End of 2010

As this is the last day of 2010 I wanted to focus on  bible verses that deals with the past and the future
“This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”  Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

You know I think often people get stuck in the past. I have been known to do it. We can easily focus on how people have wronged us, how our childhood was, how such and such affected us. The list can get very long and tedious. I think its ever so present in our early adult years when we are really struggling to decide who we are, what we want to be, where we want to go in life. I know one obstacle I have struggled with was being adopted- for various reasons. It was not so much being adopted just the whole situation around it and how there was a constant turmoil between parties involved. Another obstacle was my marriage. We sure did struggle. Rightfully so though- we did not always LET GO of things- both of us being guilty.

I think the Lord wants us to forget the former things so that he can continue to open doors in front of us- its hard for him to shine light through a window if we are always looking behind. Hard for us to see the true blessings he has in store if we are full of negative emotion and pity. For me I don't want to miss an opportunity he has because I can't get past some hurt that happened yesterday or even years prior. I often say that there are many things in my life that I would not change because it truly has made me the person that I am. To this day I stick by that. My past has allowed me to embrace the challenges we currently face daily-
How to put food on the table, how to manage children- having a close family and working, the list goes on. Most importantly how to work to have a good marriage.

The Lord never promised for Life to be easy. He never said we would not stumble, that we would not feel pain, that we would not be wronged by someone else. He did say that
He has a plan:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Jeremiah 29:11
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

We should have hope:
but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Eternal Life:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:40
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  John 10:28

Forgiveness
Matthew 26:28
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:38
“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace


So simply put- Choose Christ, Repent your Sins, Ask for Forgiveness, Receive Eternal Life - move on from yesterday- put it behind you and look forward to the blessings of today as He prepares for us a Tomorrow.

Have a very Blessed 2011

More on Mekenzei's Room

Staining the baseboards- had to come inside because it started to rain. I was not getting delayed again

I love how the shot Jakob took of me doing the sides. Almost looks graceful or something.

The newly installed baseboards on the floors I refinished recently. I LOVE IT! I can't wait to put the poly on them tomorrow. Her room is coming together so well

So one thing we noticed was how shotty the trim around the windows look. We can't really replace the old windows just yet, so we are just going to frame the two sides and top of the 2 windows she has in her room. Looks like Paul will do some more cutting and I will do some more staining. Then I want to find some nice outlet covers too.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for such a wonderful year. I have much to be thankful for as 2010 comes to a close.
I have a healthy family, we really did not have any major illnesses for this year. That is wonderful since it has not always been the case. I have once again made it through another year with no bipolar or seizure medicines. 
Kids have done wonderful in school. Paul still has a job. I have started to sub as the year comes to a close.
I sold 30 items just on ETSY alone this year, some small some not so small. That is not counting all the local sales, the gifts given and donations made to the school during the carnival time this past May.
Yeah for couponing and stockpiling- it has really helped us a great deal.  Yeah to family time, I am so thankful for time spent with the kids and my husband. We even managed a couple of dates, one where I got to spend the entire day in Galveston with him alone without any kids. That was AMAZING! Now if we can get a night away that would be wonderful.
I am thankful that my house is coming along- thankful for the additional Ac unit we were able to get, thankful for the heater we just picked up. Thankful for all the cheap fabric I was able to buy to do some crafty things for the kids and the house.
We have had some losses this year, we lost a dog- that was heart breaking- as someone hit him and the kids found him while I was not home, nor was Paul. Trying to get home to them was very difficult and seemed to have taken forever. Then of course loosing my mom this summer. That was rough, but I am thankful that she knew Christ as her personal savior and that she is celebrating her eternal life with my 3 grandfathers, mother in law and my son. I am also thankful that she is not sick anymore. I am thankful to her for all the time we had together this past year, for her believe in me and my business, for her faith that I would be a good mother and that I had such a wonderful example of what a Christian should be.
As this new year approaches I have several goals for our family.
1.  A constant menu every week- I want to try really hard to include more veggies, its just so hard to get them on sale or with coupons so it really adds to my already very limited grocery bill.
2. Exercise- my husband and I really want to walk- I need to do some step aerobics or something like that.
3. Keeping a better planner- I have a binder I am starting- it will contain recipes for the month, my weekly menu, my cleaning schedule, my coupons, bills and reciepts. My husband and I were brainstorming the idea of filing this binder each year. I think its a great idea to better track what we are REALLY doing/spending.
4. Do some give aways on my blog. I need to reach out to my fellow blogger and see what she uses to pick the winner. In January my goal is to giveaway a towel and potholder set.
5. FAMILY TIME. It is very important to me. I want a game night and a movie night each week. This will take more planning and a creative menu. My back up plan is to rotate them and have each twice a month.
6. Date Night- we used to do this more. Tonight we are ending the New Year with one, My husband rented a movie and we plan to have our date night as the boys are entertained. Hopefully we can get some out- maybe go fishing, go for a long walk something fun.
7. A clean and orderly house- I plan to set up a calendar of the month and choose one month for each room, where I can pick more than one room. Some might take two months- like the kitchen. I want to do repairs and fix some things- I know we need some ceiling fans and simple stuff. Even coats of paint. I also want to go through all my old fabric and make a donation of everything I do not plan to use in the next year.
So that is my basic starting plan. It seems pretty easy and we will see how much really comes to be.
I am praying for a very prosperous New 2011. I am praying that the Lord will continue to grow my business. That he will continue to use my Blog as inspiration to others, that he would bring offers my way like one that was just presented to review an item or do giveaways. I really want to be more of an instrument to Him. I am thankful that I have worked through my grief over my mom in a timely matter and I am truly ready for this next chapter. May he continue to give us health and a roof over our head and may he overflow our cups as we continue to follow him.
May the Lord bless you and your family in 2011.

Quilting and Poor Planning

Jakob's Quilt and my Poor Planning

 

A year ago I had this great idea to make Jakob a Sudoku quilt, I had a better idea in that I was going to let him pick his nine game fabrics. It did end up being a little pricey but he would get exactly what he wanted. Here is where I went wrong. One its been a year ago and a row got pieced wrong- several blocks in the row. That meant me unpicking a few blocks from three nine patch squares and then sewing the pattern correctly for the entire last 3 nine patch row. If that makes any sense to you keep following to the second problem. 

Problem two- I originally was going to border the quilt with a blue fabric- since Blue is his favorite color- doesn't seem like a problem until I realized after having the center of the quilt done that the quilt is 50 in square and I really wanted the quilt to finish twin size which is 70 by 90 roughly. 

The idea was for this quilt to be on his bed so now I have a couple options- use some game fabric to make "another border" then the blue fabric, or just make the blue border fabric not as wide as it is long. I really want him to like his quilt. He does not know how it would work to have a finished quilt 70 by 70- which is option three. So the solution wait till hubby is home and pray I am not once again pulling this all apart. Next time I hope to plan a little better because this has been a headache- but all headaches create memories so..

Family Time

I am reflecting back on 2010 and find myself realizing how blessed I am to have so much family time with my children. My children do some sports or music related activities if they are free at school but otherwise they pretty much just go to school, come home do homework and that's about it. They have very limited activity with friends mainly because they don't have very many whom they do things with outside of school. My oldest Jakob never goes anywhere that is not school or church related and Zekaryah just has one friend who either in the past year stays here or he goes to his house. Mekenzei she is a little more social then the boys- she has two friends who she shares time with. One more than the other since she is just about 10 minutes away.

I really value their sheltered lives. I treasure the fact that they spend so much time at home and that they are not so busy they do not have time to be children. They do take full coursework- meaning they are in advanced classes where they can be. Jakob and Mekenzei are in advanced classes for every class. It does require more time and effort. Zekaryah probably spends just as much time in his non advanced classes as the other two because they are more difficult for him. He did start advanced Math and Science this year and is doing pretty well.

I love to watch movies with them, we often do marathons- pizza nights, snack nights or just a lazy afternoon in PJS with a flick. We do love to play games too. This can be a problem at times if all three want to play because its hard to find a game everyone loves. I brought Yahtzee back this Christmas. It is a game my husband and I would play during date nights when the kids were little. We did not leave them with babysitters, rather we put them down a little early. I would make a wonderful dinner and we would play a game then watch a movie on DVD- or at the time VHS. The kids hestitated at first but I think it might be a monthly traditional game this coming year. We love card games. I looked for one this Christmas called Swap because the one we have is missing a few cards. I can't seem to find it in any of the local stores. I am hoping to locate it online over the next couple of months.
In the summer I would say we spend alot of time at the beach. Paul and I like to fish, more so Paul then myself. Then the kids love to use the waveboards and play in the sand building all sorts of things. The benefit of the drive is conversation. We find ourselves talking about all sorts of things- some of it more just to reemphasize our values like waiting to have sex, others just about goals, dreams or ideas in the world.
I think its so important to have grounded children. Our children don't know the exact dollar that Paul makes but they do realize the income level in which we live in. They realize that we try very hard to not use credit cards, that couponing is a must in order to eat and that we want them to go to college, get good jobs and hopefully not struggle as much as we do.
The bible tells us a few things about how we are to instruct our children,
Deuteronomy 6:7
⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 11:19
¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire.

Proverbs 22:6

 ⁶Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I am sure there are many other verses, but these are some that came to mind.

Tackle it Tuesday Pt 2

Railing in the loft- Zekaryah did not like the lack or privacy- I did not like seeing a mess in his room either

My solution- upholstery fabric- hemmed and then stapled to the inside railing

Tackle it Tuesday

This week's Tackle it Tuesday. I had hoped to finish some more crafty things today but so far this is all I have gotten done. I am hoping I can whip out Zekaryah's curtains. The Fabric needs to be trimmed and hemmed, I have it freshly washed. Then I can just staple it to the railing in his room to provide some privacy and hopefully some warmth. For now here are the pillowcase Christmas gifts I still had to finish.

 

Andrea's Tinkerbell Pillowcase to match her bed set

Liz's Pillowcase to match her new Twilight Bed set which is hot pink and black

Christmas Blessings

I am thankful for all that I was able to give this Christmas Season. I still have two more pillowcases to make- I have been under the weather so they did not get made in time for Christmas, however, the little girls that they go to won't mind a bit to get an after Christmas gift.

 Potholders and towels to my daughters friends mom

 A Tshirt Quilt for my friend's son

 A Tshirt quilt for my daughter's friends husband it was funny to see him open this- it took a minute for him to realize these were HIS tshirts. He won't let anyone touch HIS quilt.

 Several Pillowcases- these seem to be the gift of the season

An Animal Quilt for my friend Diana, she had placed a couple orders, then sent me this middle panel in the quilt, I took it added sides, turned her backing into binding fabric, added a name and put some red flannel on the back that matched perfectly. It turned out really cute.

We were blessed by two groups, first was the kids school. They provided us with two gift cards- which we were able to buy a microwave with- Ours finally bit the dust yesterday- we chose a $40 on the counter model instead of replacing the $180 over the range one. I just felt like if we spent less and dealt with loosing kitchen space we could buy some groceries too, and we did, it came to just under $90 for the food and microwave so we have enough for a gallon of milk and some zucchini later this week.

They also blessed us with some socks, a couple of games which we love. I really want to work at making game night a weekly item for our family again- we get so busy that we failed to make it an every week even this past year. They also gave Paul a new drill and some bits and the kids some outdoor balls and skateboards.

My friend's dad provided us with some money which I used for the kids sheets and some more socks and underware. Mekenzei was able to get a couple tank tops and 2 long sleeve shirts. 

I really can testify to the fact that the Lord takes care of those who give to others. We didn't really have the money to spend on materials for some of the items that I made. I really wanted to selfishly use it for our own kids. I also really wanted some new towels for my kitchen- just some white ones I could sew fabric on. Instead I took the money from quilt sales to buy batting and backing for the two tshirt quilts and I bought flannel for the pillowcases. It felt really good to give to others. Another blessing was my ability to stay busy and not become depressed during the season of Christmas. 

The kids really didnt notice anything missing either. It seemed like a little money came here and there and I was able to do more this season, I know that was the Lord providing. We were able to finally provide Mekenzei with a bed frame- we are still in the process of remodeling her room. I was also able to finally buy a power supply for Jakob for his computer too. 

Matthew 7:12 says the following, 

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them"

I try hard to follow that rule. 

Deuteronomy 15:10

Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

One verse that sticks out in my mind this morning as I get ready to Tackle my Tuesday, is the following

Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

So my questions for today are "Do you give with a glad heart?" and "What can you do this week to bring sunshine or some small contentedness to life of someone you know?

Menu Monday

Monday

Brisket Sandwiches and Baked Potatoes- or for Paul and I chopped Bakers

Tuesday

Chili and Corn Bread

 Frito Pies or Chili Dogs-kids

Wednesday

French Bread Pizza

Spaghetti - Jakob

Thursday

Cheese Enchiladas

Bean Burritos- Jakob

Friday Happy New Years- Snack Food Night

Chips and Queso, Fried zucchini and fried okra, fried pickles, fried jalapenos, S mores- 

Chips and Salsa, brisket taquitos

Saturday

Tuna Helper for the kids

BBQ Deer Sausage for adults

Sunday

Tacos and Tostadas

Another Handmade Christmas Gift

A friends Christmas Gift from us. I had made her husband a Tshirt quilt for free, then I am making her daughters pillowcases. I felt a little bad that we had not planned to make her anything, so I came up with this. I might try to include a jar of Ragu, some pasta and some french bread in a basket for an Italian themed gift.

Christmas Pillowcase Gifts

Mekenzei's best friends Christmas Gift

Zekaryahs Best Friends Pillowcase

Thankful Thursday

You know sometimes I find that I bend over backwards for people. This is especially the case when it comes to orders with my quilting company. I had made this beautiful Baby Genius quilt for someone with matching burp rags. I did it very quickly and got it mailed. I failed however to get a tracking number or confirmation. Needless to say I have learned my lesson. I then refunded money to this person because she mentioned the order never arrived to its desitination. I was very timely on my refund and tried to be understanding. I felt it was the Christian thing to do, even though she complained about how I handled myself. This week she wrote a very nasty email or two, said some things about my mom, about my Christian faith, just really cut me to my core. I felt lousy! I was thankful that she reimbursed me for the shipment that now found it to its new owners- some how it was delayed in the mail. It made me really evaluate myself. Am I not a good Christian? Do I not try to be friendly, quick, accurate with orders? Have I lost site of my focus in Sunshine of Autumn Quilts?
I am thankful that yesterday- after getting this email I spent the day with my friend and her two girls doing some fabric shopping- it kept my mind off things.
I checked my feedback today- as I had a customer ask me for specific directions on how to do such on ETSY. I was impressed to see the Lord answer my hearts pondering so quickly.
Here are three recent feedback's from customers that I have worked with this month. They all warm my heart very much.

Just beautiful! This is the best present I have bought my Mom in a long time! What a great way to keep the memories alive! I love it! 

The quilt was perfect, great quality & completed within a week! Seller was quick to respond to any questions. Would definitely recommend her!

My experience with you couldn't have gone any better. The way you gave the transaction a personal touch was wonderful. Asking God to bless me just warmed my heart and was greatly appreciated. May He bless you and yours as well. You contacted with a small issue regarding my order on a timely basis and the product came just as promised. Definitely would use you again. Thank you.

You know I am so thankful to be in the Christmas Season. The Saviors Birth is so very important to me. I try very hard to be a good person, follow the biblical principals that were set before us. Provide Sunshine into others lives where I can. This season I have given away more orders than any other. We have struggled so much this past year and I really felt that I wanted to give to others to heal my heart a little. I am really missing my mom so the extra work helps me too. I also know that a great deal of what I made will be treasured by those loved ones whether we know each other personally or just via internet connection.  I would say that after looking at the feedback today I have not lost my focus on what is important to me value wise in my business. I would say that sometimes you just can't always please others and I am very sorry that I hurt this customers feelings, it was not my intention, esp should have been obvious by the fact that I included to free burp rags in her order. 

I am thankful that the Lord has unconditional love for us. I had to really rely on that this week. It is nice to know that no matter how bad things get I have Him to fall back on. That no matter the obstacles or my sin that He is forgiving, gracious and loving. 

As Christmas approaches I Thank the Lord for every person that He has put in my path. I thank Him for all the orders I have been able to accomplish this past year. Those that were paid and those that were gifts. I am thankful to see that the gifts outweigh the paid orders, they actually are double over the paid..I pray that this coming year He continue to guide my footsteps, continue to open doors to allow my business to bring sunshine and love into the homes of others through my work. I pray that I continue to see the bigger picture and stay grounded in the values I have before me now.

May you have a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. Remember Jesus truly is the Reason for the Season.

Tackle it Tuesday and Wednesday

My cousins little boy just started playing soccer. So I made him this cute pillowcase for Christmas

My cousin's little girl is her brother's soccer cheerleader so since this is pretty and pink I thought it was fitting for her.

This is my daughter's friends dad's Tshirt quilt for Christmas, I still have two pillowcases and a surprise gift in order to complete the family Christmas gifts. Nothing like running down to the wire.

What I am Learning Friday

I learned alot about myself this last week. Some as a quilter, some as a mother, some as a wife and some as a friend. First off as a quilter- I do pretty good under pressure. Sometimes when I felt there was no way to get an order turned around in a day in a half I found myself praying even more for God's Guidance. I also learned that my husband while very supportive can be my stumbling block by convincing me I need to take a break. However, honestly I know that sometimes it is good to not push quite as hard as I have been lately.
As a mother I learned that my children don't always do as I ask when I am very busy. I think more because they know I don't have the time to follow up and see if they have done what I ask. This made me start something knew that I hope is temporary. They are doing their own wash. I feel like Zekaryah always wants his friend * over and then Mekenzei always wants to go to *'s house. However, I feel like they gripe if I ask them to unload the dishwasher, clean the bathroom or put their clothes away- which by the way I washed and folded. Several times since this summer I find that pile of clothes no longer folded, not put away and on their floor needing to be washed again. Last night- maybe partially due to stress- I said enough is enough. They were not going to friends houses, friends were not coming over and they were to clean their room and they now do their own wash. It was a funny site.
Mekenzei found herself cleaning Jakob's room-which she has shared with him since the summer- I hope to correct that this Christmas Break. I asked Jakob to go help while I was working on a quilt, once I realized she was cleaning what I already asked him to do- while he was on the computer! Her response- I want to do it myself. So in retaliation I had Jakob unload and reload the dishwasher. I was not letting him not clean- because at that moment I realized that Zekaryah was also CLEANING his room. Wow so friends are important huh? Mekenzei did her own load of wash and folded it and put it away. Jakobs room is half way clean, it looks nice and organized and swept- he will finish the rest. Zekaryah washed and dried his clothes- I admit I folded them and they are waiting for him to put away. His room is better but not to my standards just yet. Paul also must have realized how MAD I was because he did a load of his own clothes this morning. Too funny!
So as a friend I am learning sometimes its best to put things aside. My friend * asked me to go to her daughter *'s geography bee, she asked me early in the week. At the time I was waiting on Tshirts for a rush Christmas Order so I did not know if I could make it. I worked all day Wed subbing, came home finished Stabilizing shirts, cutting them and piecing them into rows. I wanted to finish the quilt top but my husband made me hang it up for the night. The next morning I finished it, went to the geography bee and was very thankful that I did. She only made it through the second round and missed a question about a state quarter but it was neat to see her willing to try against many 5th graders while she is only a 4th grader. What was better was that I was there supporting her and her family. I did need to be home and piecing the backing for the quilt on my table, and also pinning it- however to be honest I did it and had it ready just as my husband walked in the door - so it all worked out fine. I just had to set my priorities and remember the Lord wants us to be good friends too, not just good servants to our work. Now if I can get the funds to do the Tshirt quilt for her husband for Christmas- as a gift I will be set.
So as for my own husband. I have not heard him complain once about how FILTHY my house is, our house. I have not heard him complain about having to cook after a long days work because I either subbed and came home to work on a quilt or worked on a quilt all day and was still doing so. I heard him praise me Friday night when I became super stressed and needed a break from Tshirt quilts. I was feeling guilty because it appeared that once again my orders were coming before my own children. They really wanted stockings this year and I was afraid I would disappoint them again. He was supportive and allowed me to work on them and let my orders wait, knowing that all week I would be swamped trying to catch up! I admit the one order I had set aside was a gift order, but i still felt trememdous guilt, esp as when I started to work on it again, my iron went out, then the next day my rotary cutter broke- which delayed me even more. It will still arrive in time for Christmas though.
I am so thankful as I look back on the last couple of months. I miss my mom so much. I still find myself crying at the most inopportune times. Its so hard to not have her here to talk to, to share with, to laugh with, and most importantly to pray with. I am so thankful for her prayer back in June. My family life was unfocused and not going so well. Her death has made us all refocus a great deal. Just like the stockings- the kids quilts, gifts to friends who might not have provided items for their loved ones without my talent, time and treasure. I am thankful to the Lord for his provision and protection. For his many blessings and for this Holiday Season. I am thankful for friends and family who are far away. May everyone have a wonderful week as the remembrance of the birth of our Lord approaches this coming week. For without him much would not be possible and would for sure be meaningless.

Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful for my family. They have been so supportive the last couple months as I continue to take more and more orders, some paid orders some not. It takes a lot of time to create quilts, pillowcases and other items. I have made 13 quilts 6 pillowcases, 4 burp rags, 5 Christmas Stockings- for my family and taken orders for several other quilts in November and December. It is very exciting. In addition to that I have subbed - more in November then this month, but that is okay. What is really nice is there were several items that were donations or gifts to others. I have another donation Tshirt quilt I hope to get done, I am not sure I will pull that one off though. Will see.
The Lord amazes me because I sometimes wonder how I get it all done. My house surely shows the wear and tear of it all. I really need a professional cleaner at this point. So that brings me to the next thankfulness which is Christmas Break. Even though I have alot of sewing to still get done, there are several movies playing during the two weeks and I am hoping to clean room by room and declutter- we have a lot to get rid of just so I can manage things better. So a little bribing will take place.
My friend just had surgery on her shoulder and is not at home yet. She may move to a rehab center for a while. I feel for her and her family, as this is the first year without my mom, and I know how depressed I have been over it all. Today as I am thankful for family and the holidays I pray to get a special Pinwheel quilt done for her- I hope to send it off in a couple weeks so that she will have it to bring some Sunshine into her home and her spirit.

Tackle it Tuesday

A Tshirt Quilt Christmas Gift 50 by 68

 

 

 

 This quilt means a lot to me because I had a nagging feeling about asking a friend of mine to allow me to make this quilt for her son.  it turned out that God really was talking to me about this quilt because it was an actual "need for the family" I don't really mean that they needed the quilt as much as they kind of needed the gift itself. I have been following her blog for some time and was very proud to see how hard this particular son had worked and it meant something to me to do this quilt. So it was a pleasurable Tackle it Tuesday..

My prayer is that his life be full of blessings. That the Lord open any doors that are to be opened, that his path always be well lit and that his life be full of joy, love and peace. I also pray he will always treasure this gift.

Menu Monday

Pretty busy week so not sure how the menu plan will go.. here is what I am thinking though.

Monday

Taco Salad- Paul cooks- I am finishing a gifted Tshirt Quilt

Tuesday

Baked Potatoes- Zekaryah Cooks

Wednesday 

Spaghetti - Jakob cooks. I sub all day

Thursday

Enchiladas - I cook

Friday

Blueberry Waffles- Mekenzei helps cook

Saturday

Paul Cooks- BBQ

Sunday

On Your Own- maybe pizza night with a movie or two, since we are on Christmas Break

Christmas Crafty Stuff Part Two

My Christmas Stocking. I wanted fabrics to remind me of my mom. The blue is the almost exact color of my moms wedding carnations. Her and I had loved butterflies and I often see butterflies now in my yard and think of her. I did not put a name on it because I wanted to showcase the inside butterfly fabric too. I think she really would have liked this stocking.

All of our Stockings. I am hoping to find some after the season stocking holders for the mantle for next year. I looked around this year they are very very expensive. I really would like some type of silver cross I am thinking.

Paul's stocking. Anyone that knows him knows he is a die hard camo guy. He chose the fabrics and the font/thread. I thought it was interesting that he chose this chunky font. But it so makes sense looking at it finished. I am sure I will never have to make him a new one.

Crafty Christmas Stuff

 Started my morning making Pillowcases.. The Dog with the name Hope is an actual order for a little girls Christmas, then the monkey one is for my cousins little girl- he requested Green, monkeys and purple.. so I hope this works.

Then I made this pillowcase because my friend Diana saw the earlier ones and decided she wanted one for someone she knew. So took an order for it tonight, made it and have it ready to ship for Christmas tomorrow.

My night continued with starting some pillowcases. This one is Mekenzei's. I wanted everyone to have patchwork type pillowcases in Christmas fabrics, well that didn't go over well with Mekenzei. We were at Hobby Lobby and she loved this blue fabric. I found the lighter swirly blue to match it, she then picked her thread and fancy embroidery font.

Zekaryah loves the beach, he loves sea life and water. It was interesting when he picked this fabric. I thought he would pick a more tropical fish looking fabric. Then we found this cool star like fabric that matched the whales perfectly. When I was choosing the fonts for the stockings he happened to be in the room and informed me he did not want that Swirl fancy font that Mekenzei chose. So there went my second decision on everyone at least having the same font..Too funny. So he chose this, and in green because that is his favorite color.

Jakob loves games, any type of games really. This fabric suited him. We did go look for some other fabrics. I felt a little bad because I had purchased new fabrics for the other two kids, and Paul, but Jakob could not find anything new that he "really liked" so he "settled" on this. Now that the stocking is done I think it is perfect. His favorite color is blue, so we used that for the thread since we both agreed that the green fabric matched better for the top and inside of the stocking. All three stockings have batting and are quilted by various stippling. They also have a binding across the top and a little hanger thing that I made. Eventually I need to find some of those stocking holders people put on their mantles because for now they will go up with little thumb tacks.

 I still need to make Pauls, and mine. Paul chose Camo fabric, surprise surprise..I have not decided what to use yet for mine. I might make one especially for this year out of some butterfly fabric that my mom loved. I just don't know. All in a days work, and now that it is 12:30 its also time to head to bed.

Menu Monday

Well this week we just have a list of items instead of a list of days. Between my meeting tonight, kids choir tomorrow and some other stuff it is hard to know just yet who is cooking when, my hope is that it just flows in the order below but at least we know what we are eating for the week.

Green Chili Pork Taquitos

Taco Salad

Bean and Cheese Burritos

Enchiladas

Pancakes

Spaghetti and Garlic Bread

French Toast

Animal Quilt

Tackle it Tuesday Posting Late

This is an order from my friend Connie- its for her husband. I got the quilt top done the other day. I have it pinned and hope to quilt it tonight. It has the best flannel backing for it. Her husband will just love this. Measures about 60X60





This one is for my friend Diana, also a quilt order. She loves snowman so even though it is similar to a quilt I made for Connie it has two different fabrics. One a snowman collage type fabric the other a blue with nativity like star. It will have this really nice snowman flannel for the backing. I am hoping she will use the quilt and not just hang it because it is going to be beautiful! It also measures 60X60