Long Time no Post

and no pics to show today :(

I have been busy! I worked on Christmas Presents most of December and couldn't show them because some of the recipients read my blog (still need to post pics, eh?).

I spent some time out of state with my family over the Christmas Holiday :)

Most of all, The Army Guy got PCS orders...so we will be moving in the spring.

Now I'll be busy prepping a house to (hopefully!) sell and have been house hunting on line. I will admit that I did go and meet a realtor and look at some houses in our destination community while I was visiting with my family...couldn't resist since we will be only about 2 hours from "home" when we move :)

Hope your Christmas was a blessed one!

Busy, forgot to take pictures!

I was in the Chicago area over the weekend. Shopping with family. My mom, her sisters and some from my generation all got together and shopped for three days :)

I forgot to take my camera out of the bag :(

So, no pictures, just imagine shopping all day at Gurnee Mills Mall. Then imagine riding north to Cedarburg, WI and hitting a couple of quilt shops before finding some unique items in the other shops. Sunday morning we went to the Jelly Belly Factory and then an outlet mall in Kenosha...

Yes, I spent some money. But I did come home with some, too :)

Great Flood of 2011 *sigh*

 I took Princess Sunshine and the Boybarian to piano lessons today and came home to a garage with 4-5 inches of standing (and expanding) water from a burst water pipe.

We all got a work out bailing water (the drain seems to be plugged) and sorting through wet boxes.

We got the water turned off to most of the house (since most of the water runs past the broken pipe) and the Army Guy ran to Home Depot after work to get a new shut off valve. He took about 10 minutes and had it fixed (I love that guy).

Merry CHRISTmas!

It is that time of year when I run around like a chicken with it's head cut off (not that I've ever seen such a thing). I seem to overbuy for one person's stocking while being a bit short on the next one. I promise myself that I will finish these projects and then avoid them by doing other things. I am frazzled!

So, we try to take the focus off the busyness of Christmas every year (I don't always succeed) and focus on the reason we are celebrating. This year we are reading Tabitha's Travels for our Advent story. This is one of three Advent stories by Arnold Ytreeide. Almost every night there is a cliff-hanger, making children eager to hear more in these action packed stories. Each evening, though, the wrap up of the story points back to Jesus in some way (even though we don't see Him until Christmas).

What a way to celebrate! Make everything focus on Jesus. Whether or not he was born on December 25, it is the one day we set aside to remember His miraculous birth and what a difference He has made in our lives. If He hadn't been born to die, I would still be stuck in my sin, separated from God forever.

Hallelujah! Glory to God in the Highest! For Unto Us A Child Is Born!

My White Christmas dream has come true because the Lamb of God has washed me whiter than snow :)

May your Christmas be blessed with His Love!

Yes, that is our tree, complete with a tipsy quilted angel on top. The children decorated it one afternoon while The Army Guy and I were doing other things.

Exclusive Showing....at Midnight

We were the only people to show up for the 12:01 am showing of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader this morning. We had a great time and enjoyed the movie A LOT! The children should remember this as a very happy family memory (and not just mandatory fun).



They got Eustace Scrubb right :) Caspian is the right age :) And the ending was right, too. It looked just like I imagined it from the first time I read the book (almost 40 years ago!).

No, it is not a visual of the book. They do veer a bit from the story by adding an element that is their vehicle for tie-ing the story together in the short time of a movie. There were also a couple of telling/not showing instances...again, I think this was so that the movie could move along. They also got some things out of order in the book's time-line, but that really didn't detract from the movie, IMO. While there were a few things *I* might have done differently, I think this was a great adaptation of the story as they kept the important elements.

It would be one we would like to see again (and would even pay to go see) and we will definitely be adding it to our home library when it is released :)

When are you going to see it?

Happy Birthday Princess Sunshine ~ Crafted Project

Princess Sunshine turned 17 today :) It was a BUSY day as she has been at Theater Camp this week and today was the Finale and Performance. It was good day, and we are all looking forward to a lazier day tomorrow :)

For her birthday I was inspired by the tutorial on this blog and immediately went searching ebay for an elongated Penny...and found a Brontosaurus one (she used to REALLY be into dinosaurs) that was perfect. I found a fun belt at Goodwill and bought the other items needed...and crafted away (it was a quick and easy project).

I chose to use a chunkier belt than the tutorial shows as I thought it would be a belt she would like. The woven belt just called her name when I walked past it in the store...those wimpy little belts didn't stand a chance once I spotted this one.

BTW, she loves it (at least she says she does).



Now to figure out why some music is freezing up her new MP3 player...

Vacation Bible School

Today we set up for VBS at our church. It will run evenings from Sunday to Thursday. I've been working with my favorite teenage designer (Princess Sunshine) to revamp the visuals for the week and typing out words to the songs and redesigning pages for the workbooks...not much time working on quilts *sigh*

We are doing Bible Boot Camp - The Armor of God this year. It should be a good fit as we seem to be heavy to boys in our Awana clubs AND dh is a soldier. Though he looks nothing like the soldier seen here ^


We (my Army guy, actually) hung camo netting on the stage, put bible verse posters around, rearranged chairs, looked over crafts (and some people worked on samples, stuffed "sand bags" and brainstormed.

I think we will have a fun week, but leading up to this week has been rather hairy for me - I'm exhausted before we even have any children coming in!

Memorial Day

Today is a day set aside to remember the sacrifice of our military men and women who upheld the ideal of freedom for those left behind.

My grandfather was a veteran of WWII. He got off the boat in Europe and immediately was sent to what became known as the Battle of the Bulge. He was a Purple Heart recipient but would not talk about his experiences until just a few years before he died. He may not have given his life, but the impact of the war was with him for the rest of his life.

May our nation remain free...free from governmental tyranny, free to worship as we see fit, free to speak our thoughts, free to choose what is best for ourselves and our families.

May God bless the USA

Note: I designed, pieced and quilted this quilt a few years back and my soldier husband claimed it as his own.

Tuesday is NOT my favorite day of the week

It is too much running for a laid back mommy. We have piano lessons in the afternoons, the Boybarian has evening activities at the library, Princess Sunshine has Venture Crew (co-ed Boy Scouts) and dh is usually off practicing music with a gospel quartet, so we can't divide and conquer, I get to ferry them to and fro (activities in two different towns, btw).

This week dh was even out of state at a funeral *sigh*

Oh What Fun!

We spent several days away from home last week on an extended field trip. On Thursday we went to the Creation Museum and had a great time. First we wandered in the gardens in the cool drizzle...it will be so much nicer later on in the year...and when the weather is warmer!

We saw these Chameleons and had to laugh as the one walked right over the other one's face - in slow motion. Wouldn't you be bothered if someone walked right over your face?

We also spent time (and money!) in the bookstore...they have such cool stuff!

And we thoroughly enjoyed all of the sculptured animals and people all through the museum. I just couldn't resist taking a picture of the entrance to the bookstore :)

Busy Week...

My sister and her children were visiting over their Spring Break and just headed off to home this morning. What a whirlwind! Five children in the house all trying to make themselves heard...well, no in depth description is really needed, eh?

I did work with the four oldest children in a Writing Game RPG and they were so excited they were discussing possibilities and characters way too late into the evenings. Two of them were writing prolifically so they could level up.

I need to work out a new adventure before we are all together again in the summertime! How to work in some comic relief (two players are 6th grade boys, 'nuff said) will be a great challenge for me...I think I do better with the adventure.

Now to catch up on some things I meant to work on in spare moments...but concentrated on family instead.

Exhausted

we have been on the go for way too long. I'm someone who recharges when alone and not pressured to get things done. So, I'm exhausted and need to recharge.

Last week The Peanut and This Guy were here for Spring Break. We had a great time and they were not any fuss...we just added them to our hectic week! I did have to run The Peanut over to Ohio to update her ID card, that took a big chunk out of one day.

We did celebrate her birthday when she was home...she decorated her own cake, let me put all of the candles on and light them. It lit up the room! No smoke detector went off, though ;)

Well, off to bed so I can sleep. Tomorrow I hope to finish quilting my cousin's quilt and put my sister's quilt on the frame. So I need my beauty sleep ;)

Am I allowed to feel old?

The Peanut turns 21 tomorrow. Where has the time gone? I still remember all the goofy things she did when she was tiny. Are you sure this is that same little one?

This birthday we won't celebrate together. Spring Break starts next weekend, so we will celebrate on Sunday. She has asked for Roast Beef (she says mine is WAY better than institutional food) and I'll bake a cake :) I'm not sure if she will decorate her own cake or if she will let me...what do you think? Should I just go ahead? Maybe make a princess cake? Or a Barbie Cake, wouldn't that embarrass her?

She is bring home "this guy..." from school. We haven't met him yet. Should be an interesting Spring Break :)

retreating

I am exhausted :) What a happy thing to be exhausted when doing soemthing that you enjoy.

I have been quilting at a family quilting retreat. I enjoy getting together with family. The shared laughter, good food, creative endeavors, more laughter...just an all around good time. I thinkwe *need* to make it a week long retreat...a weekend just isn't long enough!

Several of us made these lovely fabric baskets on Saturday. They all share fabrics, but we each chose to use different fabrics to showcase the Snippets strips that we used for the body of the baskets. And, since our 1/4" measurements  all seemed to be different, they ended up different sizes!

I'll be sharing pictures of other projects as I have time to get them up and tell the stories that go along with them.

Driving, driving

yesterday I drove to MI with Princess Sunshine and the Boybarian. I took the car because the van has some issues and find driving the car is not as comfortable. AND the children sat next to each other rather than in different rows so there is more potential for the Boybarian to bother his big sister *sigh* He spent more time with his ds lite and barely even looked toward his sister which made for a peaceful back seat.

I did make a mistake and ordered the wrong food for lunch so it made one of the children unhappy, but we still made it safely and everyone is happy to be with cousins. It is great that they want to see family, too.

We had an uneventful journey and took less time than usual as there were almost no backed up traffic and little congestion around the cities - YAY!

This weekend I'll be taking part in a family quilting retreat. I am SO looking forward to focusin on quilting!

Quilting with children

quilting with children can be fun...or oh, SO frustrating. Last time I worked with the boybarian, he was so distractable and belligerent I was ready to tie him to the sewing chair so he could stay on task.

This week, he was easier to work with *WHEW!*

He now has the first of two borders totally sewn on his quilt. Next session he will be cutting the second border. It is directional, like all the other prints, so he will have to decide which direction the design should run. Maybe it will be every which way, like the field of the quilt :P

I am so glad I chose to have him work a really simple pattern and he chose the fabrics (boy scout, if you can't tell) so he is excited to have the quilt, it is the process that is so hard. Maybe when the quilt is mounted on the frame he will have more fun quilting it (bigger machine).

old photos

while looking for a baby picture, I stumbled across some old photos. What a hoot they can be!

This is the Peanut when she was about 7. I played with it a bit so hopefully she won't be too embarrassed. She had swim goggles AND a nose plug while wearing pink...the Boybarian was sure it couldn't be his sister as she is wearing PINK.