A Month Of Thankfulness – Day 20

Nov 20, 2012

Morrie’s Home!

I am thankful that my daughter and her BF found their missing cat, Morrie. They think she escaped while they were working and the maintenance crew at the apartment complex made a repair in the apartment. They realized she wasn’t in the apartment last night around 8:00. My daughter made flyers and put up this afternoon. They received a call that she was spotted and when they arrived it was her! Yay! I was saying lots of prayers for this cat. My daughter has had her since she was only 4 weeks old. She cared for her and carried Morrie in a scarf against her chest when she was so tiny. It would have broken Hanna and Rob’s hearts to lose that cat. So, YAY! I am so thankful!

A Month Of Thankfulness – Days 9, 10, 11 & 12

Nov 12, 2012

I have had an unusually busy last two weeks. I decided to take a weekend off from the blogging/online world and just spend time with my family and friends. Friday we had a Thanksgiving dinner at church. We have only been going there since April but already feel a connection with so many. We were blessed to be there and so,

Day 9 – I am thankful for Seacoast Church. 

Saturday I spent the morning running errands while my guys went to the Clemson-Maryland game. Good thing they are Clemson fans and my hubby is an alumni. Bless Maryland’s  heart. Our son’s girlfriend, Kristin, and I had a girls night and had dinner and a movie. Kristin had never seen Steel Magnolias and that was the choice for the evening. Many giggles and a few (her) or lots of tears (me) made a wonderful evening.

Day 10 – I am thankful for my relationship with Kristin. Not only is she Cody’s long-term girlfriend, I am honored to call her friend and a daughter of my heart.

Kristin and Cody. This was taken at the last Braves game of the season.

Stan and I went to early service yesterday morning and then spent the afternoon with my sweet niece, Jordan. She turned 6 in June and she is our little miracle. We are so blessed and thankful for each and every day of her sweet life. The saying about an adopted child being carried in the mother’s heart instead of their womb is true for our entire family. Jordan climbed trees with her Uncle Stan and we colored and watched Scooby Doo. Then we took her to a friend’s birthday party at Chuck e Cheese. When the 2 hour party was nearing the end, Stan looked at me and said he knew why grandparents napped, it was because they are tired!!! LOL. It has been a long time since we have run after a 6 year old all day.

Day 11 – I am thankful for Jordan and the joy she brings to our lives.

Jordan and I coloring and watching Scooby Doo. (yes, that is stacked boxes of hardwood in the background. We only have our bedroom and bath left to do!)

Yesterday, tree climbing!

This is one of my favorite photos of our daughter, Hanna, and Jordan. 

Have you ever seen such a sweet and trusting face? She adores her Uncle Stan. 

2009 Grandkids photo for my mom.

Day 12 – I am thankful for my sister, Angie. We fought like nobody’s business as kids but have grown in to the best of friends. And she is willing to share her sweet baby with me. See day 11! 🙂 Angie is a wonderful sister, aunt, wife, daughter and momma. I love you, sister!

Okay, it is so sad I had to go all the way back to 2008 to find a picture of Angie and I together. And I am 30 pounds heavier with short hair! Ugh. New goal for 2013 is take lots of family photos. 

Jordan, Angie and Lionel. A beautiful family. 

A Month Of Thankfulness – Day 8

Nov 8, 2012

Day 8 – I am thankful for my momma. Not only is she a great mom but she was a great wife to my dad for 42 years. In the last months of his life, while battling cancer, she cared and nursed him daily, meeting all his needs. My mom is also a great nanny. My adult kids love and adore her and our sweet little Jordan, my 6 year old niece, does as well. Mom treats both her sons-in-law as her sons. And now my mom cares for her mother. My grandmother lived with her for several years and after a massive stroke, she lives in a nursing facility. My mom goes each day to check on her, do her laundry and love her when she isn’t recognized by her mother. So, today and every day, I am thankful for my mom, Linda. Love you, Momma.

Cinnamon Ornaments and A Month Of Thankfulness – Day 7

Nov 7, 2012

Last week our daughter visited for a few days. We decided to do a bit of crafting, in anticipation of the holidays, while she was here. One of the first projects we worked on was the tried and true Cinnamon Ornaments. Oh, they made my house so divine. We made them to use on our gifts in place of bows.

First we had to gather our supplies. This is such a simple recipe, not much was needed. 

Ingredients:
1 cup applesauce
1 to 1 & 1/2 cups ground cinnamon (Walmart has a brand, 5th Season, for only .50 cents for 2.37 oz., I used almost 3 for the recipe)
cookie cutters
wax paper
cookie sheet with parchment paper

Mix in a large bowl 1 cup each applesauce and cinnamon. Mix. You will need to use your hands and mix well. If too soft and sticky add the extra cinnamon, if too stiff add just a bit of applesauce until you get a good consistency to roll with a rolling pin. This make take you a little bit of time but it is worth it to get it right.

Place wax paper on counter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon and rub it on your rolling pin. Place dough on to wax paper and roll to 1/4″ thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out ornaments and place on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I used a wooden skewer to make a hole at the top of each ornament.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and bake 2 hours. Turn off and leave until oven is cool. We did these in the evening and just left them overnight. They turned out perfectly and my house smells oh, so delicious. 

Beware! Probably goes without saying, these are so not edible! My son came in while we were working on these, picked one up and almost had it to his mouth before Hanna realized it and stopped him. I cannot imagine the burn that much cinnamon would cause. Ugh! So not for eating, just smelling. 🙂

We have stored our cinnamon ornaments wrapped in tissue paper and in a plastic storage bin. This will help the ornaments keep their wonderful scent until we are ready to use them for gift-wrapping. 

A Month Of Thankfulness – Day 7 – I am so thankful for the insurance representative I spoke to this morning. He went out of his way to be helpful and kind. I have severe asthma. I take three medicines. The one that helps me the very most, our insurance has stopped covering it. So, that one medicine cost me $225.00 a month! Yikes. We already pay almost a thousand a month just for our health premium. When I called to see if I could appeal the decision, etc. he was able to get me signed up for a three month mail order supply for $155.00!!! Wow, what a difference. I am so thankful for the $520.00 savings! Yay! 

sharing:
http://www.littlebeckyhomecky.com/2012/11/fantabulous-friday-38/
http://navywifeypeters.blogspot.com/2012/11/submarine-sunday-6.html

A Month Of Thankfulness – Day 6

Nov 6, 2012

Day 6 – I am thankful to live in the USA and the freedom to vote! Stan and I went this morning, waited in line about 45 minutes. It is worth the time! 

My First Mug Rug & A Month Of Thankfulness – Day 5

Nov 5, 2012

I have been admiring and pinning mug rugs for months. I decided to give it a try for a gift. Here are the steps I took to end up with this cute, first mug rug. 

A Month Of Thankfulness – Day 5 – I am thankful for the desire to create. I am not an artist but in my own way, I have an artistic bend that comes out in sewing and embroidery. 

sharing:

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/11/05/made-by-you-monday-126/

http://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com/2012/11/motivate-me-monday-147.html

http://www.serendipityandspice.com/2012/11/manic-monday-linky-party-37.html

http://diyshowoff.com/2012/11/04/diy-project-parade-57/

http://www.sewcando.com/2012/11/show-what-youve-got-at-craftastic.html

http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2012/11/mop-it-up-monday-41.html

http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/m-m-m-129/

http://thesoutherninstitute.com/2012/11/creative-me-linky-party-9.html/

http://www.anoriginalbelle.com/2012/11/make-it-yourself-monday-link-party-53.html

http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/2012/11/welcome-to-97th-masterpiece-monday.html
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2012/11/sew-darn-crafty-linky-partyweek-90.html
http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/11/one-project-at-a-time-11612.html
http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2012/11/show-me-what-a-got-98.html
http://todayscreativeblog.net/recipes-for-fall/

http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/uncommonly-yours-link-party-53/
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2012/11/wow-me-wednesday-76.html
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2012/11/wow-us-wednesdays-91.html
http://navywifeypeters.blogspot.com/2012/11/submarine-sunday-5.html
http://www.doodlesandstitches.com/2012/11/fabulous-friday-link-party-20.html
http://www.littlebeckyhomecky.com/2012/11/fantabulous-friday-38/

A Month of Thankfulness – Day 4

Nov 4, 2012

Day 4 – I am thankful for the gift of salvation and the opportunity to worship freely and honestly. We have been going to Seacoast Church since April. Each week we are blessed to worship, hear God’s word and leave knowing God is intimately at work in our lives.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”

1 Chronicles 16:34

source

A Month of Thankfulness

Nov 3, 2012

Each day leading up to Thanksgiving I will be sharing my thankful post. Some will be serious and some not so much. But all will be sincere. Will you share what you are thankful for today?

Day 1 – I am so thankful for my sweet husband, Stan. He is the best husband and father. 30 years and counting!

Day 2 – I am thankful for the first scent of coffee brewing when I wake each morning and then for that first sip…and three cups I consume.

Day 3 – I am so thankful for my two kids, Cody and Hanna. They have grown in to wonderful people and I am so proud of them. Every day they have blessed me beyond measure.

They are also blessed with good youth genes. Cody is almost 26 and Hanna almost 24 but they both get told how much younger they look. They will love it in 20 years!

sharing:
http://www.seven-alive.com/2012/11/my-glass-block-and-very-thankful-party.html

Autumn Scents and Mug Swap

Oct 11, 2012

While in Colorado, my friend, Jill, and I made up these sweet little bags of Autumn Scents to give to her friends at a Fall Festival she helped to organize. They were easy to do, look beautiful and smell so delicious! 

Autumn Scents 

Ingredients:
Dehydrated lemon and oranges slices
Cinnamon sticks
Star of Anise
Cloves

How to:
We started by slicing lemon and oranges thinly and placing on a cookie sheet. We didn’t have a dehydrator instead we preheated the oven to 175 degrees and baked the fruit for 7 hours. We put them in overnight and they turned out perfectly. We awoke to the house smelling very citrusy. Once the fruit was cooled, we placed several slices of each in to the bag. 

We broke the cinnamon sticks in half and added 3-4 sticks, 2 Star of Anise and then a small handful, probably around 20, of cloves. We gathered the bag and tied it with ribbon.

We purchased the clear bags at Hobby Lobby but you could use small jars or even snack size zip lock bags. The orange ribbon tied off with a simple knot turned out to be a festive touch. 


How to use:
Pour entire bag of ingredients in to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer to fill your home with the wonderful scents of Autumn. You may keep the pot on the back of your stove refilling the water as needed. We boiled our trial pot all week and each day it still smelled wonderful. 

See the steam rising from the pot. It is the wonderful scent of Autumn! MUG SWAP

I participated in a mug swap and had to hurriedly get mine in the mail before leaving on our trip. In fact, I took it to the post office and then we promptly headed to the airport. In my hurry, I forgot to take a picture of the mug I sent. 😦  It was a bright lime green SC state mug. I included some hot chocolate packets and a SC postcard. I received my mug while I was gone. It was so fun to have a package waiting on me! I received this wonderful owl mug and goodies. I am sooo looking forward to filling this mug with my soups and stews this winter. Isn’t it the cutest? The little owl faces are so adorable. Thank you, Kayla from Kayla’s Creations! I love it. 🙂 And I love Kayla’s blog. Go check it out. 

sharing:

http://www.impartinggrace.com/2012/10/grace-at-home.html

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2012/10/10/hookin-up-with-hoh-120/

http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/2012/10/delightfully-inspiring-thursday-party_10.html

http://www.52mantels.com/2012/10/thursdays-are-your-days.html

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2012/10/time-travel-thursday-118-talented-time.html

http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/2012/10/a-crafty-soiree-111.html

http://www.thecraftyblogstalker.com/2012/10/blog-stalking-thursday-62.html
http://www.livelaughrowe.com/live-laugh-linky-31/
http://www.firefliesandjellybeans.com/2012/10/show-off-your-stuff-party-148.html
http://www.happyhourprojects.com/2012/10/happy-hour-friday-1012.html
http://www.littlebeckyhomecky.com/2012/10/fantabulous-friday-34/
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/sundae-scoop-link-party-50/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2012/10/sew-darn-crafty-linking-partyweek-87.html
http://www.flamingotoes.com/2012/10/think-pink-sunday-no-82/

http://mommyssweetconfessions.blogspot.com/2012/10/sundays-sweet-confessions-link-party-11.html
http://www.the36thavenue.com/2012/10/craft-room-makeover.html

http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/10/homemade-soft-scrub-and-wednesdays.html
http://www.heatherlyloves.com/2012/10/coffee-mug-swap-reveal-link-up.html
http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2012/10/feature-friday-free-for-all-39-free.html
http://www.delicateconstruction.com/2012/10/delicately-constructed-friday-and.html
http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/2012/10/welcome-to-fridays-unfolded_25.html
http://www.familyeverafterblog.com/2012/10/once-upon-weekend-blog-bash-recap.html
http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2012/10/linky_party_111/

http://www.herecomesthesunblog.net/2012/10/fabulous-friday-49.html
http://www.happygoluckyblog.com/2012/10/shine-on-friday-with-giveaway-hosted-by.html
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/10/strut-your-stuff-saturday-link-party_26.html
http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/saturday-show-tell-34/
http://www.thegingerbreadblog.com/2012/10/sweet-saturday-link-party-v62.html

Fall Felt Leaves Wreath

Sep 15, 2012

I completed my first project with the new wool blend felt. I had this smaller Styrofoam wreath that I wrapped in a variegated yarn. I used Lime Riot’s felt leaf tutorial that she shared on Leslie’s Art and Sew. I used all the colors for Crafty Sheep’s September Color Challenge. This little Fall wreath will find it’s home on the shelf above my sewing machine. I will show the complete shelf next week.

sharing:

http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/saturday-show-tell-28/

http://www.shakentogetherlife.com/2012/09/whats-shakin-link-party-26.html

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/strut-your-stuff-saturday-link-party_14.html

http://www.flamingotoes.com/2012/09/think-pink-sunday-no-78/

http://snips-and-spice.blogspot.com/2012/08/sunday-slice-its-party-8.html

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/sundae-scoop-link-party-46/

http://mommyssweetconfessions.blogspot.com/2012/09/sundays-sweet-confessions-link-party-7.html

http://my1929charmer.com/sundays-best-award-and-48-par-tay/

http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2012/09/sew-darn-crafty-linky-partyweek-83.html

http://www.flourmewithlove.com/2012/09/mix-it-up-monday_16.html

http://www.tipjunkie.com/all-crafts/handmade-projects/homemade-projects-9-18/

http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2012/09/show-me-what-ya-got-92.html

http://todayscreativeblog.net/diy-wall-art/

http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/2012/09/one-project-at-time_18.html

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2012/09/wow-me-wednesday-69.html

http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2012/09/wow-us-wednesdays-84.html

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2012/09/we-did-it-wednesday_18.html

http://www.mygirlishwhims.com/2012/09/your-whims-wednesday-77-and-features.html

http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2012/09/whatever-goes-wednesday-135.html

http://www.the36thavenue.com/2012/09/halloween-free-witch-printable-decor.html

http://www.impartinggrace.com/2012/09/grace-at-home-no-27.html

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2012/09/19/hookin-up-with-hoh-117/

http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/2012/09/delightfully-inspiring-thursday-party_19.html

http://www.52mantels.com/2012/09/thursdays-are-your-days-creative.html

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2012/09/time-travel-thursday-115-talented-time.html

http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/2012/09/a-crafty-soiree-108-with-sur-la-table.html

http://www.thecraftyblogstalker.com/2012/09/blog-stalking-thursday-59.html

http://www.happyhourprojects.com/2012/09/happy-hour-friday-0921.html

http://www.littlebeckyhomecky.com/2012/09/fantabulous-friday-31/

http://www.craftionary.net/2012/09/friday-fun-party-and-features-209.html

http://sewingbarefoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-weekly-creative-1.html