I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas movies is "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen. 

Hubby snuggle and I have watched it almost every Christmas Eve while wrapping presents for a very long time.  Just read that.  Yes, we have been watching it for many years (a long time) and we do wrap presents for a long time (at least it seems like that when it's midnight and we've been up all day and will be back up at the crack of dawn).

Tonight, while working on Christmas projects, I was listening to jazzy Christmas music playing in the background.

Santa's little elves brought down the Christmas tree and decorations from the attic.  The elves want to wait until Santa and Mrs. Clause are focused (and not working their cute, little fingers to the bone on work brought home from the office and Christmas gifts) to put the tree up and decorate.

As the holidays approach, we get out the world's best family game.  It encourages peaceful co-existence, harmony between family members and love that never needs to say "Sorry".  Ahem.  It looked like cage fighting and sounded like a fox had got into the henhouse the other night when we decided to have family game night.

Sheesh.  I mean, really.  Whoever thought up this game should have tested it on our boys first.  Evil devils Sweet, angelic boys all the way around and around and around and over and under and yelling and arguing.  I love spending time with family.

See me there?  On the path.  With a warm, gray, wool overcoat, cute light pink, knitted hat and matching gloves.  Sweet, cozy pink boots.

No?  I don't see it either.  And it ain't gonna happen!  'Cause I hate the cold!  LOL

Only place you'll see me is next to one of these!

Ahhhhhhhh!

Friday Sew and Tell

My Friday Finish this week isn't what I thought it would be last week!  I hit a designing snag with Aunt B's quilt.  I think I have it figured out and will be working on it this week.

Sew, I started and finished a doll quilt top for our niece.  She loves her baby dolls!  She "mamas" them in the sweetest way!  For Christmas I'm making her two doll quilts to love on her babies with.

I used left over squares from Aunt B's quilt  and knew I wanted a pinwheel pattern for the doll quilt.  This fabric would be from our niece's great-grandma's stash and I like the idea of Katelynne having a doll baby quilt helping her to know a great-grandma who died before she was born.  I'm using white flannel for the front and back.  It's so soft and cuddly.  This one measures about 22 3/4" square.  I pieced squares together and then trimmed them to 1 1/2" to make an outer sashing.  I like the effect.  Her mom has seen the top and really likes it.  I hope Katelynne does too!

The other doll quilt is made of orange, yellow and pink fabrics.  I love the sherberty look and feel.  I'm using white flannel again, alternating with the colored squares.

We had a good day yesterday with hubby muffin's family here.  Last year we had about 31 people here.  We invited friends and their kids and friends.  Needless to say, this year was a little more quieter, but I missed having our extended "family" too.

Hop on over Amy's blog to take a look at what the other women have been up to this week.  I haven't looked at all of them, but today's was a cooking themed finish...but, since I only made potatoes, noodles and rolls yesterday, I don't really have an awesome recipe to share.  Looking forward to getting some new yummy recipes though from the gals!

I think there's only 27 days left until Christmas!

I need to get busy!

Have a great weekend!

Awww Honey!

Proverbs 24:13  "My son, eat honey, for it is good"

Proverbs 25:27  "It is not good to eat much honey."

Being a parent is great, except when it isn't.

LOL

We have three, double digits power houses of manliness in our home.  I'm always looking around corners for someone to spring out and scare me.  I've had fireworks wired to the door of the microwave so that when I open it to heat something up-BAM!  All sorts of fake and real critters in my bed, in my shoes and in my laundry.  Big, nasty looking spiders hung by fishing line in the cabinet doors, ready to swoop down and attack me.

Jeans with holes in the knees up the wazoo.

I've slept with Superman and Sonic the Hedgehog and taken innumerable baths protected by army guys, super heroes and lego men providing cover on the rim of the tub.

It is not easy being a mom.

In the Book, honey is used literally and metaphorically for just about anything that is good in small amounts and harmful if consumed in large quantities.

The lesson is that something is good only when used in the right measurements.

Honey is sweet and delicious and healthy, but look out! if you eat too much of it, you can be "filled with it and vomit it." Pr 25:16

My job as a mom is to encourage my children to find things that are good that they like and pursue them.  Enjoy them.

But, I'm also supposed to be there to warn them that too much of a good thing...is bad.

Learning a balance between the two is what most of growing up is all about.

But until my children reach the point of being able to find this balance on their own, that's one of the reasons I'm here for.

Balance.

Do I even have it?

Do you?

We've talked a lot about balance lately.  And consequences for when our lives, or things in our lives, are allowed to get out of balance.  Where one child seems to make incredible leaps into responsibility one moment, and then the very next moment...one side of the scales tip and things are horribly off kilter.

It's like easing out the apron stings...and then reeling them back in when the freedom you've given your child (a good thing in doses they can handle) becomes too much for them and becomes almost a permission to lose control (a very bad thing if allowed to continue).

*Sigh*

I do not have it figured out.  But I know I love my children no matter where their scales are.  Balanced, off kilter, waiting to be blown up or used to dig holes in the front yard to bury treasure in!

I look at my life, and I'm glad my Father loves me in spite of how un-balanced I can be.  Too much time spent reading means dinner isn't ready when my family is hungry.  A little extra time quilting or sewing when the boys are left "borrowing'' each other's clean underwear because somehow, that pile never made it to the washing machine that day.

Balance is: stability produced by even distribution of weight on each side of the vertical axis.

Praying we all can find a measure of balance in our lives today and that we can teach our children its meaning by living it out before them.

Ta Da! and a Giveaway!

As requested:

Three years and he can finally eat broccoli without it getting stuck in his braces!

I was reading through a couple of other blogs and they were sharing some of their collections.  Since the Aunt B quilt isn't quite finished yet, and I'm too much of a sloth smart person to start another project, I'm going to share some of my collections.

Antique, toy watering cans.

Birds.  The blue bird is for Ja, the duck with the flutterby is for Middlest and the coy, sneaky little bird with the twinkle in his eye is for Bean.

Another bird and...seashells.

And now a picture of my Christmas Thanksgiving Cactus that never blooms at Christmas time, but always the week of Thanksgiving!  Go figure!

Actually, this is the cactus you gave me, Mom.  LOL  But mine is full of buds.

For those lovers of all things old and beautiful, Stephanie at a Ditchin' Time Quilts is having a giveaway of an antique doll quilt.

I've also asked for the dog if I win...but somehow, I'm sure that won't happen!  LOL

I got to know Stephanie a bit through her blog.  She's got a heart as big as Texas and she makes amazing quilts.  Sew, pop on over, take a look at her work and make sure you sign up to win!

If When I win, I would then gift this to a dear friend of mine who loves all things patriotic.  She has a love of quilts and right now is going through a trial that I'm just in awe of.  She is maintaining her cool and compassion through this, loving her family and trusting in the Lord to bring her husband and her family the job He would have for them.  She is an amazing woman and I know this would cheer her up and encourage her.

Have a great day!

Sew and Tell Friday Finish

Friday?  Again?  Already?

LOL

Well, here we are once more friends and family.  I hope your week was a good one and that today doesn't see you just hanging on by a thread.

This week I finished up my mini swap projects.

You will probably remember this

well, she's washed, dried and crinkly ready to go...minus the caramel dipping sauce!  She shrank a little, but it doesn't seem to bother her much!  LOL 

My other official finish is

the Snowflake mini.  I'm so loving the colors and the softness of it all, I can't stand it!  This may have to be repeated to become a quilt for snuggling up under.

When Christmas is over.

Which means all my hand crafted gifts should will be finished.

Anywho...I found something to do with the cute, little snowflake hexes

they're on the back.  Falling softly through the first snowfall of the season.

I hope she likes it.  She gave me this to help me decide what to make, "I like the traditional Christmas colors as well as the Victorian pinkish Christmas colors and the winter blue and white shades."

Meanwhile, back at the farm...

Bean scored in the reading material!  Mimi M. brought down a whole bunch of "boy flavored" books for him to devour.  We ride in the car at night with the light on for reading purposes.  We all have our noses stuck in books at dinnertime (who needs to talk when Frank and Joe Hardy are in danger?).  We have a light they can read by in bed when they're supposed to be asleep.  (I don't mind them staying up a little bit more until they're good and tired as long as they're reading...doorway to innumerable worlds and a greater imagination, verbal skills etc!  LOL)

Well, one of WIP's is a Christmas gift that I'm working on now that the minis are finished. 

Hubby sniffles has an aunt in a care facility.  She loves flutterbys.  This summer, the house she had lived in with Grammy (who passed about this time not so long ago) for so, so many years was auctioned off along with most of their accumulated belongings.  Mimi M. found huge stashes of fabric and a lot of them had flutterbys in them.  She lovingly washed and ironed all the fabric...think armloads here!...and I chose fabric that I thought Aunt B might like.  I've got the top done

(my moments picture...yes, that is a stain on the carpet that I'm telling myself real hard I don't care about enough to clean before having Thanksgiving Dinner here next week!)

once again inspired by RPQ's beautiful pattern.

It's a lap size quilt and I have the fabric to add the sashing.  I'm working on a pieced back and hope to have it finished by next Friday, even if we don't have Sew and Tell.

Then...

small fabric basket with doggie bone shaped cookies for the mail lady

K's doll baby quilts

B's rolled pencil holder

something for KT

something for hubby snookums

and the fun just goes on and on, and on, and on!

I love life!

Happy, happy day to you all!

Score! and a Giftaway!

Thank you for all your kind words about Betty.  Calling hours are tomorrow and the funeral is Saturday.

Our co-op's Yahoo email has been full of messages for her family and offers of meals, support, picking people up at the airport.  It is times like these where hearts have a chance to shine their brightest!

Sharing my treasure finds with you.  I apologize for the gloomy pictures, but it's been raining here, dark and damp for several days.

This little fella is waiting for first snowfall...as far as I'm concerned, he can wait a little longer!

This happy camper is waiting for the first snowflake too!

Bean will be giving them to his teachers at school and church this Christmas!

Like a little, brown squirrel...I'm hoarding retro and vintage linens.  KT and I are buying up what we can and swapping our goodies to make quilts.  My mom is even in on the fun in her snowbird home, looking for me!

I found a top sheet and fitted sheet of this!  Oooooh, yummy!

So happy and springy!

And I'm stashing away oranges and pinks for a quilt that I now have the back for

All from Goodwill.  Bless their hearts!

Last month, my STUD partner was Cyndi and she sent me a beautiful paper pieced star in fall colors.

In my package to her, I sent some fabric KT had given me and other bits from my stash.  Cyndi, whose heart is as big as the mountains, sent me this

lovely mini from the fabrics I sent to her.  It is now a cherished memory keeper of two friends.  KT because of the fabric and Cyndi because she designed, pieced and quilted such a wonderful gift!

I am blessed by her generosity and creativity!

Speaking of generosity and creativity, Aneela at Comfortstitching has been using Spoonflower to design her own fabrics for her personal use and to sell in her store.  She is very talented and I love her little vignettes of life and cuteness.

Aneela is gifting away two fat quarters of the winner's choice from her personally designed fabric.  How utterly cool is that!

You can enter to win here

 and be sure you read through her archived posts because she has some awesome quilts and little bits and pieces she's done that are just incredible!

Yesterday, I took Bean for his flu shot.  I argue with myself every year over these.  To get them, or not get them.  The past few years, we haven't been able to get the vaccine because we're too healthy or not in an at risk or increased risk group.

Ben hasn't had a flu shot then for a while and couldn't remember what it was like so drew this

Tuesday night and showed me it yesterday after the fact.  LOL  We were standing in line and his face would go really red, and then pasty white and he told me his stomach hurt and he was dizzy.  I truly think he psyched himself out (as the picture shows the needle actually going through his arm!), but only asked for a cottonball for his boo boo when we were done.

I love kids!

Happy, happy day to you all!

Much love!

Moments

Each one is so precious and one that we can never get back.

Potential memories of good and happy things...or eternal "what ifs" that haunt us forever.

Time to share with a stranger, or with someone we love and cherish.

A moment taken out of our lives to repay a kindness or pay one forward.

60 seconds to be thankful.

60 seconds to think before we say or do something we might regret the rest of our lives.

Most hugs don't last that long...but they should.

"I love you" only requires 1/20 of a moment to say.

Last night we learned of the death of our co-op's president and Middlest's teacher for Greek/Latin root words.

She'd been struggling with the flu, but when I talked to her Monday, she looked beautiful and bouncy.  Full of her usual energy and zest for life.

Yesterday, she laid down to take a nap.

Her husband went in to wake her, and couldn't.

We will miss her.

So, in memory of her and all of those moments with loved ones and strangers we were meant to reach out to, and didn't...take 60 seconds and touch someone else's life.

Smile.

Make eye contact.

Say "Thank you."

Hug a little longer.

Hold a little tighter.

Breathe a little deeper.

Relax your shoulders, unclench your hands and just "Be".

Enjoy.

Love.

Laugh.

Dance.

Sing.

Cry.

Hope.

And dream.

And with your final heartbeat

Kiss the world goodbye

Then go in peace, and laugh on glory's side, and

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus and live!

Chris Rice "Untitled Hymn"

Two Giveaways!

To let you know about.

The first one is from Hawthorn Threads.

Go here for a chance to win 1 of 4 fat quarter bundles.  A choice of

Gabrielle

or

South Hampton!

Meg over at Boutique Nutmeg Designs is having a giveaway too!

It seems one of her patterns made it into this book.  Which you could win!

Enter here and make sure you take a look through Meg's blog!  She has such energy and creativity!

Good luck!

Happy Cottage Quilter, if you email me at mayhem5@softhome.net with your addy, I'll post the snowflake material to you as quick as I can!

*Smile*

'Night all!

Friday Sew and Tell!

I love Fridays!  I get to see some of the most creative and lovely things on Amy's blog...click on the button on the side and find out what beautiful projects these incredibly talented women have been working on!

Me...well, after yesterday's comments, I realized I'm more of a perfectionist than I would like to admit!  Not so much about stuff for me or around the house (just ask KT about that...I fly by the seat of my pants most times!), but when I'm making something for someone else, I worry about all the little details.

Here's how I finished off the snowflake block.

Hubby bloke's (hint of where we're going for lunch!  Yippee!) grammy had this incredible stash of fabric.  I was playing around with it and liked the colors with the blue snowflake background.  I have this beautiful purple fabric and well...they spoke to me.

It's really quite soft and subtle...a lot like snowflakes themselves.  I'm going to keep the hexagonal shape and bind it with

the white on the bottom...which is just shot through with little, silver flecks.  Matches the blue snowflake background fabric beautifully.  Does anyone want the silvery, shimmery, see through snowflake material on top?

There's less than a fat quarter and I bought it with delusions of grandeur for this block...lol...I will send it to the first person who lets me know they can use it for something.

Progress on my bunny.

Hexes I whipped up to play with for the mini snowflake...and decided against.

What a 4th grader takes to school to play with and trade like Pokemon cards!  LOL

There is a string on the lid, which explaines why there is what I think is dirt (or chocolate) on the snowflake.

What is it with us and getting my minis dirty?

LOL

We have games tomorrow!

I get to wear my personalized "First Aid/Trainer" shirt!

Happy weekend!

Now What?

Argh!

I sewed the pattern faithfully, and I'm wonky in the middle...well, so's the snowflake block...my middle's waaaaay wonky...but look at what I've given birth to...yours would be wonky too if you had had them!

Do you have a wonky middle?

LOL

Help!

I have no idea how to finish this off.  It looks really pretty pinned up...from across the room!

I'm clueless.

(to those of you in the peanut gallery asking yourselves "what's new about that?"...watch it!  Santa is listening.  Close!)

Don't know.

Shameless plug for you to join in on being "real" in your blog life.

"Everyone else is doing it!"

Realizing how little all of this

and this

 and this

really matter when you have

and

family!  Meet the newest addition to our menagerie!

A cute little frog Bean made in school.  Here he is, just lazing around on his lilypad.  Hopping for a fly to pass by.

Updated to add that this afternoon, I hit the button to register our oldest, Javi, for college.  Where has the time gone?

Never Forgotten

A Veteran’s Day Prayer

Dear Lord,

Today we honor our veterans,

worthy men and women

who gave their best

when they were called upon

to serve and protect their country.

We pray that you will bless them, Lord,

for their unselfish service

in the continual struggle

to preserve our freedoms, our safety,

and our country’s heritage, for all of us.

Bless them abundantly

for the hardships they faced,

for the sacrifices they made

for their many different contributions

to America’s victories

over tyranny and oppression.

We respect them, we thank them,

we honor them, we are proud of them,

and we pray that you will watch over

these special people

and bless them with peace and happiness.

In Jesus’ name we pray; Amen.

By Joanna Fuchs

Thank you, one and all...

I wanted to share some watercolor quilting with you today.

This is a small pillow I'm still working on...well, it only needs stuffed and sewn shut...but I'm a great procrastinator!

This is a pillow sham for our bed.  I'm bummed about the color, because the fabrics are so beautiful!

Looking at them as photos (an idea someone from another blog gave me), shows me where I should have worked a little harder to blend in the fabrics.

These are all 2"x2" squares before sewing.  So, you see, the 1 1/2"x 1 1/2" squares I'm working with now aren't that new to me!

Yesterday, I took the mini quilt pattern to be copied again. I didn't realize there were two different templates. When I asked the person helping me to increase the size by 50%, I thought it looked a little big?

I got home and have two different sizes of templates.  So, it's back to the UPS Store to have more copies made so I can work on the snowflake paper piece project.  Argh!

Today is a med check for Middlest.  Routine 6 month to check weight, progress etc.  He's getting an A in classic Literature and an A+ in the science class he takes at our local middle school.  I would say an A in Spanish and B's in Algebra I.  I don't grade his grammar (also part of his Lit and Greek/Latin root word class) because we're working on writing essays...focusing more on the basics and form than a grade.  I'm also not grading him for US History. 

We're using a curriculum that's based on the monuments in and around Washington D.C.  So cool.  He's learning Washington's "Rules of Civility" right now.  We also just watched "Arlington", a PBS video about the national cemetary...its history, customs and importance to our nation.

Very fitting given today's significance.

Remember them all...pray for those still serving...and thank you to their families and friends who unselfishly serve at home while their loved ones serve us and them!