Just us Girls

Rediscovered a wonderfully scrumpdilyishis fabric store today. The girls and I tooled over to Summerville, and checked out People Places and Quilts. Loved it, loved the super helpful staff, loved the beautiful old building with heart of pine floors that make you wonder who may have walked there before, loved the hand made wooden manikins with painted on faces, loved the wooden "sale"wagon, loved that they were child friendly and had toys for my little one to be distracted by, loved that they had lots of fantastic sample projects to fawn over and be inspired by, but mostly, I loved the piles of superfragelistic fabric!!!!! So many to drool over, and it was hard to make decisions. This is the splendiferousness I brought home. The girls loved it too! Haven even picked some fabric to make herself a turtle.....more to follow. Follow that with lunch at burger King (Kings Crown, according to ElizaJane) with a huge playground, and we were set! It was a fun afternoon, just us girls, i was very grateful for my girls today, and thanked my heavenly father for such a gift! I look forward to many years of enjoying their company, Lord willing.

mini log cabins

Here was my project on Saturday. Soooooo fun to do. I think I'm going to make 9 different colors and sew them together to make a pillow for the family room. Our couch is white, and a pop of color would be fun! Each block is about 5x5. I had a blast picking out the fabrics from my scraps. It works well, because I can get a block done in about 45 min. so I can fit one in while no one is watching. LOL! The girls have been very high maintenance lately. That's okay, they will only be little for a short time more. have a fab day all. Don't forget to talk to Jesus!

ipod love

Okay, so i am officially the last person on planet earth to clue into the whole ipod wonderfulness I know, but can I just say wow how great is THAT!?!? I thought I would enjoy it, you know kinda, get to pick my own tunes, maybe an occasional walk, or use at the pool so I don't bother anyone else...... UM No! it is truly fantabulishess! I have discovered the world of pod casts, and they have revolutionized my state of mind, music ?oh maybe sometimes, but I can now be uplifted, set straight, admonished, challenged, encouraged, educated, all with the click of the keyboard and a 50 minute walk each morning! So in the deal, I also get exercise! it's all good! I am listening to Nancy Leigh Demoss(my fav), Chip Ingrim, and they even have the daily bible on there(I'm trying that today)! The possibilities are astounding.

Just Depending

This girl will nap anywhere! No, she wasn't really sleeping she said, just "depending", translation pretending. Isn't three wonderful? ya gotta love the wonder three brings, everything is so new and exciting, and they just soak in every drop of interesting goodness that they can wrap their little heads around. I love to hear her try out new words and phrases that she hears others say, well, I don't always love it, but usually it is fun to hear her discover and apply new knowledge.



We have words, and phrases that our whole family has held on to from the children's toddler days. They become new words for us that we don't even always remember are wrong. Does anyone else out there do that? For instance, we all call the restaurant Cracker Barrel, Crackle Barrel. We have done it so long that the real name doesn't sound right anymore. Magazines are sometimes referred to as mazagines, Parmesan cheese is shake cheese, etc... who knows, maybe we will all be depending one day.

Book Blathering Part 1

We recently moved, and a few weeks ago, I was going through one of my husbands boxes of books from his college days. I found several treasures that I can't believe we have been dragging around for 21 years without my discovering them. I read one of those treasures over Christmas break, and was so blessed by it's message. Mimosa is its name and I can highly recommend it!!! So encouraging! It is written by Amy Carmichael who if you are not aware was a missionary to India in the late 1800s and was the founder of Dohnavur Fellowship which provides a home and Christian upbringing for children in the Tirunelveli District of South India. It's just162 pages of wonderfulness. Check it out and prepare to be blessed!

Trash to treasure

Well after being inspired by several blogger "friends" to check out Goodwill, I am now officially hooked. As I have mentioned previously, we have recently moved to the wonderful city of Charleston, so there is a lot to discover and experience. There are also 2 rather large Goodwill shops relatively close to our new home. One day last week Michael had a business meeting near my parents house in a not so nearby town and they very graciously offered to entertain ElizaJane and Crockett. Sooooo, after school that day my 2 middle children and I set out for the good ol GW. I didn't mention to my teen that that was our destination as I was afraid he would not appreciate the grandness of this adventure. Much to my surprise, they were overwhelmed with the excitement of our newly discovered treasure trove of previously owned brickabrack?!?! Well, I kinda got caught up in their childish revelry, and an hour and a half later we had accumulated two large bags of ....well,......dare I say it..... junk! I found these 4 cute wooden shelves that I hope to transform into virtual works of artistry and wonderment that will no doubt bring about nothing less then absolute glee to my 8 year old American girl collector. She found this "Dorothy" basket that she could apparently Not live without, and since that is her middle name, how could I say no?

I also found these cheesy Ukranianesk over sized utensils???? Are they so ugly that they are cool? Or.....are they just plain ugly??? well, stay tuned, and perhaps you will see them transformed into something.... well, something less Ukrainianesk.

Lastly, I discovered this so cool metal basket.... is there any doubt that this is cool?... I actually like it just the way it is, but if you know me at all, well, lets just say it will have to go through a little transformation if it wants to stick around, because I can never let well enough alone, because, well,... I never think it's, well... enough. sooooo stay tuned and see if any of these things make the cut, or go right back where they came from.

Winter Time Smore's

We made smore's last night over the gas flame of the Wolf stove. Although the kids enjoyed it entirely, the gooey treats just didn't taste as good as i remembered they had "back in the day". I think it was the smell of the smokey campfire and the feel of crispy sun kissed cheeks and damp hair, and the breezy white capped sight of lake Michigan that I really missed. The memories of childhood can be so vivid sometimes can't they? I had a good childhood full of pleasant memories of an intact family that loved me, and protected me. I was taught to know and love God, obey his commandments, and follow his teaching. i am so grateful for that heritage and the gift it was to receive that knowledge at such a young age. I fear I often take it for granted and forget the blessing that my families' love, and an early commitment to my Savior has afforded me. I know my children will all have fond memories of their childhoods, already when Dakota comes home from college we reminisce about "the good ol' days" when he was a knobbie kneed serious toe headed boy with a fiercely competitive spirit. be warned young mothers that they do not always remember things exactly as you might, and not only the 'good times', if you know what I mean?? Although my three year old baby's memories will be very different then her 19 year old brothers, it is my hope that they will all look back with fondness at a time full of love and security, but more then that , one steeped in a love for our Almighty redeemer, Jesus.

Oh God, You have taught me

from my youth,

And I still declare Your

wondrous deeds.

and even when I am old and

gray,do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to

this generation,

Your power to all who are to come.

For your righteousness, O God,

reaches to the heavens,

You who have done great things:

O God who is like you?

Psalm 72: 17-19

The garage is like the plague

Can you believe how beautiful our poinsettias are still on January ninth? it must be my fabulous green thumb right? Think again! My husband and I bought two of these the first week in December. they were absolutely gorgeous, and I planned to put them on the front porch on either side of our front door along with this.

Well, not the girls, just the stone creche. But, when I returned home that evening I dropped the flowers off in the Garage, with plans to put them out in the morning.....fast forward to two weeks later and my husband and I remembered them. We felt sheepish and wrote them off as most likely shriveled up and dead...... fast forward to last night. Michael(MDH) was in the garage looking for something for my Dad and found these beauties!!!! Wow, we were astounded. I knew that poinsettias liked the dark, and I guess I knew that they liked the cold, but I did not know that they could go that long without any nourishment. Now that they are under my care, they will be dead by tomorrow morning. LOL.... By the way, we just moved in November, and all the extra stuff is in the garage....My husband and I are avoiding it like the plague!

Have a spirit filled day!!!!, and remember to smile.

making art

Michael and the "big boys" and Girly girl went golfing on Saturday. So the littlest girly girl and Crockie and I hung out at home. Instead of all the millions of things i could have, or should have been doing, I made this. It's not done yet. I'm having trouble imagining the faces. I was inspired by this months cloth paper scissors. There was a tutorial by Kelly Rae Roberts. I really liked her work and have been itching to do some collage. It really felt good to get artsy again.

Back to the home school grind again. Just kidding. I really love the routine. My least favorite part, is the waking of the students, It goes against every fiber of my being. Hate to wake people up. It feels soooo rude. Well, off to be rude.

I did not post this at 3:57 am. Can someone tell me how to change this time? it is now 7:08!

Everyone has to take down their Christmas tree, Christmas time is over

Well, they are all packed away, and ready to be discovered again next year. ElizaJane was sad, it had not even occurred to her that the Christmas tree wasn't staying forever. She eventually jumped right in to help though, after being assured that.... "yes, everyone must take down their tree Eliza, Christmas time is over.".... It reminded me of the childhood memory I have of the house down the street. They left their tree up for months! it would stand in their front window all lit up far into February. It was a scary yard, all overgrown and unkempt. They had beagles in the back yard in a pen up off the ground that always barked when I walked by on my way to and from school. I never saw anyone there, but I always quickened my step. It was strangely out of place on our street of Midwestern ranch style homes painted fresh colors with nicely mowed lawns, and freshly clipped bushes in the spring and summer, or smooth white snow covered yards with recently shoveled driveways. I wonder now what the story was of the Grabbels house, even their name was frightening. I wonder now if they were hurting or lonely, and not merely untidy and strange as I thought back then, or perhaps they were the artistic eccentric types, or maybe they just didn't know, that .......Everyone must take down their tree, because Christmas time is over.

i guess it's time....

Every year my sweet husband takes down the Christmas decorations. Every year I go shopping on new years day. These two events coincide, and so for me, it always feels like the tree, and decorations, just magically disappear along with the stray tinsel and tiny pine needles all over the rug.This year, ....not so much....I think I forgot to go shopping, and he forgot too, and now he is back into his post holiday routine, and I am faced with the not so fun chore of put away. It is always fun to get the house back to normal though isn't it?



Last night in Haven's bedtime prayer she told the Lord that she hoped he would have a good year........I started to explain that God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow, and that he is perfect therefore he does not experience the same highs and lows of emotion that we do etc.. and so on and so forth....then I caught myself. I've been thinking about it ever since. There is nothing like the prayer of a child. So sweet....soooooo


Happy New Year Heavenly Father, I hope you have a good one.

10 questions and 30 day challenges

Okay all you fellow bloggers and lurkers, we all know that the blog world is full of resolutions and challenges and various self improvement strategies. All that is good I guess, but it often rings quite hollow, and by february all is forgotten. Check here for a 30 day challenge that will really change your life, I signed up for the encourage your husband one, and here, for questions to ponder that might really make an eternal difference. I love a challenge that I can actually do, and it doesn't hurt a bit, in fact it feels really good!

welcome 2008, and welcome to my world

so glad you stopped by! I am so excited about my new blog, and hope you will enjoy it as I share small snips of goodness that I hope will enrich your life in some small way. That's me in the brown jacket, and the 6 people that mean the most to me. That furry gal in the front is just along for the ride. Here are a few Christmas highlights to help you get to know the people you might be hearing about from time to time.



This is our baby, ElizaJane on Christmas morning on her new bike.

Here is my wonderful husband Michael, and the "big boys", Dakota is in the middle, and Kartwright is on the left at the Christmas tree farm.

This is sweet Haven Dorothy with our 3rd son Crockett (Crockie). You will hear much of him, as he is the source of much growth and learning at our house.

I hope you will come back to visit often, and leave some comments also. I would love to share this journey called life with you.