Building on the Good

On a roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-04T21:51:00.003-06:00

I had a great time making this for my nephew's 4th birthday. I think some of my favorite kiddos will be getting these for Christmas. : )

Go here to make one for yourself.

From My Kitchen Window

2009-10-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

This is what I see when I look out my kitchen window.

It's the view I take for granted because I am usually washing the dishes when I look out. Sometimes I look out and I wonder why I get to be so lucky to have all that I have.

Then I remember singing a song in church as a child, "Count Your Many Blessings See What God Has Done", and I stand there in awe of how good He has been to my family and me.

I don't just mean monetary things either. I have the most wonderful, hard-working husband in the world. My kids are healthy and happy. My parents, sister, and in-loves live just down the street. My friends are always there when I need them. I am truly in the place I used to only dream of.

I challenge you to take a look at the "little things" and realize how great they really are.

God is good.

Basset Hound Puppies

2009-10-09T19:07:00.005-05:00

On Tuesday night around 10pm our basset hound "Flash" went into labor and had had 5 puppies when I decided to go to bed at 2 am. When we got up Wed. morning we were delighted to find that she had given birth to a total of 7 puppies. All of them were healthy and as far as I could tell we didn't even have a runt.

We were able to spend two wonderful days playing with all 7 of them and have fallen in love with each one of them.

Then unfortunately this morning when went up to the barn to check on them, two of them were gone. Vanished without a trace. We are so saddened by this but are happy that we still have 5 puppies and a healthy mom and that we were able to move them into the laundry room of our house to ensure their safety.

If anyone out there knows what kind predator I might be dealing with I'd love to hear any tips on how to eliminate it!!!!!

We have been blessed. Enjoy the pics : )

I ♥ Faces "Completely Candid" Photo Challenge

2009-09-21T11:26:00.007-05:00

I am posting an entry for I ♥ Faces. This is a website that my BFF discovered and I thought that this picture was perfect for the "Completely Candid" contest.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my niece. I took it this summer while we were on vacation. I love to watch her eat, as food always ends up all over her!

Remember I don't in any way claim to be a photographer so I am entering this strictly as a beginner!!!! I'd love to hear you comments and constructive criticism! Wish me luck!

Super Cute Card

2009-09-21T10:00:00.006-05:00

I made this oh so cute card for hubbies cousin who's having a baby soon. She painted her nursery lime green and trimmed it with white and black. I haven't gotten to see it but I'm sure it's just beautiful. I have to admit I though it was an odd choice of colors but after using the colors to make this card the scheme has really grown on me.

I just can't get over how great it turned out because most times when I try to make one of these something goes wrong. This is definitely going to be my go to card from now on. It looks so complicated but really isn't that difficult. Thanks to The Craftiblog for the super easy tutorial. Stop by and make your own.

I also decided to make a fancy envelope because a card this cute deserves it!

Baby Boy Scrapbook Album

2009-09-19T22:00:00.003-05:00

Tonight my BFF and I decided to hang out and scrap at my kitchen table. After we stuffed ourselves with queso and chicken quesadillas we broke open the new Creative Memories Baby Boy PicFolio Quick Kit that she brought over. I ordered it, with mother and sister-in-love, as a gift for hubbies cousin who is about to have a baby. Because as we all know no one has time to scrap with a new baby. It is fabulous and so very simple. It only took me 30 minutes and as you can see from the pics it is super cute!! Now all she has to do is add her pictures and voila shes done!

The New Cricut Gypsy

2009-09-19T09:34:00.005-05:00

For all you scrappers out there who love your Cricut as much as I do, you have to head on over to Cutting Above for a chance to win the new Gypsy. It goes on sale Sept. 24th on HSN!! It's like having design studio at your fingertips with no computer to carry around. You can upload all of your cartridges to it. Just think all you have to carry in your scrappin' bag is this little Gypsy no more hauling all of those cartridges. And it will plug into any Cricut!!!!

Don't forget to look around on Cutting Above . They have some wonderful tutorials to help you with all your scrappin'!

Good luck everyone!

Hello Again!

2009-09-16T18:15:00.011-05:00

Well it was a busy summer and an even busier start to the new school year. Everything I thought I'd do didn't get done and everything I had no intention of doing did get done. Go figure! That's my life.

I started a completely different school approach this year for both of my kiddos. So, needless to say we had a rocky start! R2D2 was not a fan of all my new ideas and Pink Laptop just jumped right on the bandwagon which made R2D2 that much angrier.

As we have worked out the kinks things have gotten lots better and we have had lots of days smooth sailing! Praise God!

This is our workload for the year. Let me know what you think.

R2D2 is doing-

7th Grade Switched on Schoolhouse-Bible, Language Arts, Science, and History/Geography

Picturing America Art Study

Math-U-See Pre-Algebra

Sonlight Core 5 Eastern Hemisphere Readers, Read Alouds and History Books

The Big Book of Lively Latin (This is our most favorite thing this year!)

Pink Laptop is doing-

4th Grade Switched on Schoolhouse-Bible, Language Arts, Science, Math and History/ Geography

Picturing America Art Study

Math-U-See Delta (Yes that's two maths, she needed the review.)

Sonlight Core 5 Eastern Hemisphere Readers, Read Alouds and History Books

The Big Book of Lively Latin

Art Academy on Wednesdays (At a local church.)

So that's what our school year looks like so far. It will be interesting to look at this come April or May and see how much it has changed. : )

That's all for now. Don't forget to build on all the good that's in your life. Chances are you'll forget there ever was any bad!

Until next time....................

Weekend Camping!

2009-06-14T17:39:00.011-05:00

We finally got to go camping this past weekend. I thought you'd all enjoy seeing how silly my family really is! Sat. morning we decided to go swimming and unfortunately, due to a tornado in May, this is what we found! Luckily there was another pool at the front of the campground.
For some reason my kids like for their dad to throw them in the air?
"Filing Triple" (Prince Charmings BFF) takes a dip and a flip.

"Pink Laptop" soars through the air!

"R2D2" slides on the water!

We got a little exercise on our bikes and found out how young at heart "Prince Charming" and "Filing Triple" are!

We even made a new friend! This box turtle was very friendly and let me get right next to him to catch a great photo.
Although R2D2 didn't catch anything big enough to keep he had a great time fishing!

Indoor baseball was a blast! I couldn't get that beanbag through the hole to save my life but it was great fun anyway! The taunting from "Filing Triple" was relentless but that's why I call him "Filing Triple" because when I met "Prince Charming" he came along with him! "Fix-all" (my dad) even got in on the fun while "I'd rather be in Paris" (my mom) watched and laughed at us all!

"Filing Triple" and his better half "Hounds Tooth".
"Filing Triple" and "Pink Laptop"

"Pink Laptop" and "Hounds Tooth"

Now you see um, now you don't

2009-06-02T22:27:00.009-05:00

Due to her tiny petite mouth "Pink Laptop" had to have braces just before her 8th birthday, in order to make enough room for her permanent teeth to come in. She was such a trooper through the whole thing. I couldn't have been prouder of her. But I was thrilled when the day came to get them off!

As the tears filled her eyes she tried to keep herself together.

I held on tight to her had and said some prayers for her pain as well as prayers of thanks that I brought her instead of her daddy who wouldn't have been able to handle it!

I don't know that I fully prepared her for the pain of the removal. She wasn't expecting it to hurt quite so much. This is the look I got after all the brackets were taken off.

This is our kind orthodontist who nicknamed her "sweet-girl" and was so wonderful to work with.

This is the yummy past that goes into your mouth to make the mold. I remember having this done when I was a kid and thinking I was going to choke as it filled up the back of my throat.

This is what "R2D2" did in the waiting room. As you can see he makes himself at home no matter where we go!

The end result.....BEAUTIFUL!

Spring Babies

2009-06-02T19:55:00.005-05:00

Say hello to a few of our babies, born this spring!

"Hay"-Watch Out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-29T22:38:00.009-05:00

My dear sweet father-in-love has an obsession with hay. He eats, sleeps, and breaths it this time of year. Well he doesn't really eat it but this time of year is a crazy time for him as he drives his tractor from field to field in the pursuit of COW FOOD!

Tonight, however he is counting his blessings. And I count him lucky to be walking away unscathed.

This afternoon as he drove down my neighbors driveway he flipped his tractor over while moving to avoid the "Super Deadline Seeking UPS Man"! The package got delivered on time though, because the driver only paused long enough to shout "are you o.k.", and then sped off to make his next delivery. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I think I'll be using the U.S.P.S for my next few packages!

Father-in-love is doing fine and only had to replace a few tractor parts.

God is good, all the time!

Schools Out for Summer!!!!

2009-05-16T08:02:00.003-05:00

We finally finished our school year! Yahoo! I don't think I've been this excited to finish school since I was in school myself! I love homeschooling but come about April "I AM DONE"! Now for summer plans.....well I have 2 weekend getaways planned so far, just for me. And as for the rest of the summer I plan to:
-read/study my Bible
-blog
-sew
-scrap
-ride my new bike
-cuddle with my kids and nieces and nephew
-make a quilt for my sons bed
-go crazy making stuff with my cricut
-paint and redo my daughters closet
-lounge by the pool!
-lounge by the pool!
-lounge by the pool!
-continue meeting you guys
-reconnect with friends
-make gifts for all the people in my life that are having babies

So what are your plans for the summer???

Pay It Forward

2009-05-08T22:21:00.006-05:00

I saw this post the other day on Anne of Blue Gables . I, too always like to make things for people, so I decided to participate. I am totally borrowing Annies rules, so here we go:

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. This is an adventure!

2. What I create will be just for you with love and good wishes. It will be made of actual materials, not of cyberspace.

3. It will be done this year (2009).

4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be!

5. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your Blog and create five things for the first 5 people to respond to your post.

6. Send your mailing address after I contact you.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if you do not post on your own blog to pay this forward.

Please post a comment or "drop me a line" if you'd like to participate.

Llama Llama Lost Their Pajamas!

2009-05-05T11:19:00.006-05:00

We had our Llamas sheared yesterday. It was over in no time but Kuzco wanted no part of it!

He fought hard but as you can see from the pictures he lost!

Gracie was as good as ever.

She is such a sweet girl!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!!!

2009-05-02T19:32:00.005-05:00

Today is my Dad's birthday. Tonight we enjoyed lots of food and a great time with each other.

Best of Friends

2009-05-01T18:59:00.004-05:00

What is a BFF anyway?
I listened to a talk recently from a home school mom about friends and how having too many "friends" can literally suck the life out of you. I agree and disagree with this. I agree because a good friend can mean more than a coveted cup of morning coffee. (I have some really great friends.) A great friend can teach you more about yourself than you may have ever figured out on your own.
On the flip side I've starting thinking what kind of friend I am? What kind of friend do I want to be. Am I that friend that is sucking the life out of someone? Or am I someone that is making someones life better by being in it?

I remember as a child being on the playground and someone coming up and saying will you be my best friend? Only to find out the next day that she was best friends with someone else.
So how many friends do you have? Do you have one or many. What kind of friend are you?

Our New Baby Goes Outside

2009-04-05T10:11:00.004-05:00

Elizabeth ran and jumped and seemed to love the sunshine while her mom, Lily got to munch on some fresh cut grass. They are both doing well and we are so thankful.

I got a great picture of our barn as well. I just love our farm in the spring. Everything is so green and beautiful and there is new life everywhere. It reminds me of how faithful God is and how he always takes care of us. And makes me think of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus tells us not to worry as even the birds are taken care of by our heavenly father. He is awesome and amazing.

Mini Truck Show-First Place and Best of Show

2009-04-04T21:07:00.010-05:00

UPDATE: Look who won First Place and Best of Show, Mini-Truck! Congratulations, Little Bro!

We enjoyed a great day with my brother-in-love at a local Car Show that he entered his truck in today. He has worked so hard on it and we are so happy for him. At the last show he entered he walked away with First Place in his class.

Dear hubby and his baby brother.
My dream car.... I know it's cheesy, but I love it and some day dear hubby's going to buy us one so we can go out west.
Dear hubby's dream truck
My silly kiddos!!!!

Mom's Pizza Crust Recipe

2009-04-03T10:44:00.007-05:00

O.k. I have to give a shout out to my mom, "Hi, Mom"!

My Mom has the best and easiest pizza crust recipe ever and I wanted to share it with all of you.

1 to 2 tbsp. butter

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Place butter in a 13 x 9 pan and melt while preheating oven to 400. (Being careful not to burn the butter.)

Beat milk and eggs in a bowl with a wire whisk. Add in remaining ingredients, beating until smooth.

Remove pan from oven and tilt to coat sides. Pour in batter (it will be VERY thin, don't worry) and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 and bake for 10 minutes longer.

Top with you favorite sauce and toppings and place back in oven for 8 to 10 minutes to melt cheese.

Makes about 4 servings.

Feel free to add your favorite spices to the crust mix to add a little kick!

Thanks Mom!!!!!

The things we do for love.....

2009-04-02T10:00:00.007-05:00

A few weekends ago we went to Bristol TN to the Nascar Race. Now let me assure you that racing is not really my thing but when we surprised our son with the tickets for his birthday I thought he might pass out.

Really who would think that a little boy would get that excited to watch cars go in circles 500 times?!# Wait a minute am I talking about dear hubby or dear son?

But the most amazing reaction was from our daughter! She was speechless (if you knew her you'd know how amazing that really is)! She almost couldn't control herself!

We had a great time camping with my Dad (who provided us with our wonderful camping accommodations) and dear hubby's best friend who always provides us with side splitting laughter!

It's a Girl!!

2009-03-31T16:56:00.005-05:00

Say hello to the first baby born on our farm!!!!

Dear Hubby just happened to go outside this afternoon and there in the woods was the new nanny with her very first kid! They are both doing well, happy and warm in the barn.

This is Elizabeth.

As we were watching mother and baby in the barn my dear son said, "Mom we don't even have to do anything to learn about stuff around here....we just have to watch." I couldn't agree more!

Quote to Ponder

2009-03-26T10:00:00.003-05:00

And Remember,
No Matter Where You Go,
There You Are.

Some of my Favorite Scrapbook Pages

2009-03-25T10:00:00.003-05:00

Every year my very talented BFF comes over and takes pictures of the kids in the front yard with all of the leaves.

I thought these pictures were some of the best yet! She always manages to capture my kids perfectly!

I used my Creative Memories papers and cut the embellishments using my Cricut.

Decorating Your Home with Creative Memories and Your Cricut!!!!!

2009-03-24T19:00:00.001-05:00

I have been meaning to post something about how much I LOVE the Cricut Expression that my parents gave me for Christmas and am now finally finding the time to not only tell you all how much I love it but hopefully inspire you to make something for yourself as well.

I saw a really cool idea on this blog and decided to tweak it to my own taste.

Instead of using fabric I used my Creative Memories scrapbook paper and various other things I had in my craft stash. I went to my local craft store and bought some canvases already stretched onto frames and then added the paper and embellishments. I made the letter T using my Cricut and hung the ribbon of various lengths all over. My daughter loved this project and I have to get on the ball and help her make some of these for her room.

I think it turned out really cool. The best thing about it is that I can change out the pictures anytime I want.

For more info on Creative Memories click here for my BFF's website.