Creative Homemaker

My Dear Hubby just sent me a link to some great Christmas messages by R.C. Sproul. Click here and download your own copy for free! Stick it in your MP3 Player and have a good listen. Good stuff people, enjoy. Merry Christmas!

Today started out so well... I had a list. I was a Mom on a Mission. Armed with Notebook, checks and cash to deposit, bills to pay, prescriptions to pick up. Ah, the pleasure of a day well planned. But God... (I said this the other day, when it was in my favor, but today although it wasn't in my favor, He was still in it.) But I digress. I stopped at the military post to deposit some money so I could pay bills and then zipped over to my friend's house to see if she'd like to accompany me on the rest of my errands. It's so much fun sharing trips with a friend. Checking things off, we got a new calendar, got a great sale on a new coat, had lattes and lunch, got glasses adjusted and headed home. Sweet! On the way back to post, I got pulled over at the gate. My tabs were expired on my Suburban. Akk! I knew that! I had forgotten that! There was nothing I could do. I was sure I was facing a ticket, it was 16 days past due. Sure enough, 35 minutes later, I drove away with a $7...

As we look ahead to the seemingly bleak future and all that it holds, I am frightened. I said it, there. I'm scared that we won't make it. What will our future hold? I feel like Evil Knievel looking across a great chasm. I can see the other side and the pathway there is straight and true. But in between me and the clear path is a dark and foreboding place. My earthly frame tells me I need to find a way over it, through it or around it. But God... Aren't those fabulous words? We find them over and over in His word to us, the Bible. But God will provide a way. I don't just hope that he will, I know that will. Not only because he has provided in the past but because He says that He will in His word. "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." To me this means, I don't need to worry about my mortgage payment, clothes for my kids, or food for my table. God will provide if I only trust wholeheartedly in H...

I never go out on Black Friday, it's just too crazy out there, but this year I had some items that I desperately needed at Wally's. While I was there, the $2 movie kiosk caught my eye. There were some great titles there. "Hope Floats", "Pay it forward", "Take The Lead", and "Two Weeks Notice" Love this one, Hugh Grant is a cutie, and Sandra Bullock is just so funny and glamorous all in the same breath. Ironically, Bear came home with one of his own yesterday. Please keep us in your prayers, this comes at a bad time financially. We are however, trusting God in all of this. We know that it is not Barry's supervisor who controls the tides. He is not the one who makes the waves stand still nor is he the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. We knew when Bear started this job that it was only temporary. He's going to seminary to finish his MDiv. so that he can return to active duty as an Army Chaplain. That is the goal, not spen...

Here's a few pictures of the "Giving Tea" we had for Chels. We had 8 girls here for cucumber sandwiches, mini quiches, tea, punch and cupcakes. They brought and donated lots of items for Health Kits for the needy. Our church will be passing these kits out to the homeless throughout the Christmas season. We also played a fun tea tray game where you look at a bunch of items on a tray and then try to write them all down without looking at them. These girls were good! They got them all! Little smarties. Tonight we had our family birthday celebration with cake, ice cream and candles. Ace informed me that even though her birthday was on Thursday she doesn't turn 11 until we eat cake. If that's the case, I think I could subtract a few years from my age.

Tonight I'm having a tea party with a bunch of giggly girls. I know, I should have my head examined. Chels loves to hold tea parties for her birthday and since it is so near Christmas, we tend to "do it up right!" We get out the pretty tea things, lace, doilies, white gloves and hats. Instead of presents this year, she wants to collect items for health kits for the needy. (What a sweetie!) So instead of horsey things, or books, or new CD's she'll be getting toothpaste, socks, and shampoo for her birthday. I'll post pictures of the actual event soon. Have to run, dah-ling. I need to iron some Battenberg lace, brew up some Earl Grey, and dig out the punch bowl.

We had company for Thanksgiving; dear friends whom we have known for about 12 years. We were stationed at Fort Leavenworth together and have some kids the same ages. We joked about each others' blogs and how, after they had all left, I would be posting the analogy of how fish and house guests are alike and should only be around for a couple of days. But then I tore the pages off my Mary Englebreit calendar, (ok, I really tore off about two weeks worth of pages, so now you know, I procrastinate,) and this is what I found on today's page. This fits the weekend so much more than the fish story. We love you, Stripes!!

The girls and I were cleaning the kitchen tonight. I asked Chel's to put away a can of condensed beef soup. I told her I was going to have it for lunch but changed my mind. She replied, "Why? Because it was constipated?"

be doing fun crafty things with this... and this... and maybe this... But instead, I'm faced with this... and this... Go ahead, feel my pain. Give me some bloggy sympathy. And by the way, who wouldn't love a girl who would show you her messy sink full of last night's dishes, I tell ya!

and Thomas the Tank Engine is happy not to get tinkled on!

My dear friend Amy, (the one I Shop Hopped with,) came over last night and helped me cut out outfits. She also brought along some sweaters and "outgrown" things from her closet to use. We went through my girls' closet and picked a few things that they just LOVE, so we could make patterns and copy them. Amy brought 4 darling turtleneck sweaters. We cut out skirts to add to the bottoms to make sweater dresses. My girls also have this darling pair of gaucho pants in a brown velour fabric. We laid them out on pattern paper and traced a new pattern to cut out of this gorgeous red Ultrasuede/knit stuff. Today was also a potty training day for us, so I wasn't as productive as I had hoped, but I got two items finished to add to their fall wardrobe with about a half dozen or more cut out ready to sew. And on a side note, Boo is tinkling in the toilet!! Not all the time, but I think he's getting it! Yay, Boo Boo!!

And because my children have nothing to wear... today, I'm turning this... Into this...

Ok, I have nothing fabulous to talk about. I'm not sure if I even have any readers anymore... Anyone? Anyone? (crickets chirping...) Ok, I think I'm just posting for my own benefit. I've been making a fabulous quilt! Ok, I think it's fabulous because it's something I never thought I could do. I've been so fed up with my lame sewing machine lately, I've decided to go on strike and not use it! So there! I've been doing hand applique! I LOVE it! I'm going to do a tutorial here on my blog so keep watching! Here's a sample to keep you excited! Aren't you excited? I am!

What fun! I took the girls out of school to drive all over the countryside getting free fabric! Now what could be more exciting than that! Miss Busy, Chels, my friend Amy, (not her real name) and Belinda, (not hers either, I'm all about anonymity.) started out on our little crafty jaunt. The deal is this, you get a Shop Hop "passport" and at each shop you visit you get a stamp, a fat eighth of fabric, and a pattern for a quilt block. Our first stop was in Ocean Shores. What a nice store! And fabric on sale! This is the Ocean Shore's Block. Pretty isn't it? The shop owner added her own touch and threw in a little green bug fabric. Isn't it cute? You can't go to Ocean Shores without driving on the beach, so we did, took some great pictures, (didn't get out, too cold in October!) And then drove past the Judith Ann Inn. I'd love to stay here some day. So picturesque. Can you imagine watching the sunset over the ocean from the window in your room. Ahhh....

...it lasted all of ten minutes; but it was a happy ten minutes.

I'm a big, ol' stupid, careless idiot and God saved my family from my carelessness last night. But I'm getting ahead of myself... It is dreary here, cloudy and starting to get into the rainy season which I hate. I burn candles so that the light and the fragrance stimulate my brain and I feel better about this weather. Yesterday I had some candles burning in various rooms and last evening I had a meeting to go to with a friend. I went around the house before I left and extinguished all the flames, or so I thought. We have a small powder room downstairs and we keep the door closed most of the time to keep Boo (who's 2) out of the cupboard and the TP roll. I left a 3-wick candle burning there on a plate on the bathroom counter. It was a short 3-wick only about an inch tall, and I am so dang frugal I couldn't possible just throw it away when it was that short, no, I have to go burn the life out of it, until there is just no wick left. (Please just ignore my personal ber...

I look out my window to this... It's a good day for staying inside with a cup of steaming cider and my lap quilt in front of the fire. So those errands I needed to do in town? They get put off another day. I really didn't want to run to the post office with a two year old anyway. Thanks for the rain, God!

This quilt was commissioned by a friend of my husband’s. We were in the army together at Fort Leavenworth, KS back in 1993. Ann and Paul, well, mostly Paul, wanted a red, white and blue bedroom and he asked me to make him a quilt for their bed. He and I picked out the design and shopped for fabric. I was very excited about this project because red white and blue is a favorite theme of mine. I can’t remember exactly how long it took me to make it, but I only had one child at the time and we had a small apartment off post and only one car. So what is a stay at home mom to do all day with only so many carpets to vacuum and nowhere to go? She would make a quilt. We discussed a price, but then, while we were visiting their home, we discovered that they had once owned an antique store, (very small, from their home) and were looking to get rid of a few pieces. I discovered, under a pile of boxes, a Singer treadle sewing machine with a gold leaf sphinx on the front. It was beautiful! I told...

Because I have nothing finished right now, and nothing new to post, I'm going to show off some of my older finished projects, in hopes that it will inspire me to complete some UFO's. This quilt was purchased by my sister many, many years ago to complete her trousseau. (That's an ancient thing now days isn't it?) I believe it was made by a great aunt or some female relative. It was only the quilt top, and sat in her cedar chest for a while until she met the man of her dreams. I offered to quilt it for her, (upcoming wedding-double wedding ring quilt, get it?) I don't recall how long it took me to quilt it, but I believe, true to family tradition, I think it was late, at least before her first anniversary anyway. It was wobbly, the football shapes inside the rings weren't flat at all and as I quilted it, it required pinning and flattening. It did turn out relatively flat, but the footballs are all a bit poofy. I'm pretty proud of the quilting, it was all hand ...

I've been quilting alot lately. It's getting colder and quilts keep me warm, inside and out. I love looking at patterns, curled up in my cozy brown wing back chair. I love browsing through fabric stores seeing new designs. I love the patterns as they emerge from behind the needle of my sewing machine. I've sort of neglected my blog during the past few weeks, but now that summer isn't keeping me so busy, I thought I'd pay a little more attention to my readers, if there are any of you left. Just for fun, check out my new Quilt-y name, I'm Her Grace Pincushion Collector. Oh, how true!! Fit's me to a T. I love making pincushions, (small project, easily finished) and they are so pretty. If you are crafty, check it out and tell me your quilt-y name .

I'm here, I'm alive, I'm just swamped! As I have said before, I volunteer at the food bank in our little town. Yesterday, Larry, the manager, got in several pallets of tomatoes, loaded with boxes of beautiful red fruits needing something done to them at once. So although canning tomatoes wasn't on my list this year, (I still have about 30 quarts from last year,) I did tell myself that anything that came my way free, I would put up. I spent too much last year buying fruit to can, so my goal this year was "nothing purchased." Well, 100 pounds of free tomatoes is nothing to turn your back on. So I brought home 5-20 pound boxes. Then near the end of the food bank time, (we're open from 1pm to 4pm) someone brought in 6 "banana boxes" of pears from trees on their property. Unfortunately, these pears wouldn't last a week until the next food bank day, so they needed to go out as well. Larry gave me two boxes. Larry is generous to a fault. He will oft...

That's the sound of my own horn!! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me-ee! Happy Birthday to me! Yes, 41 years ago, it was a red letter day in my family's lives. Their blue eyed, blond haired little adorable baby sister was born. I was the cutest thing they had ever seen and spoiled me accordingly. Just see for yourselves. I always speak the truth.

I took this picture yesterday of my new roses. It's a Jackson & Perkins variety called Rock and Roll. I love the red and white variegated petals. They remind me of a peppermint geranium I had as a young girl. I try and make the best of the crummy ground in which I plant my garden. And I hate it when those around me don't seem to care about their yards. Yesterday I kindly asked the neighbor tween-age girls who were hanging out at the end of the driveway if they would please pick up the trash they left lying around the yard. I even provided them with the garbage can. Then I asked them to not hang out at the community mailbox so that the neighbors could easily come and get their mail. And now this is the thanks I get. Someone yanked all the blossoms off my roses. Dear Neighbor Girl, I hope the thorns poked your naughty little fingers.

Edited to add one more "Nothing" to the list... Frugality is something I think a lot about. I don't always get around to writing about it, but it is on my mind constantly. Last year my sister went through a great personal challenge, to do without for thirty days. It was an economic challenge to be more frugal, to take a look at what she spent her money on and try to cut back considerably. I decided to take this challenge I just discovered at OwlHaven.net . I have read her blog before, but recently been redirected here again. She is a great writer and has much to say about being frugal, living cheap, making do or doing without. And her life is not easy, she is a Homeschooling Mom to 10 kids, 6 of them adopted from Korea and Ethiopia. She often compares her life to those of the families and countries from where she adopted her children. Things like the amount of clothes in her closet compared to the "outfits" an Ethiopian child has, the vehicle she drives, or kitc...

The boys’ ears were disappearing and I almost couldn’t see their eyes, so after dinner I had Ace go get the clippers and I trimmed, no, mowed their heads. I could see them again! They actually had ears! Maybe that’s why they didn’t follow directions so well, they couldn’t hear me! Then after the boys’ heads, I did Bear’s hair too. So I’m calculating $11 per kid’s haircut and $7 for a military cut. That saved me $40 in haircuts last night. The girls need their bangs trimmed which I’ll do when I get brave. Miss Busy’s isn’t so hard, but Chel’s hair is so thick and coarse, it is hard to get them straight. Maybe I’ll tape it to her forehead! We also implemented a new chore chart; I stole the idea from a friend of mine. Amy uses clothes pins to write the chores, then the kids clip them to their shirt hem until they finish the job, then they have a constant reminder that they have a job to finish. My kids have a tendency to “get lost” while they are working so I thought we would give this a...

Gayle over at Grace for Gayle was having the same problem as me. No original blogging material. So I'm grabbing her meme. You can check out hers. A. Attached or single? Very attached! 21 years, swee-eet! B. Best friend? Well, my Bear, the one I'm attached to. C. Cake or pie? Pie. Chocolate cream, with a touch of espresso thrown in for good measure. D. Day of choice? Friday night, date night. E. Essential item? Chapstick. hate dry lips. F. Favorite color? Pink, pink, pink. G. Gummy bears or worms? Neither, licorice jelly beans. H. Hometown? Po-Dunk, Idaho. I. Indulgence? Um, chocolate anything. J. January or July? July, lower power bills. K. Kids? Six. Jewels of my life. L. Life isn’t complete without? Jesus! M. Marriage date? May 13th, right in the middle of finals week in college. I know, silly. N. Number of brothers & sisters? Four brothers, two sisters, I'm the baby. O. Oranges or apples? Hmm, oranges. P. Phobias? Public places with all my kids, they run, and there a...

Well, the pizza, not the movies. Each Friday night, the kids and I have movie and pizza night. It started when Bear was deployed about 5 years ago. It gave the kids something to look forward to while Daddy was away. Back then I called and had it delivered or got a take and bake from the store. It was also a break for mommy, not to have to fix a meal each night. Now that Daddy is home again, we still continue the tradition. But not so much with delivery anymore, now we make our own at home. Making homemade pizza is not a new thing for me; I’ve been perfecting my own crust and sauce for quite some time. My sauce usually varies by what I have in the cupboard at the time, tomato sauce or paste, chunks or smooth, sometimes garlic, sometimes not; spices always. The pizza crust is usually the same each time but I don’t go by a recipe. I start with one cup of water for each crust I’m making. Then I add one tablespoon of yeast for each cup of water. A tablespoon of sugar or so, and then I sh...

I am the youngest of 7 children. I have two older sisters and 4 older brothers, we have all married and have anywhere from four to seven children each. So there is a great number of nieces and nephews thrown in the pot as well. We are all a bit quirky in our own way. The other day there was a quite a bit of discussion about our quirkiness amongst our family email list. The discussion centered on who might have been the most Obsessive Compulsive. It went something like this: Sister Silver: “Doc says I have sleep apnea, so I’m sleep deprived OCD. He wondered how I manage to function at times.” Nephew Joe: “There’s nothing wrong with OCD, I function quite well. My bed is rarely made, but God help the one who messes up my movies, cd’s or music. Or refolds my washcloths or bath towels!” Brother CLC: “My wife says I’m OCD because I organize the dishwasher when loading it. But it is not compulsive; I do it because the dishes get cleaner if they are in just the right place. I can stop any time...

Last week at the food bank where I volunteer, I got two more boxes of Pluots. These are little larger than the first boxes, (the fruit themselves, not the boxes) so I decided with Sadge's recommendation, to just dry these this time. I have dried fruit in the past, in fact, I love my American Harvest Snackmaster and use it all summer. I have expended it to 12 trays and love to hear it humming away on the counter, filling the house with warm, fruity smells. (I recently did a bunch of onions though and moved it to the garage, ha ha!) I halved the fruit and then sliced them into 1/4 inch slies so they would uniformaly dry. One batch took about 8 hours in the dryer, then I picked about one tray-full that needed a few more hours. The rest were done; chewy and full of flavor. One box of pluots is finished and filled a gallon size ziplock bag. We are going to make fruit leather out of the next box. I have the solid trays that fit in my Snackmaster and the kids are excited to help with thi...

Here's the link to my neice's news update. They have now moved into their new apartment. I'm so thankful for organizations like Operation Homefront. Moving in and up!

The foodbank where I volunteer got in pallets of Crimson Heart Pluots. They are a cross between an apricot and a plum, with slick skin like a plum. They are sweet and juicy without the pithy taste you sometimes get from apricots. I adore them!! I canned them all, doing 33 pints of jam and 33 quarts of pluots in a light syrup just for eating. The jam turned out beautifully, the pluots alone? Not so much. They boiled over each time I removed them from the canner and the fruit rose to the top badly. While they won't win any blue ribons they will feed my family, and that is my ultimate goal. I spoke to my Mom and she said maybe I was boiling them too hard, so the last batch I turned down to just a simmer and left them in the canner to cool a bit before I pulled them out. They didn't boil over and spew forth like the first batches did, but they still rose to the top and looked like they had had the life boiled out of them. Any canners out there have any recommendations? I did a ...

Eighteen months ago my nephew-in-law was injured in Afghanistan. He has been recuperating at Walter Reed ever since and has undergone numerous, (like nearly 80!!) surgeries to repair his pelvic bones, spine and legs. He has a long road of recuperation ahead of him. His wife, my niece Stephanie and their daughter Maddie have been with him during this long process. They have been staying at the local Fisher House. It is very convenient for them, right down the street from Walter Reed but cramped, and when you have a rambunctious toddler, it can be very difficult. Operation Homefront has built an apartment complex in Maryland that will house recovering soldiers and their families while they transition back into the army or into civilian life. They are completely furnished and will be provided free of charge to the families. I’m just amazed! What a blessing to these families, not to have to worry about those expenses and can concentrate on getting their soldier better. It is good to see ou...

I'm involved with a company which helps people restore and preserve their memories. They might be called scrapbooks. The company might have two initials, which are the same as my daughter's. And the founder might have appeared recently in an interview with Donny Deutch on The Big Idea . I love this comany, I love what it stands for, I love taking photos and making them into "histories" of my family. I love creating special books that my kids enjoy perusing. I love it that a favorite past time of their's is to drag out "their books" and read the stories about themselves. I was surfing, (imagine that!) and came across a few you tube videos. (I haven't quite figured out how to imbed them here, but you can always click on the link and watch them on youtube. Another cool thing I just found, a movie about it! www.scrappedmovie.com !! Where was I when this came out? Man! How do I get a copy? Sold out, he says! Gotta have it, anybody have one collecting du...

Because my husband is only a Chaplain Candidate and hasn’t finished his seminary yet, he has a civilian job while he’s in school but gets to do some active duty work and “play army” periodically. He loves it, he’s a good soldier and really loves ministering to the troops with which he is working. I long to be full-time army, all the time. We are an army family, we have been for nearly 18 years, and our kids have grown up with secure gates, ID checks and the commissary. I feel at home in our army community, and my truck wants to turn in when we pass the gates to post. But in the meantime we are a family without a city; we straddle the fence, neither here nor there in a constant state of change. Transitions are hard, I hate the “limbo” feeling of not belonging and I had to deal with the effects of it yesterday. Well, rather, it started the day before at the pharmacy. I had tried to refill a prescription using our civilian insurance. Of course, since Bear has been on active duty our civ...

I don’t multitask very well. Brain malfunction, I guess, or maybe there’s just too much going on in my life. I’ve read that people who multitask are less productive in all areas of their life. I guess I should just stick to one thing at a time. I tried to stick a dirty diaper in the mailbox once, and I’ve been known to put milk away in the cupboard and not the fridge. Today was no different. I’ve been trying to cook better meals for my family and my crockpot is wonderful for getting things started early in the morning and forgetting. I fixed my coffee and just poured my favorite creamer, hadn’t even taken a sip, then got out the ingredients out for this sloppy joe recipe . I snipped off the end of the “sausage roll” wrapper of ground turkey, when plop, it flew right into my freshly poured brew. E. coli coffee, anyone? Sigh…

Thank you, dear readers for your prayers. Here is a quick update on my family members. My mother in law, Nana is still in the hospital and will undergo tests today to see where the blockage is exactly and what can be done about it. They may or may not operate pending the outcome of the testing. Pop may move her to a bigger hospital, (they live in a small town, with one small hospital.) My friend Larry from the food bank is home now and recovering from his 6-bypass surgery last Saturday. I'm going to volunteer today, and I better not see him there! He has a tendency to overwork and not recuperate enough. Last Thursday while he was supposed to be resting, he called 6 times to remind us of something he was sure we had forgotten. "Yes, Larry, we know." "Yes, Larry, you left us a list." "Yes, Larry, Fran will take care of that, she's already gotten it out of the freezer." "Yes, Larry! Quit calling! Go lie down!" "Goodbye, Larry!" Se...

Our family life has been a bit hectic to say the least over the last few days. I have barely had enough time to catch my breath, let alone write funny, inspiring things on my blog. But a couple if things have come up that I would like to share with my readers and ask for special prayer. My dear mother in law, Nana, is in the hospital. Several years ago she had her entire lower intestine removed, and now she has a blockage due, the doctors think, to scar tissue from the original procedure. Nana has fibromyalgia and a bone deficiency as well. She has nerve damage from pinched nerves in her vertebrae and has had multiple surgeries to correct her crumbling disks. This nerve damage has affected her bowel movements anyway and now to have this blockage problem, she is in serious condition. Please pray that the doctors can find out what is wrong and correct it quickly and efficiently, also for comfort and pain control. She is also a smoker and it probably suffering from withdrawal symptoms as ...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Wrong Way" : “if you say so” I have thought about just deleting this and not commenting, but my blog is my witnessing tool and I feel I should address this person’s comment. Apparently Anonymous thinks that this is my opinion only, and I want to assure the reader that it isn’t. We all hear about boycotts and people spending their money wisely. If you were an environmentalist and a company that sold a product that you wanted used environmentally unfriendly practices in their testing for example, you wouldn’t use their products. You would use cruelty-free products. You spend your money on companies that support your beliefs. We all do it, and no one would say anything about it to anyone else. As a Christian, I believe that this kind of marketing and consumerism is even more important, we aren’t just talking about saving owls or manatees, we’re talking about eternal life, and I for one will be more careful where my money goes. I ju...

Yesterday I had some laminating to get done. I’m making BINGO cards for my kids’ activities over the summer, to help my pre-K learn some stuff before he starts school. I heard from a neighbor that there was a place in town that did laminating. (We live in a small town, population about 3500, not a whole lot of choices available for specialty stores in the area.) I was looking forward to saving on gas and time; I didn’t want a trip to Kinko’s, a drive of about 45 minutes. In our town, there is a strong New Age influence, and I should have been more aware before my trip out. I got to the mini-mall where the mailbox-laminating store was and I guess my desire to get my BINGO cards done was overwhelming my discernment, because I could see that this was not the kind of place I wanted my money to go, yet I went in and had it done anyway. When I walked in, I felt all creepy inside, and strange. I could feel the Holy Spirit trying to tell me to leave but I ignored the sensation. Not anymore. As...

Yesterday was the first full day of summer break, and we had errands to do. I went several places with all the kids in tow, 5 of them, two in the double stroller, and three walking beside me. We went to the PX, the bank and the commissary, then my beloved Wal-Mart! (Hehe!) I know that 5 kids may seem like a lot to some people, it must, everyone kept commenting. "Are these all yours?" "Wow, you have a full house, don't you?" "You must be a busy mom." I kept thinking, why don't we ever hear comments to the contrary, "My goodness, don't you have any children?" "Wow, your house must be empty!" "You must sit around and eat bon-bons all day, with no children to raise!"

This really snuck up on me, and I feel totally unprepared. I'm usually so full of great intentions for doing special things for the teachers and then they fall through until the last minute when I pull something out of my hat and astound everyone with my creativity. How much better could I do if I actually planned ahead, I wonder!? So, three teachers need some keepsake that will actually prove to them how awesome I think they have been in my kids' lives. How do I do that in the space of a weekend. Which already happens to be filled to everflowing. I don't want these poor teachers to think that they have not made a profound difference in my kids, because they truly have. Chels' teacher has brought her out of her shell by commplimenting, and encouraging her to be a great reader and creative writer. Miss Busy's teacher has shown her that it's ok to get your hands dirty while catching bugs and daily excercise is good for your body as well as your brain. Ace's te...

Every year about this time, I pull my Snackmaster food dehydrator out of the garage and give it a good scrub. Suzy Snacky is one of my servant-girls . She will sit on my counter faithfully humming away to preserve the foods we find all summer long. Last Thursday while I was volunteering at our local food bank they had a pallet-full of organic bananas. I brought home a whole box. Now, the organic part is better, I’m sure, but it doesn’t make that much of a difference to me one way or the other, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want pesticides on my foods any more than the next mom, but when I was growing up and we raised much of our own foods, vegetables, fruits, chickens, hogs and beef, it was pretty much all organic anyway and we didn’t pay more for it, I guess that is the part that is my gripe. But, alas, I digress. So I brought home my box full of bananas and immediately filled Suzy with all the trays I could find. My kids love dried bananas, they call it banana candy. One batch, 9 t...

My Miss Busy brought a paper home from school from her music teacher announcing that the community youth choir was holding auditions. She's a pretty good singer for a nine-year old. She love to sing and does so with many of the songs we listen to on our Christian Radio Station. I called the director last week and left a message that we were interested in an audition for her. The director called me back yesterday, unfortunately we were out of the house...at a Doctor's appointment...for both girls...for strep throat. They won't be singing any time soon.

This morning in my email I received a notice that I was being published. I had submitted a story to Heroic Stories and they accepted my entry. Pretty exciting I think. Check out their site, and sign up for their e-newsletter, my story will be in the next edition. It is about the Chehalis, Washington flood cleanup I did. Then come back and read more of the story here , here, here and here. If you have come over from heroic stores.com, welcome to my blog and leave a comment so I know you’re reading. Hope to see more of you soon. Your comments are my “salary,” I’d love to get a “pay raise!”

Today I discovered that someone has used my debit card, or rather used both Bear’s and mine. The transactions only add up to about $20, but that’s not the point. Someone has been getting in and I feel violated, privacy lost, security stifled, angry, depressed and just plain cranky. For the record, I have cancelled both cards, alerted the bank and contacted the merchants to whom the transactions were supposedly made. One of them said it couldn’t have been them, they don’t take credit cards, one was a discontinued phone number and the other one had a full mailbox and couldn’t take any more messages. Hmm, strange… I know that I didn’t take a hop over to Pistakee Heights, NY and get something printed, but someone used my debit card there and I don’t appreciate it. I don’t know how to snap out of this funk I am in, I’m short with the kids, cranky and downright down. I feel like smashing something! When we were in SC, I lost the page that I photocopied from home that had all my passwords a...

Just today in the mail I received a treasure I thought I would never get. I had held out hope for years that it would come, but it never did. I had given up and turned toward other ventures, forgetting that I had started something nearly 20 years ago. Today was the beginning of the gift I had read that other mothers often receive. The gift is this, “…her children will rise up and call her blessed.” In the mail was a Mother’s Day note from my 19 year old son, a tribute to his mother. Here is what he thinks of his mom. (In his own words, complete with spelling errors, apparently I didn’t do too well in the spelling-teacher department.) “A mom is: A friend, companion, cradle rocker, hug giver, cooky baker, girl scout leader, business woman, band-aid giver, guardian, listener of stories, songs and dreams; nurse, doctor, maker of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, spilt milk wiper-upper, hair braider, molder of personalities, chief chef, laundry service, teacher, coach, play mate, wiper of...

Just a picture…because I have a serious fabric addiction and company coming to stay this weekend and this is the guest bed.

Today Bear walked with Robby out to put some stuff in the truck after church, it was high noon and the bells in the bell tower started ringing. Bear asked Robby, "What was that?" He replied in his all-knowing 4 year old voice, "It's an ice cream truck, Daddy!" Um, no, not exactly.

Sincerely 'fro me to you and Vintage Thingies Thursday ! Kristen over at We are THAT family has a blogging carnival going on Thursdays, and she asked for bloggers to share a story from our past, something that won't probably make it into a scrapbook because we can't find our crinkle-cut scizzors or some mouse peed on the pictures or whatever reason. Apron Queen also has a carnival goin on called Vintage Thingies Thursday, I thought since I am so good at multi-tasking, I'd roll two posts into one and call this story both; an embarrassing story from my past as well as vintage. Now if you think that those bangs aren't vintage, and that, "Oh My! Would you look at that zipper!" I don't know what is! So, this is my story... Fall 1978, it was the beginning of my modeling “career.” It all began at the Western Idaho Fair, on the exhibitor’s building main stage, or rather behind the main stage. There I was waiting for an absolutely dreamy Junior Future Farmers...