Amaris

Thought I'd share a few pics from last Saturday's baby shower for my niece.

Here she is with her big cousin Ryan.

Ohh, so sweet!! I guess they haven't figured out that's how this whole "baby" situation started! ha ha

Lindsey looks HUGE compared to Amaris!

Kaycie totally fell in love!

It looks as if Auntie Lisa has fallen in love, too! ...

But who wouldn't love this little bundle?

(Ken and Kyle weren't able to go because Kyle had a basketball game that day)

Quilty Happiness in the Mail

I can't even begin to describe how touched I am by this gift from a fellow quilter!

She sent me precut fabric and her own pattern to make an American Flag Quilt Wallhanging. How sweet is that?!
I'm itching to get started but as I've said before, I've got to complete some other projects before I allow myself to start a new one. But every once in a while, I pull this out just to look at it and to motivate me to get busy on my other things.

And look at this cute card she sent along with the package. Get this, she says "thank you for reading my blog". Ok, who should be thanking who?

So officially: Thank you, thank you, thank you to Amy for this super thoughtful gift!!! (http://www.thequiltingdiaries.blogspot.com)

I will definitely post pictures of my American Flag Quilt as soon as I get it done. I can't wait to have it hanging over my couch in the living room. Hopefully, I don't mess it up.

Lisa's Famous Bowl : courtesy of KFC

Have you ever had the KFC Famous Bowl? My boys love em! Last night Ryan requested that I make Famous Bowl's for dinner. They are super simple and very hearty/filling. So here ya are, my version:

Ingredients:

-mashed potatoes

-popcorn chicken (I made homemade by cutting up chicken breasts into bite-size pieces and coating them with flour and a little Shake -n- Bake seasoning; then cooking in some oil in a skillet.)

-simple brown gravy (make homemade or use the package mix)

-corn

-shredded cheese for melting on top

Just layer it all up in order of ingredients. It's very good!

Ups & Downs

I'm feeling a bit out of sorts today.

It's a mixture of lonliness, frustration, and bitterness.

I'm trying to remind myself of God's plan and what He is doing in my family. What things are important and what I'm needing to focus on to bring my spirits up.

First and foremost: my relationship with Jesus Christ... my time spent reading, meditating, listening, learning.

That's the most important. Lately, I have fallen in love with His word. I enjoy studying and applying it to my life. I love it when something that I have read 40 times before, all of a sudden, makes sense or really grasps me by the collar. I feel His peace and comfort most of the time and relish in the times that I can hear His gentle voice.

Second: my relationship with my husband.

It seems to take these up and down spells. Times of extreme comfort and happiness into a time of bitterness and lonliness. I'm not totally sure where my heart lies on this sometimes and communication is not always an easy thing to do.

But I also know that I love him and he loves me. We choose to love each other and are commited to this marriage and our family. God has blessed us with each other.

Third: my role as Mommy.

Oh, what a huge responsibility this is. Some days I'm totally overwhelmed with trying to raise polite, respectful gentlemen and ladies. Our society and the breakdown of the family in general has made raising "good" kids a very difficult, time-consuming thing.

I AM DETERMINED!!

With God's help, I will do the best I can and know that God has entrusted these kids to me for a reason. He has faith in me, that I can do this!! That's an incredible thought to me! He believes that I can do this! WOW. I do have an added degree of difficulty. And this is where it gets a bit personal. But with a husband who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus right now, it makes some parenting issues into problems.

All I can do is pray for him, pray for me, pray for our kids. And remember that Jesus has left me a "Helper" in the Holy Spirit to guide me and nudge me in the right direction when I need it.

Fourth: my role as a friend.

Boy do I have awesome friends. I love them and appreciate them all sooo much. They are rocks when I need it. They are fluffy pillows when I need that. My friends have a special place in my heart. I miss them and wish that we could have more time together since I've moved but God is providing.

Now that we've FINALLY found a church that we are calling "ours" and we are meeting people and getting involved in Bible study and youth group. I know that God is sending more friends my way at just the right time.

I'm down to the bottom of my pit, needing that woman to woman communication. That smile of "I totally understand where you're coming from!" . I only pray that I am as good of a friend to others as they are to me.

Jesus said that there would be trials and tribulations in this life, but not to fear for He has overcome the world!

I love that. HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD......

He loves me and knows me personally. My deepest needs, thoughts, fears, worries...

This is a verse that I keep coming back to lately.

Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Quilt Labeling?

I added a label to the back of the baby quilt that I recently finished. I'm not sure if I did it "properly".

I used a fabric marking pencil to write on some fabric left over from the quilt, then just did a basic hand stitching. Then folded the sides in, and applied some fusible web. Ironed that to the quilt.

Then I slipstitched it on to be sure it was secure.

Ok, now a question for you quilters out there:

How do you label your quilts? Any instructions I could use in the future?

The Hens are Happy

Now I know this is weird for those of you who do not have chickens, but for those of you who do, I know you understand!

My hens are happy! Maybe it's the days getting a little bit longer, maybe it's the sunshine we've been having, whatever it is, I'm happy too.

At one point I had 12 hens. I am down to only 5 because of various reasons (wild critters having meals, sickness and disease). But these 5 are giving me 3 eggs every day for the past week and a 1/2.

Isn't that a pretty sight?! ya know, you have to agree with me. And there is another 1/2 dozen in the frig.

The best part is Ruth is laying again. That's the Araucana, she lays the greenish eggs. I was worried that she was done with the whole producing eggs business but she has surprised us with getting back on the "bandwagon". Good girl!

Ok sorry for the weird, country girl, hillbilly, hick, backwoods talk!

And another interesting animal talent:

Lindsey spotted Diego up in the tree this morning. So we watched him for awhile as he climbed around in those little branches way up high.

As i watched him, I began to ponder the amazing talents God has provided to different animals. I'm glad that I was not responsible for creation. How boring it would be!!

But yet His creation was accomplished in only a few days! That's amazing!

Think of the anteater, the rhino, the giraffe, whales, monkeys. They all have unusual distinctive qualities that only God could have dreamed up!

Really think about it! Kinda mind boggling all the ways He designed the critters of this earth.

My First "Done" Quilt!

Yeah... I finally completed a complete quilt! I have done alot of looking at other quilts and reading quilt blogs to learn and get inspired.

but ssshhh. It's a secret... at least until Saturday. That is when I will give it to my new niece, Amaris, at her baby shower.

I am proud of it but I'm also painfully aware of each little pucker, each odd measured piece, each uneven section of the binding. But I know this is all part of the learning process... plus, it wouldn't be handmade without some little oddities, right? Hopefully the ladies at the shower won't inspect it too closely!

I'm still debating whether or not I will add a label to the back. I guess it might be important in the future for my name and the date and Amaris' name to be on it.

I followed very precise instructions to make the actual blocks but then the rest was a fun creative process. I added the dark pink sashing, and the 2 borders and thought that would be it. But the more I looked at it, I could tell it needed something more.

So the patchwork border was my answer to that, and I really like it. It brings all the colors and fabrics together.
The binding was basically whatever fabric I had enough of to go all the way around the quilt.

The backing is my favorite fabric in the whole thing. I love it because it has a little old-fashioned, girly quality to it.

I HOPE THEY LIKE IT... I ESPECIALLY HOPE THAT LITTLE AMARIS MERCEDES LIKES BEING WRAPPED UP IN IT!!

This has definitely been a "Labor of LOVE"!

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

This is a 1976 Better Homes & Gardens Recipe.

Anything with chocolate and cream cheese must be delicious, right?!

Enjoy!

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

6 tbsp butter or margarine

1/3 cup honey

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

dash of salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Grease a 9x9x2 or 11x8x2 baking pan; set aside. In a saucepan on low heat, melt chocolate and butter, stir constantly. Cool slightly.

Stir in honey, 2 eggs and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder and stir just until flour is mixed in.

Pour half of the batter in prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar together. Beat in the remaining egg and salt. Stir in nuts, if using.

Pour mixture over partially baked batter layer. Spoon remaining chocolate batter over filling. Using a knife, cut through the layers to get a marbled effect.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick will come out clean. Cool; cut into bars.

Approx. 24 brownies.

(in my picture above, you'll see that I actually put more than 1/2 of the batter in the bottom layer so alot of the cream cheese filling is right on top. I didn't mean to but it still turned out good. )

Organizing & Random Happy Things

Happy Thing #1: Home-canned apple pie filling...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this stuff!

Got this from my Dad and his wife. What's great is that I don't have to peel and slice... yeah!!

It's not very syrupy so it works great for apple crisp too.

Happy Thing #2: My rocker/recliner Chair...
And the best part is, it was FREE!
The neighbors had this and didn't know what to do with it but she remembered that I had been looking for a small chair to finish off my reading/visiting area. It's perfect for what I wanted. And it fits great in my reading area beside my oval coffee table full of books and magazines.





The organizing bug has hit... I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get busy. I can only stand disorganization for awhile and then I can feel my nerves getting frazzled every time I see a pile of stuff or books just thrown here and there.


The bookshelf is something that drives me crazy. I love that the kids will pull out a book and sit for a bit or that Lindsey wants Mommy to read to her all the time, but then before I know it chaos has occured.


And actually right now it's not too bad, I just need to go through them and take out what we don't need anymore so that they all fit better. (or maybe we just need another bookshelf! )

This is the large basket that sits by our door for shoes.

I don't know how else to organize this. Every once in awhile I go through and take out shoes that the kids have either outgrown or don't wear on a regular basis. It still bugs me though. Oh well, I guess it's time to do a sorting of shoes!

And of course Ken's work boots on the boot dryer (to the left) . That thing works great!

With all this sunshine we've been having, I plan on getting the kids to help me get out and clean the shop and wood shed. I won't even show you a picture of that , too embarassing!!!

Anybody else get the organizing bug now and then? what drives you crazy when it gets out of control? Just curious, want to make sure it's not just me!

"Good Deeds" Day

Kaycie has been growing her hair for Locks of Love (http://www.locksoflove.com/ ) since last Christmas. I can't believe it's been a year!


I finally broke down and took her into a salon to do the "deed". Not an easy thing to do considering she has the most beautiful wavy, blonde hair that hangs down her back.


I almost backed out as the lady was putting Kaycie's hair into low ponytails to cut. But then I thought of why Kaycie has chosen to do this. Her hair will continue to grow and be beautiful but some little girl out there is battling cancer and has lost all her hair. What could be a better blessing than to receive a wonderful hairpiece when you have none?


& then.... "snip" there went the first one... no turning back now!


I am so proud of her!! She was so excited, she was actually giddy! The smile on her face was as huge as the sky!


And now that her hair is short, and I've had some time to really look it over, I LIKE IT! It's cute.


Kaycie's words, " Now I'm going to grow it out again and do this again and again and again. Over and over!"


What mommy wouldn't be proud of that?

Before

After

the lighting was weird in the salon. She looks jaundiced!

On a similar note, check out http://www.freerice.com/ .

Ryan's teacher told the kids about this site... it's great practice for the kids (or you) in Geography, Math, Foreign Language, English, Science. You answer multiple choice questions and for each one answered correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Hunger Fund. In just about 1/2 hour we had "donated" 4000 grains of rice. I know that really that is not alot of rice but at least it's something.
And in the meantime the kids were practicing math and English grammar! Kinda cool!

New-found Inspiration

We have recently started going to a small community church about 15 minutes away. (That makes 5 different churches in our church search!) I'm really hoping and praying that this is the one that God wants our family to call "our church".

The ladies there have a group called the Dorcas Circle (referring to Acts 9: 36-43). They meet every Monday morning to quilt, stitch or do whatever projects they want to work on. It's open to all the ladies of the church.

I decided to try it out... not knowing how it would work with Lindsey being there.

It was fun! There were a couple other small ones for Lindsey to play with! I actually got some of my stitching worked on! Everybody pitches in to have a potluck lunch!

The fellowship was great! We stuffed some pillows to donate to the local hospital and then began working on individual projects.

I do believe this has motivated me to really buckle down and get my 1/2- done projects completed.

Plus I've received a wonderful package from a sweet blog friend to put together an American flag Quilt! I'm determined that I have to finish some things before I begin work on it.

So here I go...

the dining room table will disappear once again, not to be seen for awhile.

The little snipped threads will show up EVERYWHERE... clothes, floor, towels, furniture, etc.

The hum and buzzing of the sewing machine will lull me into a crafty focus.

Ken will have to provide a source of approval each evening when I share my handiwork.

Wish me good luck on my crafty mission!!

Precious New Life

I've been away from my blog for a few days. We've traveled to my hometown to await the arrival of my new niece!!

A new experience for me, since I'm usually the one having the baby and everybody's waiting on me then.

But finally at 1:46 am, Saturday, January 10th, My little brother and his fiance welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the family.

The stats:

Amaris Mercedes

7 # 14.5 oz

20 3/4 inches

Amaris = (Hebrew) Promised by God

Mercedes= (Spanish) Merciful

Check out all that hair!!!!


Those are her Daddy's big hands getting ready to change her diaper. She looks so tiny!

We LOVE you, Amaris! We are so happy that God has blessed our family with you!

"Little House" Love

Do you remember being in love with "Little House on the Prairie"? I was totally enamored with the whole TV series, and to be honest, I still am.

Really, these days, what is on TV that is completely good for the whole family to watch? Make that a Big NOTHING!!

Even if you are watching a decent show, then along come the commercials! Oh my. It's awful some of the commercials that pop up before your eyes (and ears)!

I enjoy watching the reruns of Little House. My kids enjoy it also. Especially Kaycie.

So recently I found the boxed set of Little House books and we have started reading through them. I had forgotten how much I love these stories.

I remember reading the series when I was about 10 or 11 years old. The love I had for these stories is coming back to me as I'm reading them to the kids.

The illustrations are so cute!

This one is Kaycie's favorite so far... it's from a chapter about hog butchering day. Do you know what the ball that Mary and Laura are playing with is made from?

It's the hogs bladder!

I like that these books are really history lessons hidden in great story-telling. The kids are learning some things about pioneer life and what that was like.

We all look forward to the time spent in the evenings reading these books. I'm so glad that I found them.

Giant Candy cane

Yea it's fun.... but really, what do I do with this thing?!!!

The package says it serves 90!!

Sweetness & Rubber Boots

Each of the kids got a gift card from Grandma for Christmas. Of course the 3 olders were able to decide on and pick out their own purchases... but since Lindsey is not even 2 years old, mommy got to decide on what to get.

So what could be better then new rubber boots to start the new year off right?!!


I'm tellin ya... sometimes I just want to eat her up... she's so cute!!

Ms. Fancy Pants... all dressed up in pink and frills and rubber boots! Gotta love it.

She has already been out stomping in the puddles but I didn't have my camera handy. Next time I will be better prepared.

Favorites, Family & Friends

Hello everybody---

hope you all have had a good start to the new year.

We had a nice Christmas that seems to never end (which is Ok with me). I like when it gets spread out over time.

My Mom called and said that my gift got overlooked on Christmas morning. It seems it was stuck in the bottom branches of her tree and when she was taking ornaments off she found it.

So I get another gift the next time we head down her way!

Here are a few pics of some of the kids' favorite gifts:

Ryan got a new fishing pole, tackle box and some gear. What's sad is he hasn't even been able to use it yet with all the snow melt and rain, the river is raging wild!

Kaycie's new bike... it was time, she has been riding a toddler size bike. As you can see, she was very excited. (sorry the picture is so dark)

She also got a brand new Bible... with her whole name engraved on the front cover! (that was very important to her). Ya know, she is 7 now and can read it all by herself!... my baby girl is growing up!

Bear got a new bike also. Being the 2nd son and only 2 years between him and Ryan, he gets alot of hand-me-downs. Which is OK most of the time, but Ken and I try to be aware of this also. He deserves new things too. So a new bike is a big deal for him! I loved the look on his face when his Dad brought it through the door!

The kids got Daddy a heated back massager for his recliner... He loves it! Good idea kids! Although I think it has a hidden "sleep" setting because when he sits down and turns it on... Boom, just like magic ... He's out and the sound of Daddy snoring fills the house.

These large Lego blocks are so great... just for toddler hands and easy to use. I love the wagon that they come in... she pulls it around and makes little stacks of legos all over. When Ryan turned 1, he got some of these and the 3 older kids played with those forever. After Kaycie outgrew them, we passed them along to the church nursery. Then little Surprise Lindsey came along. When Ken and I saw these toddler legos in the store we knew right away what Lindsey was going to get!

An antique music box from Switzerland. It is so pretty!

With their cousin that we don't see nearly enough ... these guys always have soooo much fun together!

A friend of mine (with 4 kids also) came to visit the other day. We tried to get a good shot of all 8 kids together but ya know how that goes! Lindsey would not smile, and Kyle was just being silly!

Try #2: Lindsey still not smiling and Kyle looking away. I actually took 5 shots but could not get them all to smile and look "nice". Notice Kaycie and Brooke (pink shirt).. models in the making or what?

Ok fine!!! Silly picture.....

Lindsey STILL not smiling! Actually I don't think she even moved through the photo shoot! What a bunch of goofs!!!

What is this? Is it actually a good picture of Kyle? I can't believe my eyes... Is he really looking at the camera and smiling (a little)? No way!!!

What a handsome son I have!! That's him... my good-lookin' Bear!

As I look back over this post, I realize how so blessed we are! We were able to buy gifts for our children, we have wonderful family and friends, and we have love!

Thank you God for the gifts You give to us... the everyday blessings and the miraculous grace You so freely give!