Easter 2016

Easter 2016 consisted of a scavenger and easter egg hunt

Mekenzei got to go first

They had so much fun looking for their clues to their items

Having 2 acres gives us a huge advantage to hide eggs everywhere

We typically make them go from the front to back of the property and in between as they work through clue by clue to their final clue leading to their hidden item

The boys helped Mekenzei with some of her clues

It took her a while to find her item in this shed. Lucky wanted to know what she was removing and if it was for him, this is where his feed is stored

Even the dogs enjoy hunting along with the kids, they don't truly understand but are excited over the commotion

MeKenzei had wanted a bible to dig further into studying the Word of the Lord. I found this one that seemed perfect for her. We bought some tabs as well as that was a feature that she desired but that this one didn't include. Shes still waiting for the Lord to direct her upon a path for her scholastic future and career but for now she is doing her part by learning more about what he says and what his promises are for her life.

They boys joined in on their hunt this year. So much happens all year while Jakob is at school, so its harder to give clues and have him truly know what he is hunting for, where to go, besides they had a combined item this year as well. A window unit for the loft, something truly needed since Izzy will continue living with us and she is staying in Jakob's room, so he has to bunk this summer with Zekaryah, in a loft that isn't even 4 foot tall.

Easter felt a little rushed for us. Jakob's spring break is always the week before their spring break, so we only had a weekend to fit in family time. We did make the best of it though.

Lucky was just like the dogs, he wanted to go everywhere they were going and join in on the fun.

I had to remind Zekaryah to let Jakob read and figure out some of the clues as well. Its funny that even at 20 years old he was still enjoying a family tradition.

I think this guy enjoys it more than anyone~

One clue we nearly have every year leads to the garden and it says salsa is made from here.

I don't think these dogs could have been any happier to run back and forth through the yard

MeKenzei gets pretty silly while they are looking for their clues, of course she knew what their item was and where too.

I truly love having them all together. I look forward to years from now when their children come and have the same traditions.

Easter is about Christ and what comes from his death and resurrection. We are truly blessed to have the gift of eternal life with one another.

I know for this girly, having her brother home for a few days was gift enough. She sure misses him while he is away at college.

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts

Prayer Healing Rag Quilt

Jakob designed the quilt arrangement for me, just something he wanted to do. This quilt was made for a Mother of our Choir Teacher at school. She lost her daughter this past summer to a long battle with breast cancer. Now she has treatment of her own to go through. MeKenzei and I were talking one night and she shared the story with me, she asked me to pray for them. That night God wrestled with me in my dreams. He was calling me to make this quilt for them. I had quite a bit on my plate already and it needed to be finished before we went to Spring Break. Somehow my schedule started clearing out and I was able to have it finished and ready to drop off yesterday morning.

This quilt has prayers said over it as it was made. My prayer is that it will provide strength during times when extra is needed. Hope in its beautiful colors and Joy in its warmth and softness as if the Lord himself was giving a hug to her in times of need. I pray that the treatment go well and that there is healing in her life if that is The Lord's Will for her. I pray for her family as they endure this again, esp in the very raw emotions that are currently still very present.

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts

Sunshine of Autumn Quilts

My business story
We’re in the business of creating treasured memory and graduation quilts celebrating lives of you and your family.
Posted by Sunshine of Autumn Quilts on Wednesday, 9 March 2016

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts

Math Project

Mekenzei had a calculator algorithm project to create. After they created the image, they had to draw it out on paper. I was amazed at its beauty. She put a lot of time and effort into this one.

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts

Super Girl

Jakob and I had a discussion about MeKenzei and all the work she puts into her classes. For Jakob being Valedictorian was a lot of work but at the same time parts of it came easy because he naturally just got things, he was a good test taker and was not very social so he had less obligations in some ways.

For MeKenzei it doesn't come easy. She doesn't always retain what she learns, she writes amazing notes, but this takes hours. She reads everything she should, does every project, assignment, serves at church, volunteers at school, has a couple leadership positions.. the list goes on. I am in awe sometimes of the dedication she puts forth. I really wish her pitutary gland would work more efficiently. The last two years have been tough, relearning how to study and not getting frustrated over the changes that have occurred.

One thing Jakob mentioned was that even though he has done well scholastically he hopes that not all his success in life is academic. He hopes that he can make a great contribution and make a difference so that his life was worthwhile. I felt bad that he doesn't see how much of a difference he made to so many already just through what he has accomplished but he looks at MeKenzei and sees something he desires through her actions. As a parent it took me by surprise. I am so blessed to have amazing children.

Another thing we discussed is that she will actually out do him in courses taken. Its amazing really. If all the courses she requested come to be she will have an additional AP course over him. However, she will not be able to achieve the same rank number. I hope even though she works so hard she also finds time for herself in the midst of all of this learning. Its tough to have so many scholastic obligations.

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts

Time to Relocate

Hatchet just doesn't understand why she has to roost, I think he is afraid of her falling.

Izzy's horse Lucky wasn't quite sure what to make of the baby chicks either

He wanted in the cage, he wanted to smell the pine shavings and he didn't understand what all the fuss was. 

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts

Baby Chicks

Pictures didn't want to stay in order, but we are increasing our flock of hens

This little girl decided she liked to roost and be out of the brooding boxes, she also started teaching others to do the same.

She really made Hatchet worry about her, he lived near the brooding box so it became time to move them outside

He was super curious about all this new stuff

We only got these two little guys from our batch of eggs, the other incubator with our friends eggs had about 75 % success

That gives us 40 new birds, will see how many are hens though. We put another batch in, they should start hatching March 19th.

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts

Wallhanging and Pillow Cases

This utilized pieces from 11 dresses and then some embroidery panels.

I cut a small block from each dress to create the quilt and then used remaining fabrics for the pillow cases.

Each one is slightly different, this one I used the buttons

Each dress became a keepsake for a family member

I added a little heart from another dress to make this one a little more special

This one had a cute pocket so I used it for the dress by appliqueing it.

I took the bottom ruffle of this dress and created a pocket for it.

This one I utilized the cute ruffle near the bottom of the dress.

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts

Second Track Meet

The second track meet was a little tough only because it collided with the start of Jakob's spring break from college. We went up Thursday night to get him after his 6 pm class but he needed to work Friday morning for Work Study so we had to wait. It was a nice break for us though.

Jakob got off about 12:30 and then we had to rush from Dallas to Tomball to make Zekaryah's meet. I am thankful the running events started after 6 pm. We made it in time for those.

Izzy grabbed him subway for lunch and took it to the school. I was thankful. I wanted him to eat really well before the meet, to ensure good blood sugar before the race. He did so well. He ran the first part of the 400 in 40 seconds, he was so fast~

Just about the other side of the corner on the second lap is when he died out a little, he hadn't run an 800 except for the meet before, they don't practice it after school and he never ran short distance in the past years so this is all new. I think he will do better at the next week. Still 5th place is excellent.

Their team came in 2nd place for the 4 by 4 this time. Again it was so cold once the sun went down. We need extra blankets next time.

It was nice to have Jakob with us, it was the first track meet he has ever attended. School always got in the way when he was at the High School with them or when they were in Junior High. It was nice for him to support his brother and he brought some games for the guys to enjoy.

google.com/+JennWellsandSunshineOfAutumnQuilts