Fall Craft

This was not a clean project by any means. 

When you take it upon yourself to let 3 small kids use paint to do just about anything, be aware that you and your surroundings may just end up a different color in the process. If I were to do this differently, the main thing I would do is: Not do it by myself. It was a lot of fun anyway, and the kids are still excited about seeing their hand print in paint hung on the wall. I used a 9x12 artist paper so that I can frame it. Michael's craft store carries that size now! 

I was given some vintage upholstery scraps a long time ago and I didn't know what I would do with them, but with my fun discovery of all the things you can do with MOD PODGE, I am finding my ways. I don't have a lot of Fall decor, and since it's one of my favorite seasons I figure I could use a few more festive things. With: One canvas, scissors, a fun idea, and the all purpose tacking wonder: Mod Podge, you too can make just about anything you want.

Heart Cookies for God

"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." 

John 1:12

 I have always remembered the day I got baptized. I remember the day I stood in front of 10,000 teens and talked about sharing my faith. I wish for the life of me I could remember the exact moment I asked Jesus in my heart. I know it was at church around age 4 and I knew from then on I was going to heaven. Well, Ella may not remember the exact night she did it either, but I sure will.

 September 11, 2011. 

It was a special time last night having a conversation with my oldest child about whether or not she wanted to pray and have Jesus be her Savior. She said yes and understood so much more than I even expected. (Thank you Sunday School) I have said that prayer with kids at camp, friends, and even strangers in other countries, but I'm telling you, it was so special and amazing to pray with with my daughter. After we did, I told her we could make heart shaped cookies and celebrate tomorrow. 

So we did. 

Before our adventure with the cookies (which was super messy), Ella sat with Peter and I on the couch and asked him if he wanted to go to heaven. He promptly told her, "I am not READY to go to heaven." (Which, is the same thing Ella said 1 year ago when Andrew talked to her about heaven) Ella said, "Well, Peter, I asked God in my heart and I'm going to heaven, so is Daddy and Mommy, so you need to do that too." Peter told her, "No one is going to heaven right now and I am going to stay home and watch baseball." I started laughing at this point in the conversation. Peter then asked, "Is Goliath going to be there? Will God let Dave throw rocks at Goliath in heaven?" (He and David are on a nickname basis apparently) I told him no, that I didn't know if Goliath was going to be in heaven but David would be, and Peter could someday ask him about Goliath. How the conversation took this turn is only an act Peter could pull off. I told Ella, "Peter understands that Jesus loves him and that he died on the cross to take away our sin and that's what matters right now for Peter." He told her, "Yes Ella, I do know that." There we have it. While we made the cookies, the kids insisted that we save some for God. Peter said, "I think God likes cookies and he's probably baking some too right now." If heaven is full of wonderful things, then if I have my say, there will surely. be. cookies.

John is sharing his cookie with Peter.

Rainy Day Sewing

T-Shirt Scarf/Cowl

This is a fun idea for ways to use old t-shirts that are taking up too much room in the drawer.

I only ended up using 2 shirts for this project, but it turned out so fun that I just may use more and make them as gifts.

(You will have to pardon the setting for these pictures. It's dark outside, kids are finally in bed, and the kitchen is my craft room).

First, lay the shirt flat and measure about 4 inches wide from the edge. This is a raw-edged and very imperfect creation. Don't stress out about making lines perfect. I think it looks very fun with messed up edges. Cut both front and back with scissors up to the armpit of shirt. Then, the middle section will end up the longest of the sections. Use the other edge if you can. Cut off the seams and bottom of the shirt. I got about 6 pieces that were about 4x16 inches from each shirt, so a total of 12 (good math, eh?). This will vary depending on the size of shirt too.

As you can see, the edges are sewn right on top of each other. Not inside, just on top so both sides have edges sticking up. I had about a 1/2 inch overlap of the scraps. Some pieces weren't even the same size so don't worry about them matching perfectly.

It is very long, but when you sew the last edges together if you choose, you can wrap it once to start.

Then wrap it again for a long cowl look.

Or if you want to bunch it up, once you have it on and wrapped up a few times, make it a neck cowl by doing it again. This is so comfortable,  I might add. I did it with my kids awake which is a miracle, that's how quick and simple it was. 

Have fun!

Rest and Relief

Words cannot really express how thankful we are to be home and dry. The pictures of the flood have been heartbreaking. To know that there are many more towns affected even worse gives me pain in my stomach. We took a walk last night to see the height of the damage on our block. The sight of water up in people's homes just made me sad. Not just any water either. It smelled so bad, like paint and sewer. It was thick brown muck. Today, the water is down and still dropping even with the storm we had again last night. I woke up in the middle of the night to thunder so loud it made me jump in my bed and lightning so close I was certain would wake the kids. They assured me this morning that they slept through it. Thank goodness. We took a drive out of town today and crossed the bridges where we could see that the river is still about two rivers wide. It looks so terrible from above, a view we haven't had except in pictures. Coming back into town, we drove again by the street that was covered by water to see that it had finally gone down. There were dumpsters everywhere filled with soaked and muddy belongings. Curbs are overflowing with drenched furniture. The firetrucks are pumping water back over the levy where it leaked a bit. People are still walking around just in shock observing the devastation. It's so surreal. I don't think I will be able to pass by a newspaper or listen to an announcement about disaster and not be impacted to a higher degree than ever before. I was telling my sister that when you're in the middle of something like this, it makes you realize what's important in life. Not our stuff, not our home, but our family and our safety. Yes, it would have been so sad to lose things, but they are things, and that's all. We had a nice night with our friends (thank you Toepfers) and the kids were sad to pack up and come home. 

I have not been more thankful for my home than I am right now.

Heading Higher

 Just wanted to update with a bit of information. 

We are headed to a friend's house for the night because there is a slight possibility that our house could get affected by water. Our prayer is that it does not even come hear our street, but there's a chance. So, we've moved things up from the basement, Christmas decorations, hunting gear (of course), car seats, crafts, pictures, things that we can't replace or run through the washer. However, our water heater, furnace, freezer (full of fish), and other items will go unprotected for the next few days. This picture you see above now has water about 10 feet higher than it was here. Andrew took a bike ride around and saw that one of the houses we almost bought is surrounded by water and will have a house full by tomorrow.

 I sat on my couch today and thought about all the things we would lose if our basement and bottom floor flooded. I looked into my 2 year old kitchen and thought about how it would look covered in brown muck. I remembered the verse that talks about not storing our treasures here on earth, but in heaven. It means more to me now than ever before, that's for sure. I can only imagine what it's been like for those affected last week by the hurricane whose houses were really damaged and they lost everything. At least there is no wind, the rain has died down for now, and our biggest threat is the levy leaking or breaking. We are far enough from the river at this point to only have first floor damage. I'm praying this isn't even an issue.

 I have never been in a real disaster, and I thank God for that. I have been in earthquakes, around volcano eruptions, and close to fires in California, but preparing for a flood is beyond me. I spent today cleaning just so when we brought things up from downstairs it wouldn't add to the ongoing mess that my children create on a daily basis :). I scrubbed the bathroom just because it was dirty and dirty bathrooms make me want to gag. The kids are in the process of packing up their sleeping bags and I will get our things packed up along with some food to take over to our friend's house when I'm done typing.

 Thank you for your thoughts and prayers that have been expressed. Please pray for my friends that have been greatly affected already who live closer to the river. We will take another drive around this evening to check out the current state of our once peaceful little town. Andrew said there were field mice running through downtown trying to find higher ground. The wood chips that help our playground are floating like they're in soup. We are thankful for good friends who will house us and others who have offered. At this point all we can do it pray our house stays dry and just know that we will be safe up on the hill.

Take me out to the Ballgame..

Back in July, some friends invited us to go up to Williamsport to see a minor league baseball game. The kids were very excited about it, as was I since it marked the end of a long weekend for us. (I forgot back then to post these pictures and they've been on my desktop for months. Now, I will share them, and remove them from blocking my view of the screen). 

Andrew was able to come and by the time all the snacks and water were gone, the game had about ended and taking 6 kids under age 5 to a game like that was an adventure in itself. It was hot and humid the night of the game, but we ended it at a very yummy ice cream shop.

Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.  

~Don Kardong

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Coincidence?  I think not!  

~Author Unknown

The Blur

This past week has been nothing short of a blur. My calendar had something going every day and Andrew was very busy with call and working on a presentation he had today. Glad that's over. He's working again this weekend and next weekend will be the only one he has off for the rest of September. My life isn't getting any slower, you can say that much. October will be welcomed with weekends off and family coming, along with birthdays galore! I know I said before I wanted to post fun things on Fridays and that has slipped by the past few, but I will share a few of the favorite/fun things I have for today. I've started a small craft project for the Fall that I will hopefully finish and share, but for now, since it is officially September I took the liberty to start my Fall decor inside at least. Thanks to Michael's craft store, I am ready for the leaves to change and the pumpkin patch to re-open. 

The above pictures are my new table and island decorations. I found the stems on sale and the little pumpkins and gourds I couldn't pass up. I got an oversized canning jar and filled it. The little bird was on clearance and the green jar is from our local thrift store. I love earth tones.

Got this today at a yard sale for $1. It goes perfect on top of the stove. 

An antique washboard.
My parents have one of these and they are so neat looking. Yard sale $10.
It's going on the wall somewhere, sometime. 

The kids LOVE when Andrew makes Domino trains for them to knock over and watch fall. I video recorded this one, it wrapped the table and back again. Peter is so excited about his turn.

This little missing tooth girl is having so much fun at school. At night she asks me to set out her school clothes and today this is what she wore. I bought it on clearance in Redlands, CA. It's TEA brand. I really like their style, every season they feature clothes with inspiration from countries around the world. It's a tad pricey, but worth finding on sale for sure.

And this little man...well words do not express how much fun he is right now. Talking, jumping, laughing, playing with his siblings, oh the joy. He says in the car today, "Mama, I burped!" I say, "Well what do you say?" He tells me, "Kuse me!" The other night I hit my toe so hard on one of their toys. From his crib he heard me yell OWWW!! I heard him up there yelling, "You OTAY Mama? Toes Mama?" (He knows I hit my toes a lot) He's thoughtful and polite right now and every night when I tuck him in I can't help but smile.