It Was a Good Day!!

Our home is just buzzing as we prepare for Thanksgiving and spend time with friends. I was up at the crack of dawn with ideas from drifting off to sleep still fresh on my brain! There are a few new changes this year with our family that I am needing to address and it all came together in my mind last night after I had crawled into bed. Our oldest will be starting high school football this next year and has been going through weight training right now. He has been working and saving and has purchased a mini gym for lifting. We were thinking of keeping it out in the garage and had a good set up but it is just getting too cold. I also needed to come up with a little more seating up in our living room for quests and I had a light bulb idea! We have a beautiful antique bed down in the basement that rarely gets used that would be perfect for a daybed! Years and years ago we had used a bed for a couch before we had had real couches, and so many friends have told me that they have missed it-which I agree, they just have a cozy charm to them. So, bright and early this morning before school, a couple of us brought the bed up to the living room. It is already a hit with the little ones! I am not going to mind curling up with a good book at night either in this cozy spot! So we hit two birds with one stone and all for no money-yeah!!

We also had some good friends over today for a visit. The girls were just loving on little Pip(Penelope). There is some big time baby dreams going on around here. I just love having the chance to sit for a few hours with a good friend while the kids play. True blessings!!

And this week I worked on a special project for a precious young girl who lost her mama. It was a project that I was very nervous about tackling because of the depth of sorrow that surrounds a loss such as this. But The Lord in His time finally brought a calm to my heart and hands. I was given a bundle of her mama's favorite clothing and linens to fashion into a doll. I am praying that this doll will be a comfort to her on hard days and I am praying that she will grow knowing that she is loved and not alone, that she can always take her burdens and sorrows to the Lord who knows her and loves her deeply.

ELLIE HAS FOUND A HOME...

SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT WE ADOPTED ELLIE A FEW MONTHS AGO. JUST THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE A FEW PICTURES OF LIFE WITH ELLIE. SHE HAS BEEN A VERY GOOD ADDITION TO OUR LIVES, ONE THAT WE CANNOT IMAGINE BEING WITHOUT. SHE SENSES WHEN SOMETHING IS WRONG AND LAYS FAITHFULLY BY OUR SIDES. WE GOT TO SEE THIS OCCUR OVER CHRISTMAS WHEN ALL OF US GOT THE FLU. SHE ALLOWS NOAH TO CLIMB ALL OVER HER AND ACTUALLY RIDE HER-AMAZING.SHE CHECKS ON THE KIDDOS AT NIGHT GOING BACK AND FORTH TO BOTH ROOMS AND SLEEPS WITH ME ON THOSE NIGHTS WHEN MATT IS AWAY. SHE DOES BARK WHEN "INTRUDERS" ARE AT THE DOOR AND EVEN WHEN SHE SEES HER OWN SHADOW-WE ARE STILL TRYING TO WORK ON THOSE FALSE ALARMS:) LOVES WALKS AND EVEN CAME THIS WEEK WHEN I WENT CROSS COUNTRY SKIING. SHE DOES GET PRETY PLAYFUL WHEN WE PLAY FLASHLIGHT TAG AND WE END UP LAUGHING UNCONTROLLABLY. AND ALRIGHT, SHE DOES HAVE A DOWN SIDE-SHE IS LAB REMEMBER-SHE IS A TERRIBLE FOOD THIEF!! SHE DARE NOT TAKE IT FROM ANYONES HAND-BUT I WISH I HAD PICTURES TO SHOW HER UPSIDE DOWN IN THE GARBAGE CAN, STANDING AS TALL AS ME LICKING OFF ALL THE DIRTY DISHES AT THE SINK, POSED IN HER BEST BEHAVIOR STANCE AT ONE OF THE KIDS FEET AS THEY EAT WAITNG FOR EACH LITTLE CRUMB THAT MAY DROP. IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME LAUGH HOW MUCH SHE LOVES FOOD! ANYWAYS...SHE REMAINS A KEEPER AND WE ARE COMPLETELY BLESSED AND HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED AS A FAMILY INTO SOMETHING BETTER!

WAITING TO BE INVITED DOWNSTAIRS-SUCH A SAD PUPPY-SHE HAS THE WHINE TO GO WITH THE FACE! REMEMBER HOW I SAID SHE LOVES FOOD?! WE ARE EATING IN THE FAMILY ROOM AND SHE WILL SIT AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS WAITING TO BE INVITED DOWN. SHE HAS A FABULOUS POUT.

Time to Start Fresh!!!

Today is the day to start again!!! Time to start sharing....and not worry about where to begin. So a few quick peeks-nothing out of the norm.

First-for my customers who like to check here for sales-I will try to begin daily updates again about each day's sale. TODAY! All bed linens are 20% off. I have recently added quite a bit of new bundles and yardages. Take a peek:)

Mittens have continued to keep me busy at the machine. And I never tire of them or finding "new" old wool sweaters! Here are just a few new pairs that I have made.

On a side note, over Christmas when we were all house bound with the flu-we worked on a project together. We made these mitten stands for drying our mittens. They have been a fun way to display my mittens as well.

Every one pitched in. It was fun to work together on a project.

I have some big news on the sewing front! Something I have longed for, for as long as I can remember has come to live in my studio!!! A SERGER!!!! Thanks to a very special woman from church and my sweet husband, I opened up a big box on Christmas that had my dream in it!! What an amazing treat to have this-it will so bless the work of my hands! I am still just so very overwhelmed with this gift, it is so beyond what I ever expected. Christmas break was pretty fun for the girls and I. I had just got back two of my machines from my Mr Fix It, so we had all four machines set up on a long table in the family room and my three girls and i sat at that table sewing for hours! Even our sweet little Bell just goes to town on my first sewing machine I ever bought. We get such a kick out it.

Barbie clothes were of top priority for the girls-I loved watching their little minds work!

Madison got her cast off!! And her wrist is in excellent condition! Yeah!!!

Last year Matt surprised me with a new set of cross country skiis for my birthday. Back before we were married, I used to cross country ski a lot. I absolutely loved it and moving up to MN for school was perfect for this! But after we got married and soon was expecting Cole, we needed to sell anything of value to survive and finish school! So parting with my skiis was a must-and being that I had an ever growing belly, I was not able to get out to ski very much anyways. But 14 years later, I was beginning to get an itch to start skiing again. And what a blessing to have places like "play it again sports" for the unathletic people who are not making a career out of it!! Well, snow here is not always reliable, so even though my birthday is in February, I didn't get to use them last year. But this past week I finally was able to get out to ski. Matt and Ellie came along with me just in case I broke my neck since it has been so long!!! But wow! I absolutely loved it and wish snow was year round! So we are hoping to get Matt a pair so we can take a few days away over our Anniversary to go skiing.

I know there is more to catch up on-but I need to get to school:) So, I will share more later today hopefully! May your day be rich with the Lord's blessing!

Nursing the Pig Back to Health...

We have been sad to lose 4 out of our 6 guinee pigs this fall to some sort of virus that has obviously spread amongst them. The 2 that are still alive are not doing well at all and we have been preparing for the inevitable. It has been especially difficult for Madison since she is the one who has taken such good care of them these past 3 years. Today it looked as though Red was in his last minutes when I checked on him, but Madison and I began to try some new things with him to see if we could help him. So today she has been working hard to nurse "Red" who is our oldest pig, back to health. I found she had cleaned out my coupon drawer in the kitchen, which is where she does school each day, and had made a little bed for him so she could keep him hydrated throughout the day. I am quite proud of her for this. Still are not out of the woods with Red, but certainly hopeful.

A Few New Things.....

November has brought with it many events in our lives that have caused me to step back from work a bit. I have needed to be a bit more present in our family and use those quiet hours to prepare. My husband just married some very special friends of ours, so we traveled back to MN for that and were able to visit our previous church and some friends there. It had been 8 years since we have been back. Time just goes by in a blink. The wedding was the highlight of our year! Nicole was one of our first students and she promised Matt back when she was in high school, that he could do her wedding! So 10 years later, with a friendship blessed by the Lord, Matt married Jay and Nicole with all hope and conviction that they were brought together by the Lord and that He would bless them and use them in a mighty way!

This was at the rehearsal for the wedding-such a fun time!!!Oh-and just a little side note-Nicole asked me to make the tree behind them for the wedding -such a fun project! Eventually-hopefully-I will make it into a quilt for them.The beautiful bride, one of my most precious friends!

This month also brought the loss of my Grandma. It was expected and in some ways even looked forward too because of the amount of pain she has been in consistently for years, but also brought a real sadness. Grandma knew the Lord as her Savior and it is a joy knowing she is with Jesus and out of such intense pain. I was not able to see her before she died, and there is a bit of a sting that I will not be able to see her again. The memorial service was Thanksgiving weekend and my husband had the privilege of giving the message at her service and burial. It was also a time to see family we do not get to see often since we are spread out throughout the country. I was so thrilled to even see my cousin Gabe who had just returned home from his 2nd tour in Iraq! How proud I am of him and his wife and kiddos and all they has fought for and sacrificed!

All of the great grand kids sang "Away In The Manger" for Grandma Lucy at the grave sight. She loved being a Grandma and loved being a Great Grandma who our children called "GG". I have been so blessed to have had my grandma get to meet all 5 of my children before going home to be with Jesus.

We enjoyed having Matt's family stay with us over Thanksgiving and my sister and brother in law stay with us for the funeral. I loved preparing for them.

All prepared for Thanksgiving dinner!

And here is my sister captivating the kids with a funny animal app on her phone-Talk about giggles!!!

There has been so many wonderful events but I am simply exhausted and attempting to catch up on sleep and work. Thank you to all my customers for being so gracious and patient with my schedule!! I am getting back into a normal routine again. I was able to get some new items listed this morning and thought I would share a quick peek.

A new set of grape jelly mittens for women...

Some new dotty coffee cozies....

And a few new sets of button bookmarks...

Just to Let You Know...

Hello my friends, my family and my creative customers! I just thought I would share a bit and let you know about life this next week.

I do not think anyone is ever prepared to say their goodbyes to a loved one and no matter how much you know it is inevitable, it still sneaks up on us and leaves us struck. I have been blessed to have Grandparents who have been alive to see my marriage and the birth of my five kiddos, but time is now showing itself as the enemy and this week it has brought with it the reality that it is time to start saying my goodbyes. My Grandpa is in his final days and I am struggling with the loss of time to spend with him. So many questions and so many things to say. But, it will now have to wait and I know he is so anxious to be with Jesus. I am excited for him but sad for us. I am aching for my Grandma who doesn't want to be far behind him. I went and sat this afternoon in his hospital room with my family and enjoyed the time talking and listening, happy to have had the grandpa I do, but so wishing this was not the last days. I brought a little stack of letters he had written to me while I was in college. I had always loved listening to him tell stories of his growing up and when I was in school I asked him to write them for me. I wish I had been in college longer so that I had more of those stories captured in letters. But this next week, I am hoping to go and sit with him some more, as much as time will allow and as many days as the Lord will give. So, If it takes awhile for me to get back to you, I just want you to know why. I will have to sneak my times in when Matt is home with the kids since I cannot take all my lovelies with me. I still have things to say even though he cannot talk back. Families always have tough stuff in their legacy but they almost always have blessings that are worth clinging too and really appreciating. I most treasure my Grandpas story of how he met Jesus as a young adult and I think that is the most powerful legacy he has left behind for all of us. One I will be eternally grateful for. It is a time of sadness, but I came home from the hospital this afternoon and found myself so much more alive and grateful for what the Lord has blessed me with. I was so content to just chase my little ones around the house laughing and felt an ease and joy that has been struggling to get out lately. So, I find myself so thankful to our God for His gift of life, for His gift of family, and for His gift of Eternity with Him. My Mom would say "Life is hard, but God is Good!" If you think about it this week, I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for my family, my Grandma, who has spent 60 years with him, pray for comfort in the end days, and healing in the family.