the money too. Couldn't resist making it. The fabric and buttons are all vintage from my grandmothers stash of scrap fabric and buttons that was given to me, since I'm the only one in the family that still sews.

Back of the monster. I love this fabric, it is in several quilts that my grandmother made.

Love the details on these old buttons. Wish buttons still were only 10 cents!

Super easy, no sew project! Just cut fabric in a tie shape and heat n bond it on! This is a birthday gift for my sweet boy who will turn 5 on Saturday!

Landscaping...Or Lack Thereof

2011-03-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

Nothing. No herbacious plants period. No flowerbeds, no bushes, nothing! I think a house with no landscaping looks naked. Not the good kind of naked either!! Thankfully the yard has quite a bit of nice trees, including several of my favorite trees, Bald Cypress. There is sort of an empty bed between the front of the house and the sidewalk. However this area was covered with plastic sheeting and covered with landscaping stone. I HATE landscaping stone. Have you ever tried to plant anything in a bed of rocks? Pain in the tochas! I prefer mulch, which actually adds some nutrients back to the earth and retains some water. And I think it looks much better. Anyway, my first landscaping chore is to move this stone somewhere else so that this bed is ready to work with. I have been putting it in buckets and carrying it to put around the base of the house in areas where there will be no plantings. Brayden has been helping a lot, although he can only carry 2-3 shovels full of stones in his bucket. It's been a good workout! We aslo need to paint the white front of the house and the black shudders a different color. They really don't match the tan well. Suggestions would be appreciated!

Front of the house, no landscaping. Yes the white stuff is still piles of snow!

We have a deck in the back. We would like to put some lattice around the bottom so all the critters don't decide this is their party deck (Including Gus!). We may include some railing too. Need a good power wash and staining as well. As you can see big fat 0 landscaping here too, minus the nice little tree.

I plan on making the strip between the patio and deck into a bed.

Also plan to have a small bed all the way around the deck.

I won't know what to do will full sun!! Our last home had no full sun and I had to grow all shade plants.

The front of the house is east NE facing so it gets quite a lot of shade. So I'm planning on Rhododendrons, azaleas, hydrangeas, hostas, astilbes and hopefully some wildflowers taken romt the woods. I also plan to get a Red Osier Dogwood from the woods. These have beautiful bright red twigs that add lots of winter interest. I will be able to get the hostas for free!

In the back I have a free butterfly bush that I can put in and I would also like some warm season grasses, I will get those for free too! Hostas under the little tree by the deck. I also want to try some Pulmoniaria. I also want to put in a Contorted Hazelnut tree. I don't even know where to start on the full sun plants so many to choose from! I'll probably try to go "native" as much as I can. So consider these the before pictures. I look forward to showing you the "after" pictures although it may take a few years to get all this done and for things to grow large enough to look decent!

Contorted Hazelnut branches.

Cash system / Coupon organizer

2011-02-22T18:29:00.000-08:00

I have made 5 of these now and have found them to be extremely handy. We are on the Dave Ramsey cash budget system. This system holds up very well under lots of use. I used this tutorial but tweaked it a bit. I used a button and hair band for a fastener instead of a snap like the tutorial used. I think you can fancy it up a bit this way. These are the first creations on my new sewing machine that my Aunt Linda gave me. Thanks Aunt Linda! I love it!

Snowy walk

2011-02-16T14:36:00.000-08:00

I took Gus on a long hike behind the house the other day. My calves are still sore from hiking through the over 10 inches of snow still on the ground. It was a beautiful day.

Roush Lake. Basically just the dammed Wabash River.

Pond right behind our house.

1st creation in the new house

2011-02-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

Need a pouch for my external hard drive. I was looking through my fabric and saw an old pair of shorts with a pocket perfect for such a thing. Then while I was doing that I began to think it woudl also make a cute purse for a little girl (not my girl, she's way too tomboy for that!). My niece just had a birthday so I transformed this old pocket into a purse. Easy and fun!!

I cut the hem off of the shorts to use for the handle.

Then I glued on ribbon and sewed on this little crochet flower that I cut off an old pair of Brenna's jeans. Voila! Finished product! Still haven't finished the pouch for the hard drive!

Gus Returns!!

2011-02-15T07:11:00.000-08:00

The kids were thrilled to get their buddy Gus back!

Notice his pink lips from having his nose to the ground hunting for days. He also very ripped up ears and thorns stuck in him everywhere.

Jeremy took Gus hunting the Tuesday before we moved, 6 days before departure. Of course he hit a deer trail and was gone in the middle of nowhere on Hoosier National Forest property. He usually turns up at someone's house within a few days and we get a call since his tags have our number on them. But the call never came. It was very cold and there was snow. Things didn't look good. He's very spry for his age (10.5) but by the 5th day we figured there was no way he was alive, so we moved without him. We hated that he didn't come back but resigned ourselves to the fact that he died doing what he loves, hunting. We moved on Monday Jan 31st, just before a nasty winter storm hit the state. Here we received lots of snow but down south in our previous home they got a lot of ice. On Friday Feb 4th my husband got a call. Our friend Lorraine, who lives near where Gus was lost, and often dog sits him for us, had found him walking up her drive that morning. He was very skinny but happy to see a friendly face. We couldn't believe that after 11 days he had made it!! Jeremy had to return to Brown County for a meeting the next week so he picked him up. The kids were so happy to see him, as were we. He is still skinny and wants to eat all the time. He is getting to stay in for now and get pampered alot, which he is enjoying. Hopefully he will not run off anymore, but then, I guess he just wouldn't be himself if he didn't!!

Snowman & Interior Illumination

2011-02-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

The snow melted a bit and Jeremy and the kids made a snowman in our front yard. I think every yard looks much happier with a snowman!
We needed all new lights, register covers, smoke alarms and doorbell for the house. So we headed to the store yesterday and came home with a carload of things. Jeremy wasted no time getting to work and replaced 7 light fixtures yesterday. Only two left to go. Brayden and I worked on the new register covers. He proved to be a big help in changing the registers under the beds! He also loved helping dad and handing him things. He is such a helper.

New dining room light. Most of the old lights were both old and hideous!

Before kitchen lights.

After kitchen lights! Notice how the painting is nicely illuminated! We still have to fix the celing here, but HUGE improvement!

Brayden helping Dad.

Picture of Brenna before she went to school this am. I thought she looked so cute, she was very reluctant to have her pic taken, as you can tell!

Move in progess

2011-02-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

I honestly can't believe how much we were able to accomplish in less than a week. All the rooms are in order with pretty much everything in it's place (for now). Some things may find a new places, but we'll have to try this arrangement for now. We worked hard at putting things up on the walls today pictures, shelves, ect. Basement and garage are still untouched, but who cares, this time of year we spend most of our time here anyway. We are doing so well I am beginning to think about crafting and sewing!! I finally got my craft/sewing/computer/office/entry way room somewhat arranged today. It will be so nice to have all of my crafting and sewing supplies in one place and not scattered throughout the house like at the other house. And having a table dedicated solely for crafts, sewing or homework will keep the dining table cleaned off and avoid any food residue on said crafts or homework! Not to mention the whole trouble of clearing the table to eat while in the middle of a project. Horray! Sewing/Craft room, window looks to the back yard.

Brenna working on the first craft to be made in the new space. A valentine for her mamaw.

Brenna in her new school shirt. The mascot is the Lancers, which thrilled Brenna as they had a sword and shield which are the same colors as the sword and shield she received from Santa!

Last but not least, our dog Gus has been found!!! He went to our friend and dog sitters house and she luckily saw him and took him inside and fed him. She said that he was VERY skinny but hopefully he will recover well. Jeremy has to return to Brown County late next week for a work meeting so he can pick him up then. Hopefully that will give him time to get fattened up.

Thanks to everyone who sent their thoughts and prayers to us in our difficult week last week. The move went extremely well, Brenna healed up quickly and Gus was finally found! God does listen!

Exploring in the snow

2011-02-03T18:22:00.000-08:00

Brayden playing on a snow pile in front of the house.Hard to tell here but the cattails looked really cool with a thin layer of shimmering ice on them.

The pond just 50 yards out our back yard.

Two cattails stuck together by ice.

Back of our house.

The kids walking down the lane that joins our yard to the pond.

Things are progressing here. I have eliminated boxes from every room except the living room. I won't even talk about the garage and basement!! The kitchen done, bedrooms are 90% done and bathrooms are as well. Still a ways to go on the living room, which is always the lowest priority. I enjoy the process of setting up a new home I thing the hardest part is yet to come. Where to put all the pictures and other decorative items.

Brenna starts school tomorrow. She seems pretty nervous but I'm sure she'll do fine. Seems like from what I read in the weekly newsletter at her new school that she may be a bit behind compared to her new class. She will catch up soon I'm sure. I'm thinking of looking for a preschool for Brayden a few days a week purely for social reasons. I think he needs to be with other kids more, especially since he seems to be a more solitary person. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I'd just like him to be well rounded. Personally I love how well he can occupy himself with no one around, even when others are around he tends to do his own thing and I like that.

We still haven't explored the surrounding community yet due to the snow and busyness of setting up a home but we are looking forward to learning this new place and people.

Settling in

2011-02-03T03:57:00.000-08:00

Kitchen nearly unpacked.

The living room is one of the last things we began working on.

Things are coming together. There has been much progress since these pictures. All the kitchen boxes are empty and have found their new homes. We have all the big pieces of furniture in the places that we want them. Now we are just trying to fill shelves and drawers. Decorations will now happen till next week at the earliest. One thing I am super excited about is that I will have a craft/sewing room!! And it's upstairs and not in the dungeon, I mean basement. I will have to take pictures when I get it in order. We are loving having such a big garage that my car fits into. It was nice not having to clean off the car after the big snow storm. We got about 8 inches of snow and sleet. The wind was the main problem though. There was already about 4 inches on the ground so there is a good foot of snow on the ground. We wanted to take a hike in the woods behind the house yesterday but couldn't find the kids snow boots. We have since found them and plan to get out today.

We also realized the benefits of living near a bit larger town (bigger than Nashville anyway). After not leaving the house for 2 days we all went in and picked up Dominos and a movie from the Redbox! There were no videos available in Nashville except at the library so this was a treat. Not that we will do that kind of thing a lot, but it sure is nice to have the option. We haven't been able to explore the town or surrounding area yet due to the storm but hope to get out soon.

Update: Ok, last week I was at my wit's end with moving and a sick child and a lost dog. Brenna is doing great and ready to go to school, although she is a bit nervous. Her new school has been out due to the snow storm and will hopefully resume tomorrow. She is missing her friends and I caught her setting on the couch looking at a picture of herself and her friend Londyn. Poor girl. But really she seems to be adjusting well. I guess we will see how well once she starts school.

Gus however, never returned. I guess he was protesting the move. I always assumed that our time with Gus would end with him running off, since he was so prone to that. He had run off so many times that every time we expected it to be his last time. Our main concern was the kids reaction but they have been surprisingly ok with it. They have been playing "Gus" and talking about him eating a deer and finding a new home, so I guess they are making their own stories of what they think happened to him. They also asked to get a puppy already!

Life moves on and we with it.

We're off

2011-01-31T04:16:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe everything I own is in this truck right now!

Heading out today. I'll post some pics soon. The truck should have thrown up it's contents into our new place by this afternoon right before a blizzard hits. Old man winter says "Welcome to the North KY girl!!"

REALLY????

2011-01-26T06:16:00.000-08:00

A whole household to move by Monday, a girl who is sick (AGAIN) with 103 fever and a dumbass beagle who ran off again while hunting. Lovley I tell you, lovely.

It's never easy to say goodbye

2011-01-24T21:46:00.000-08:00

We ended last week with a few snow days and a birthday party for Brenna's friend Londyn. Little Londyn was so sweet and wanted to have her birthday also be a going away party for Brenna. We weren't sure we were going to make it Brenna had been up all night with a stomach virus and a pretty high fever. An hour before the party was to begin she still had a fever but we were pretty sure she was done puking so we loaded her full of tylenol and went anyway. And I'm glad we did. She perked right up and had a great time at the party. If we hadn't gone we would have both been heart broken.

Last night there was a going away party from Jeremy's work. We had a wonderful turnout and we were so touched that so many came to bid us farewell. I think it shows what a great person my hubby really is. He will be missed and we will miss everyone and this beautiful place. We have been so blessed to call this place home for the last 6 years.

Londyn, Xyleigh and Brenna.

Ballon races, Toby, Jackson, Andino, Kia, Xyliegh and Brenna.

Xyleigh and Brenna doing a balloon race.

We got Londyn a stuffed dog that looked just like her pet dog Ruby and Jackson got Brenna one that looks just like Gus!

Jeremy and his "Little Brother" Jaydon after his basketball game.

Cakes from last nights party.

The whole gang at the party, we were so happy that so many came. We sure will miss you guys! (Love Lily doing the downward dog in front!!)

Brenna and her favorite naturalist, Brittany!!

Us with Bill & Pat, former campground hosts and adoptive grandparents!

The kids with their buddy Lorraine (Brenna calls her Little Rain) and Dalton and Cole.

Brandy and Logan. His shirt said "Eligible Bachelor"!!

These are the things that I'll miss

2011-01-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

We will miss living somewhat near to Jeremy's grandparents.

We will miss our yard and the split rail fence. I'll always remember the kids setting on it waiting for daddy to come home from work and then running to his truck to help him drive in the driveway.

I will miss our free access to both the indoor and outdoor pools here! :-(

Our house. I really love about 95% of everything about it, and you can't beat the setting.

The overlook in my backyard and all the overlooks in every season but especially fall.

The prolific local aritist and the beautiful landscape they capture. I will miss the hills and log cabins.

Big Woods Brewery, we didn't go there alot due to the no kids rule but loved it just the same.

Our beautiful little village of Nashville, IN and all the wonderful friends we have made here in the last 6 years. Here is Brenna with her best friend Londyn at the annual big wheel race in town.

We will miss the many trails right out the front door. This is what my kids call the "troll bridge" it is only about 1/3 of a mile from our house and we love to walk there and let them pretend, that's my dad peekin over the edge.

We will also greatly miss our church and our pediatrician(thank your for saving our girl's life!) the Toy Chest (I've been told by one of the folks there that I am thier favorite customer! I like to play with the wind up toys!), the free speakers at IU, concerts at the Bluebird in Bloomintgon, the Wonderlab and good times fishing, boating and camping at Lake Monroe. We have had a wonderful life here but now it is time for the next chapter and we can't wait to start writing it.

Leaving the Big Woods

2011-01-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

6 years 2 children lots of laughs, and a few tears (mostly the kids!) later we are leaving the Big Woods. My husband decided to pursue is dream of actually managing the land for wildlife instead of tourism. So we are leaving state parks and going to fish & wildlife. He's looking forward to much less overtime (unpaid), paper pushing and people managing and a lot more time doing hands on work. We are moving by February so we will be super busy preparing for that. Looks like we are going to get Brenna in the best school in the district and we really like the house (these jobs provide housing since you live on the property). I'll post some pics of it soon.

There are so many people, places and things that we will miss about our beautiful home. We have lived here longer than anywhere since we married. This will be our 4th place that we have lived in Indiana since we got married. We always knew that this would not be where we would stay. We honestly stayed here much longer than I ever expected. We have many goodbyes to say in the next few weeks, many items to pack and many details to arrange. But God is good and we know the plans for us are good!

2011 One Word

2011-01-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

TRANSITION

Mid-Winter's Hike

2011-01-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

The kids and I took a hike here at the park on Monday before Brenna had to return to school from Christmas break. It was a beautiful day.

Frozen colums of water that pushed up out of the soil. The kids had a blast stomping on these.

We love finding strangely shaped trees.

Got this fleece hoodie for both the kids for Christmas, the cool thing is that it has pull-over mittens! Very HANDY! Don't have to deal with the kids losing them!

Another funky tree!!

2011 Word of the Year

2011-01-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

So I don't really get into resolutions. I may informally think, I want to do this or that this year but I don't turn in into a resolution. And why would I wait till the beginning of the year to change something if I need to? All that being said I do like to have a vision and goals for the upcoming year. Last year I started doing word of the year. My word last year was create. I said I would see at the end of the year to see if that really was the word of the year, and I believe it really was. I created lots of things this year, crafts, foods, canned goods. I did notice that in the midst of all this creating that my reading took a serious hit. So I'd really like to read more this year. I missed it! As for the word of the year 2011, I have something in mind but need a little more time to make sure this really is the word of the year. Hopefully I'll post my word by the end of the week. What is your word of the year??

Christmas Full of Blessings

2010-12-30T05:51:00.001-08:00

We travel south to see my family then we traveled north to see his family. We had a great time everywhere we went and got to see almost all our family and some friends. I really didn't want anything for Christmas but was given some great gifts. Jeremy's parents gave all of the couples a night at a local bed and breakfast while she watched all (except the newest baby) 9 kids!! Then my Aunt Linda surprised me with a sewing machine!!! All I wanted was everyone to have a great Christmas and I got my wish!

Christmas with southern family (KY).

Christmas at home.

Brayden's favorite gift!

Christmas with northern family (Northern IN). Brayden and cousin Maddie were twins

Drew "Bear" in his bear gear!

Brenna and Abby wearing the shirts that Abby designed for her school.

All the kids decorated gingerbread houses that Aunt Kate and Uncle AJ made for them.

Brayden's first time ice skating. We were able to skate, sled and ice fish at Jeremy's parents pond.

Brenna skating with her Grandad.

Jackie with the only catch of the day!

Livy lost her 9th tooth!

Sweet Sophie

Sweet Baby Natalie.

Santa cookies, last minute gifts and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2010-12-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

Brenna really getting into making Santa's cookies!
Jeremy has made these of all of our nieces and nephews and some friends' kids as well. This is for our newest niece.

Last present I'm making this year!! Whoo hoo.

Felt egg books, these were fun to make!

These will great for traveling to see grandparents!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

2010-12-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

More elving at our house. We had Christmas with my family this weekend so late last week we were a flurry of activity putting on the finishing touches.

The head elf decided she deserved a new cash system wallet!

PHOTOS, albums, calendars, and ornaments. Most of these were taken by my lovely and talented friend Brook, who I love to brag about! Not only is she a talented photographer she is an awesome person in general!

Mod Podging photos onto tree cookies for ornaments and coasters.

Homemade granola.

Some finished products ready to be given.

Hope your last minute preparations are filled with fun and excitement.

Winter Morning

2010-12-13T05:24:00.000-08:00

Present progress

2010-12-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

This is travel size pillowcase (great for kiddos) is made from vintage fabric and tread that I found at garage sales. Fun!

Thanks to my model Brayden. This is for his cousin, so no surprise ruined.

I got my machine back a week ago and have been making some progress on present making. It hasn't been without it's frustrations however. My "fixed" machine is not so fixed. This produced a special kind of anger for me as its only 2 weeks till Christmas people and I have many more projects to complete. With my limping machine and with the lending of my friends machine yesterday I still have had some progress. I still have finishing touches to put on the fleece hats and the mittens and scarf. I also still have 3 pairs of pants to make, two money holders, two felt egg books, and I'm sure a few other things that escape me at the moment. But I'm getting there and for the most part it's been fun. Hope your holiday preparations are enjoyable!

Thinking of my WWII connections on Pearl Harbor Day

2010-12-07T06:44:00.000-08:00

Both of my grandfathers were in World War II. I know my mother's father was in the infantry and was shot and thus sent home. I really don't know a lot of his story but would like to know more. My dad's father was also in the war and was with the 818th Engineering Division and would lay down runways for airplanes and make bridges, many times behind enemy lines. His suitcase from the war is filled with pictures, maps, cards from home and other memorabilia from his time in Europe. I intend to archive these so that they are preserved and made more access able to our family. I really have no idea where to begin so if anyone has any suggestions or information they could point me to I would be grateful. When I was home a couple of weeks back I took a few pictures, just a sampling of the hundreds of photos that are in the suitcase. I wanted to share these with you on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th. The day the the U.S. was forced to enter the war. I don't agree with war, however I have always felt like this was a war that was a necessary evil to stop Evil. What would our lives today be like if we had not succeeded in doing so?

My Grandaddy's suitcase from the war, with family photos inside. The woman by the tree is my grand mother. She waited 3 years, 3 months and 3 days for him to return from the war. They married when she was 33.

Piles of photos in the suitcase.
A German Police helmet plate. I can't imagine the story that goes with this.

The back of this photo state that it is a crematorium at a concentration camp.

Notice the Nazi airplane in this picture.

The 818th laying down an airplane runway.

I don't think I even need to tell you what this is, horrifying.

My grandaddy in the middle.

This book is full of names and addresses, it would be neat to track them all down.

I would like to do more posts on this subject as I work on the project more, hopefully in the new year. I have some really interesting stories about my grandad's time in the war.

Too blessed to be stressed

2010-12-03T06:04:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays. I love the decorating, parties, events, food, and preparations. However these months can be overwhelming and stressful if you let them be. Especially when you are making presents. I love making presents but sometimes (I know you all never do this) I get so set on making them perfect and getting them done when I think they should be that all the joy of making turns into stressful cursing. (When the kids are in bed or the basement of course!) This year I am being given a lesson in patience and peace as my machine (I know I've already mentioned this) is STILL in the shop. Hoping it will be done today. Anyhoo....I haven't let myself get worked up about it and am focusing on other things. I know I'll get the presents done that require sewing. Maybe they won't be wrapped up and finished a week ahead but who really cares. They will get done and darn it this time I am going to enjoy the process not just the finished product. But I am feeling pretty ahead in other areas. The house is pretty much decorated except for the tree. We hope to get it tomorrow and snow is in the forecast! Perfect! I have most of my cards completed and ready to send off. I have not done much shopping but really only shop for my kids anyway along with a few other odds and ends.

So we really are feeling the Christmas spirit this year and plan to keep it that way! No Bah Humbugs for us!

Address Book

2010-11-30T06:34:00.000-08:00

I began to write out addresses on envelopes yesterday for Christmas cards. I usually don't do it this way. Usually I print the addresses onto a label sheet and just stick them on. But since our computer went down in the summer I haven't reconstructed the list and thought it would be just as easy to write them by hand, prettier too. I began in alphabetical order writing address down. As I looked though the book I began to think about changes that occur in all our lives. So many phone numbers and addresses had been erased and changed. Some folks had moved across the country, others to another country. Several had divorced and moved, and several had died. I don't erase the names, address and phone numbers of the friends and relatives that have passed. I saw the information from both of my grandmothers, friends Kenny, Jim, Diane that have all gone on. It was a reminder that nothing in this world is stable and everything changes and that it isn't necessarily a bad thing. I always wonder when writing out my Christmas letter and sending it, what changes will happen that will make the letter next year? Who will no longer be here next year to receive it? Who will have moved on? We never know the future (thank God!) so we must live in present. I believe the present and living in it is our only access point to peace, joy and love (I call that God). So give yourself a present and be present in each moment today.