Little Sister is missing Middle Sister something awful since she has been gone! Middle Sister went with my parents to go see her aunt, uncles and cousins in Kansas. Middle Sister left here on Monday night and will be gone 2 weeks. Little Sister doesn't know what to do with herself! She watches Thomas the Tank Engine on the computer a lot and gets into things quite a bit. She seems to always be looking for some way to get attention. She told Big Sister the other evening, "My fwend Lawty (larkey) went to Tansas wif Gwama and I miss hew!" Today she started telling me about one time when she and Middle Sister were playing and Middle Sister pushed her over. She got very teary eyed and ended up bawling at the top of her lungs but wouldn't let me cuddle her. She went stomping upstairs to her room and cried for awhile! The first day Middle Sister was gone Little Sister was very grumpy and ended up stomping upstairs and going to sleep! I think the only thing worse would be separating twins!

I'm sure the first day they are back together they will soon be fussing with each other but I guess that just means they love each other!

You've Got To Check Out MckMama!

If you've never been to MckMama's blog you've got to get over there and check out Stellan's story. I've followed it for several weeks now and HE IS HERE! He is healthy and he is such a wonderful miracle from God. It is so wonderful how MckMama and her family put their unborn baby in the hands of the Almighty God and fully trusted in Him for whatever His will was for baby Stellan. They are such a witness for the Lord! What a blessing they have been given!
Praise HIS name for His wonderful works to the children of men!

Still Thinking About Christmas!

Just a Little Home Decor.

'Sew a Fine Seam!' (or in this case serge a fine seam!)

This huge 'F' is one of my favorite finds.

Shelves in my kitchen.

MckMama's having her Baby!

MckMama is having Baby Stellan this morning! Take time to pray for her and her family, the doctors, nurses, all involved. There is a prayer vigil going on and we can never have too much prayer. Keep them all in your thoughts and hearts today.

Decisions and a Baby Shower gift!

This is what I've been deciding over recently! Middle Sister turned 5 in August and Little Sister turns 3 in November. They just got their pictures taken and I had to decide which ones I wanted for 8x10, wallets, etc. We have a fabulous photographer (it helps that we know her well!) and always get lots of great pictures. It was fun and I've got it all decided now so I can forget it till the pictures get here!

This is what I've been working on, 'Sewing a fine Seam!' These little birdies will be part of a mobile I'm making for a baby shower gift (Joni, don't tell!!!) You can see a finished mobile here. A friend emailed me the link to this and I, of course, fell in love with it! Since I have a friend having a baby soon, I knew it was the perfect thing! Now that the birds are finished my husband will have to help me with the rest of it. I'll post some finished pictures soon. (I hope!)

Here the little guys are conspiring for the best roosting spots on the soon-to-be mobile:-) We'll have to hurry before they decide to fly away.

Odds and Ends.

Some last shots of my flowers before the freezing nights kill them completely!

This beautiful petunia just could not be stopped! The sidewalk is almost completely obliterated. I'm sad because I think we are going to have to pull it all out this weekend to do some foundation work on the house.

But spring will come again and we will plant anew!

Some of my decor before I pull it all out and 'Deck the halls with boughs of holly' or boxwood most likely! Can not wait till Christmas, or rather the time to decorate for the season. I'm really chomping at the bit this year, not sure if I'll be able to hold off till after Thanksgiving. My 'Big Sister' is asking to get it all out now too! The girls just love all the nativities we have and like to help unpack it all and play with it while Mom decides where we are putting what this year. It is so fun to see them play with things that have a spiritual meaning. I bought a Fontanini Nativity set when Big Sister was just a toddler and I've never been sorry. It is beautiful craftsmanship but is not breakable so it doesn't matter if they play with it some. So precious to see little hands placing Baby Jesus in the manger. Oh I just can't wait!!!

My little candle carolers were found at a garage sale and they will find a place once again among the Christmas decor. They find their way into the scene throughout the year by most definitely at Christmas time!

Not Me! Monday

Not Me! Monday again! MckMama started this and it is the most fun! Hop over and check out her blog, it's the best! Meanwhile, here is my list of things I certainly DID NOT do this week!

I most definitely Did Not sleep till 10:00 this morning even though Big Sister and Little Sister were both up!

I did not let little sister eat only skittles for breakfast one morning and only chips another! I did not let her eat a swiss cake roll and chips one night before bedtime when she hadn't eaten her supper. No way, we only eat healthy around here!

I did not let Middle Sister and Little Sister wear their pajamas most of the time all week.

I did not make myself a new dress and leave out the sleeve planning to wear a sweater all the time!

I did not have a date with my husband!!! (It's only been months, can't remember the last time!) I didn't leave the house for my date leaving only hot dogs, chips and (boughten)cookies for the babysitter to feed my kids!

I did not ignore my kids last night when they were sent to bed and allow them to move the beds around before they went to sleep!

I am Not allowing Middle Sister to go all the way to Kansas with her Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow! She is Not so excited she can't wait! I'm Not getting her laundry all done to pack her up. And I certainly will NOT miss her while she is gone for 2 weeks!



Now it's your turn! MckMamma started it and it is great fun, check out her Not Me! posts then join the fun if you wish!

Looking forward to Christmas!

I know it isn't even November yet but I am really looking forward to pulling out the boxes of Christmas decor and fluffing our home! I love Christmas, the gift wrapping, cookie baking, the smell of cinnamon, the festive atmosphere everywhere, the attitude of goodwill and above all the GIFT from God to us that is the Reason for the Season. The wonder of the fact that God sent His Son as a tiny baby for us. For us! Lowly sinners who deserved nothing! And God loved us so much he was willing to send His Son to be our Savior. How humbling, how precious, how amazing! That Jesus came, grew to adulthood here, was totally sinless, and was willing to follow the will of the Father and become the ultimate sacrifice by which we can all be saved!
May we all remember, through all the hustle and bustle of the season, the shopping, cooking, wrapping, planning, and creating, the REAL meaning of the season. Focus on the Manger and beyond to the Cross! Blessings to you all.

Big Sister made this last year as an art project. I love creative things that have a timeless meaning!

Cookies.

Big Sister helping me make cookies for our School's Open House.
Little Sister "helping" with cookies!
Big Sister with a (small)milk mustache after tasting the fresh cookies.
Baskets for the Silent Auction we had at our Open House

New Artwork

Getting ready to start a new artwork piece. A friend asked me to do the lettering on this one after she saw a couple I've done for myself. She supplied the pictures, verse, and background, and picked her colors.



The pictures are not mounted here that is why they look a little crooked. She picked it up when I was finished lettering it and then mounted the pictures on foam board before mounting them. She said she ended up putting dark brown borders around each picture too because they seemed to get lost in the print. I haven't seen the finished work yet, but it sounds like she did a great job!

Dressing Table Giveaway

Laura over at Decor to Adore is having her 100th post giveaway of a dressing table. Hop on over and check it out, her site is adorable. Wouldn't it be fun to have this built in dressing area shown above? I pulled the picture off Laura's blog, she has a bunch of pictures of different dressing tables and gives the history of them. I met Laura through 'Not Me Monday'!

Not Me Monday!

I've been wanting to join the fun with McKmamma and haven't gotten to it on a Monday yet!

I absolutely DID NOT allow all three of my girls to tear apart a whole newspaper and scatter it in little bits all over my sewing room. And I did not allow this because I wasn't so busy sewing I just wanted them to leave me alone!

I DID NOT let my middle sister and little sister run around in their pj's several days. I always get them dressed the minute they get up so our day flows well and is organized!

I DID NOT let them get out the Polly's, Thomas trains, McQueen cars, dolls, and Little People at the same time. We always put one thing away before we get another out. I Do not let my house get that cluttered and unorganized!

I DID NOT walk past a pile of dirty dishes for 3 days. Everything around here gets washed and put away the minute we are done using it!

I did not neglect my laundry at the end of the week so that now I have a mountain to wash, dry, fold and put away. And I definitely DID NOT leave clean laundry in the laundry basket all weekend.

NOT ME, I'm always very organized and on schedule!

Click over to MckMama's site and catch her NOT ME MONDAY posts!

This is the calendar I've been using this year and it has been the best thing ever. It has plenty of room on each day for whatever appointments or errands you need to record, and I've even used it as a sort of diary at times. I've jotted down funny sayings the girls say or what we did over the weekend after it's over. It has seen some wear but is still beautiful. I was so busy a couple months earlier this year that this lay on the table 24/7 because I had to consult it several times a day just to keep everything that was happening straight! And it looked great laying there. I bought this one from Abby at The Blissful last fall. I'm sure she will carry them again for anyone getting to her area!
This is my NEW calendar for 2009. I just picked it up from McMaster and Storm today and I can tell already I'm going to enjoy using this one just as much. I tried to get some photos of the inside but it was hard to get it to show the lines. It looks a lot like old ledger paper and the finish is almost shiny smooth, very appealing to look at and write on.

One of the pictures inside. There is are color photos like this at the beginning of each season that go with the season. Beautiful.
As I said, plenty of room to write things. I've even made lists here of things I need to take with me, and lists of errands to run. I would highly recommend you all rush over to McMaster and Storm and get yourself one or order them online! They are very reasonably priced so you may want to grab some for gifts too.

Miscellaneous.

Big Sister loves animals and anything to do with them. She was very delighted with her 'perfect' feather she found in the yard a few years ago.
Looking forward to Thanksgiving!!
Little Sister decided to take a nap on her own one day and just laid down on the floor with her blanket.
Having fun camping!
My latest artwork. The red 'King' is dusted with gold glass glitter but doesn't show up much in this photo. The crown is from Joy at the Vintage Rabbit. She has lovely things and is contemplating an online store. Hope she does that soon!

Autumn.

My sister glittered these gourds using the tips Andrea at 100 Wishes posted on her blog. Didn't they turn out pretty? Fall is such a beautiful time of the year. I am awed at the way our Great Creator made the leaves to change colors and drift to the ground where they form a crackly carpet for us to walk on. I love the promise that seed time and harvest shall not fail, and that it never has! I love the crisp mornings and cool evenings. I love the way the days grow shorter, sitting around a campfire, wearing fun jackets, drinking hot drinks to warm up, snuggling in bed on cool mornings, curling up with a good book in the evening, looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the list can go! Autumn is definitely my favorite season, with all the changes it brings, and the beauty we see in nature.
This one is my favorite I think, I just love the chocolate color.

And here is a shot of the gourds my niece and nephew glittered! I like this shot of them on the old school desk. Children are such a blessing and it is so fun to see them try to imitate us and do the things we do. I love their creativeness and imagination. I'm sure they thought it a highlight in their day to get to use Mom's new glitter and do what she was doing!

Children definitely enjoy the changing seasons. They go from one to another easier than I do sometimes! Here our gang was enjoying a treasure hunt at the camp out. They all played together so well and included everyone. The older ones looked out for the little ones and let them participate too. Wonderful way to enjoy God's nature and nurture friendships.